If you’re thinking about opening, re-branding, or expanding a restaurant you probably already know what type of food you want to serve. But, have you thought about what kind of restaurant you want to run? The idea of a fine dining restaurant with great chachet may appeal to you but do you know what it takes to run a fine dining establishment versus a family restaurant, a casual restaurant or a fast casual restaurant?
Fine dining restaurants are usually distinguished by the high quality of three factors. Obviously, the higher quality, the higher the costs for all three of these factors.
1. Food
A fine dining restaurant’s menu does not need to be extensive, but all the ingredients need to be high quality. Depending on your area, the cost of the food itself may not actually be higher. Most importantly, the chef needs to be creative and the sous-chefs need to be well-trained to carry out the chef’s instructions. Because customers expect an enhanced level of service at a fine dining restaurant, chefs also need to be prepared to make adjustments to menu items.
2. Decor
Everything in a fine dining restaurant should provide a unified feeling. So, if the menu is upscale Italian, the decor needs to be as well. If the menu is minimalist, so too should be the decor. Whatever the style, the linens, silverware, glassware, and plates all need to be high quality.
3. Customer Service
Establishing great customer service is especially important, and costly, for a fine dining experience. High quality customer service is not the stereotypically snooty waiter of movies, rather it is a large group of staff being attentive to the needs of customers. Waitstaff in fine dining restaurants need to be well trained and comfortable with a diverse group of customers.
