When recommending a restaurant to someone, you might be focusing firstly on the menu, but it’s surprising how many people highlight the interior design of the place. It seems that when we’re surrounded by beautiful designs, the food almost loses its importance.
Well, almost! So if you want to provide your guests with a top-notch dining experience, here are a few restaurant design tips to keep in mind:
Achieve the perfect temperature
There’s nothing worse than eating while sweating or having your icy cocktails while freezing. Your restaurant needs to have the right temperature and ventilation, so your guests can be comfortable when eating, drinking and chatting. Adjust your HVAC system to your location and the size of your space. It’s also necessary to include the density of the dining room when setting up the temperature.
In the kitchen, your specific HVAC system should be strong enough to handle fumes, steam, odors and heat of the cooking process. When guests are comfortable, they can eat more, drink more and be in a much better mood.
Rethink your layout
When your guests enter your restaurants, they will immediately form their first impression. It’s necessary to optimize the space according to the impressions you want to make. Let’s start with elbow space—it’s required that every customer has 20sq. ft. for dining (11 if you have a fast food restaurant). The sizes of your tables should also be reconsidered.
For instance, if your restaurant concept focuses on romantic drinks and dinners with an intimate atmosphere, you might benefit from smaller two-person and larger four-person tables (for double dates). On the other hand, family restaurants require more space to accommodate all types of families. If your space allows, include all sorts of table sizes in your layout, just keep an eye on the aesthetics.
Seating setup
Fast food joints, casual lunch eateries and fine-dining spots all need proper seating that will make customers comfortable and relaxed while eating. Some of the most diverse, stylish and affordable seating options are definitely bentwood chairs suitable for everything from fast food places and cafes to French and Italian fine dining.
And these are popular all over the world—you can even grab timeless original bentwood chairs from Sydney and receive top products for your restaurant. Bentwood chairs can be easily adjusted to your restaurant atmosphere, as well as painted and dressed with cushions and covers. For concept restaurants, owners and designers might opt for something more unique that will fit the theme to a T.
Come up with a pleasant color scheme
There’s something called Color Psychology, and it’s not a scam. This theory explains the impact of colors on the human psyche and behavior. If you want to set the right tone in your restaurant, thinking about colors should be at the top of your to-do list. In general, red can stimulate appetite, but it’s also quite an aggressive color that evokes urgency.
Red is great for fast food restaurants that want their customers to eat quickly and in large quantities, but it’s not so great for fine dining. Proper sit-down restaurants might benefit more from warm yet muted colors that create comfort and relaxation. Think ochre, cream, beige, brown, Terracotta and Tuscan yellow.
Menu design
Your guests are manly in your restaurant to have food or drinks, so make sure that part is very easy and practical for everyone. It’s important to achieve as much unity in your menu as possible—it should be well-designed and fit into the rest of the atmosphere.
Fast food restaurants or family restaurants might benefit from menus with pictures, but fine dining might focus more on the use of words to paint a picture (the waiter is there to explain everything else that diners might be interested in).
Don’t neglect the toilets
The design of your toilet is surprisingly important for your restaurant. When diners go to wash their hands, fix their makeup or do their business, they want to see clean and functioning surfaces, as well as get plenty of privacy.
Today, it’s also important to create an interesting feature in your toilet because bathroom selfies are still very popular. A long mirror, nice lighting and a focal point can make bathroom selfies successful and your toilet recognizable on social media.
Make a grand entrance
When entering or leaving your establishment, guests need to feel special and amazed. It’s a perfect opportunity to let your imagination fly high and make your exterior an accurate representation of what’s inside. If you have a very modern fusion restaurant, you won’t place an old-school motorcycle at your entrance, but a contemporary sculpture might attract the right attention.
A restaurant for young people might benefit from a quirky piece of décor like an animal sculpture to ride or a setup with a hole for sticking your face through and taking funny photos.
Wrapping up
While it’s important that your food is immaculate and your restaurant is clean, your interior can really make your establishment stand out from the rest and help you attract people.
