Entertaining at a Restaurant

Family Celebrations, Special Events, Birthdays and Anniversaries

May 14, 2006

Should you host a gathering at your home or at a restaurant? You can still be a gracious host and lead the party, while someone else does the work!

Hosting a party at home is a wonderful experience and a visible way to share your blessings. While hosting a dinner at a restaurant can seem impersonal, it is yet another viable way to graciously entertain guests. I was just faced with this decision, and learned some valuable lessons about hosting events at restaurants.....

After a particularly busy week, my weekend calendar was committed to my son's Confirmation activities and our Mother's Day celebration (with both grandmothers attending). Although I like to think of myself as "SuperMom," it became apparent that everybody's interests would be best served if I chose only one event to hold at our home. So I resigned myself to hosting the post-Confirmation celebration at a local restaurant, feeling a little like I was letting my son down by not creating an evening to remember in our own home.

But, by selecting a restaurant that was unique, fun, had great food and skilled service, I laid the groundwork for a fantastic evening. The key to making this type of function fly, is to still take the lead as the host, even though the restaurant staff is doing the actual work. I chose a tapas-styled restaurant,

making a reservation for earlier in the evening when I knew that the kitchen staff would not yet be too busy.

After encouraging everyone to order their favorite beverage, I took over as host and ordered a variety of tapas for the table. I worked with our server, asking for her suggestions on food and quantities. We staggered the ordering and arrival of the appetizer-sized dishes, so that we could lazily converse, drink and graze for hours. By working with our server, I was able to take advantage of the daily specials, and at her suggestion even ordered several extra special (but unadvertised) tapas.

The key to this type of function is to put all egos aside and just communicate. In this instance, I depended on our server to be the "expert" for her restaurant, and I was the "expert" for our table. I relied on her to offer us the restaurant's best F&B, and I relied on myself to communicate and get feedback from our group. Our server and I worked together to create a truly delightful dining experience, that will be remembered as the perfect ending to a beautiful and meaningful family event.

As I watched our group leave the restaurant, laughing, smiling and sharing with one another, I caught the eye of our expert server. We nodded and smiled at each other, recognizing the part that each had played in a mutually beneficial experience.

NOTE: I did create a Mother's Day Brunch in our home the following morning, using some of my favorite

The copyright of the article Entertaining at a Restaurant in Entertaining is owned by Janice Benoit. Permission to republish Entertaining at a Restaurant in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

May 15, 2006 11:54 AM

Barbara Bell :

I finally succumbed to dining out for Easter, a couple of years ago, because the family would not include the usual gathering but only a small group. It was feasible, entertaining, cost-effective, and I loved not having to clean up afterwards! We chose a brunch, at a restaurant that was newly opened and would not be terribly busy. The staff was very helpful and grateful for our business. The food was great, as they were going "all out" to impress their guests.