Tables in Restaurants

Voting with your feet is a good idea, but only if you have asked and been refused another table first.If you are a 'walk in' it's different, and the other tables already booked. If it's fairly quiet you should tell them where you would like to sit.

When we were in France earlier this year we had a few hours to kill in Dieppe before catching the ferry. We were a bit early for lunch so asked if we could have a pavement table for some drinks. The waitress said all the tables were booked for meals so we decided to try somewhere else. We'd only gone a few yards when the manageress caught up with us and ushered us back to a really nice table with a view of the marina. She took our drinks order and then casually dropped the lunch menu on the table.

As she predicted, we stayed for almost two hours, eating, drinking and enjoying the sunshine.

That's the way to do it!

In France this summer, we booked a table in a restaurant which had tables both indoors and outdoors. We found ourselves right beside the kitchen and asked if we could have an outdoors table. The waiting staff couldn't have been more helpful. They gave us a nicely situated courtyard table but then came back and suggested that, as it looked like rain, we might like to move again, to a table with a large umbrella, an offer which we gratefully accepted.

I was once on business in London, about 25 years ago, stayed in a very nice city centre Hotel, came down to breakfast in the morning to find myself being shown to a table for one set up exactly in the centre of the room surrounded by the other customers, I looked at the waiter walked to another part of the room and told him i had not actually realised a table had to be reserved for breakfast and sat down at a table for 4.
He was furious, luckily it was a self service breakfast or goodness knows what might have been in my tea.
I have travelled a lot alone and always dread where i will be seated in hotels and Restaurants.

If I don't like the table they are taking me to I just ask for a different one. It has never been a problem. I would be upset if I had booked and been given a really bad table and would say so at the time but just dropping in is not so bad if that is all they have left.

Bambi You can always protest with your feet and go to another restaurant they will soon get the message I'm sure,we have always been quite fortunate with tables even last minute bookings have turned out quite good really I do think you have to let your feeling known right away if you are not happy with the seating arrangements offered,you are after all the customer.

We would always try to book in advance and if we know the restaurant ask for a specific table. If the table was not suitable I would definitely ask for another one.
However, once we were visiting a city we did not know very well and on a busy Saturday night, managed to get a table in a busy restaurant. The table was poorly placed in the middle. Before we placed our order we were offered a better table. To the waiter' amazement we refused. The reason was that my DH was sitting back to back with an internationally famous fashion designer.
I can now say that I was at dinner with him!
Of course we did not bother him or his friends. X

We went to Carluccio's a couple of months ago and were shown to a table that was almost in the kitchen. The swing doors were constantly flapping and banging and it was like Picadilly Circus with all the comings and goings so we asked to be moved. They told us all the other tables were booked so, although we'd already ordered, we stood up and prepared to leave.

They soon found us another table.

Why do I type juts for just? Must have dyslexic fingers.

I juts politely say 'not there thank you' or 'have you a better table?' Last time we went to Jamie's Italian in Nottingham we had a rather ramped table in a back rom which I found claustrophobic- we didn't say anything about this as we hadn't booked juts walked in off the street. We are going again next week and I am going to ring in advance and ask for a better table.

You could just try sitting at a table you prefer or you could walk out!

I was just about to say, the worst tables go last. Try booking a little earlier.

Apparently empty tables may already be booked. In any case, I advise avoiding restaurants that have blatantly worst tables.