One thing to remember when planning the place settings for your restaurant is that there is a proper way to set tables, and although there are variants, straying too far may produce the jarring effect that you are best to steer clear of.  Will the restaurant offer formal or casual (informal) dining?  More formal dining requires more utensils—from plates to glassware to flatware—to complete a meal.

Below are diagrams for both formal and informal dining.  Use these guides as a starting point to equip your table as shown, and then take away the items that won’t be needed throughout the course of the meal.  Keep in mind, too, that if food will be delivered to the table from the kitchen, dinner plates may not be needed, and the same is true for salad and/or soup bowls.  Clutter could detract from the overall dining experience, so less is very likely to be more; if you don’t need it, remove it.

And finally, here are some tips I garnered from FE&S Magazine on how to manage place setting wares in your restaurant:

1. Don’t under-buy for the needs of your establishment.  It is simply too difficult to navigate the busy times or special events in the restaurant. Utilize consistent and efficient inventory management.  A good rule of thumb is to have wares for about 1 ½ times the seating capacity on hand.
2. Portion and table size are important.  Consider these while choosing tabletop items.
3. If you choose to go eclectic, remember that it is a style, not just a throwing together of different pieces.  Choose items with color, texture, and flow in mind.
4. Trendy is great for accent pieces, but functionality trumps all.  Thinking long-term may keep you from being overly trendy but it will help you to cut down on costs in the long run.
5. Always, always, always make sure your tabletop pieces are handled correctly—from the dishwasher to storage, from the kitchen to the dining room—for the best staying power of your place settings.

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