Eating at a restaurant can be fun and it definitely takes your mind off of cooking, washing the dishes and coming up with a new type of dish for the entire family. But at the same time, eating out implies certain rules of behavior and cultural impact. Do you know what you are allowed or not to do when you are eating out at a restaurant?
If the answer is no but you are willing to learn then you should remain calm because the rest of this article will try to show you the way. You will discover a few mistakes that have to be avoided when dining at restaurants of a certain specific in or outside your homeland. Take a look!
5 Mistakes To Avoid at a Restaurant
1. Pass the salt please! – this is a common phrase to hear during mealtime and the person you share a table with might ask you to do this. But did you know that both salt and pepper travel together even if you are asked for only one item? When this happens, put these two items on the table and let the other person take them. In addition to this, if someone asks you for the salt and you realize you want it too, don’t use it first. Wait for the other person to finish and pass it around or back to you.
2. I would like to be excused – when you want to excuse yourself from the table don’t start mentioning the real reasons why you need to go (I’m sorry the seafood is not sitting well in your stomach but I don’t want to discuss this subject while eating). Instead, a simple ‘excuse me’ would suffice if you are going to handle personal business. However, if you are excusing yourself in order to do something related to the group you can offer some information (helping another person find your table for example). But don’t forget to indicate whether or not you’ve finished eating by placing your tools properly. If you want to say you are done eating you can use the 10 and 4 o’clock method (the handles at 4, the knife blade towards you). In case you want to continue eating use the 3 o’clock to center (handles at 3) movement.
3. Waiting for a call – I’ve always wondered whether leaving your phone on the table is considered rude or not. Apparently it is! When eating at a restaurant, you should announce the other members of the party that you are expecting an important call. And don’t leave the phone on the table. Put it in your pocket or somewhere close to your body, on vibration. Remember that when you take the call you shouldn’t leave the table for more than a few minutes. Keep it short! Those who have joined you for dinner didn’t do it so that you could ignore them.
4. Don’t talk with your mouth full – it is very important to keep in mind that talking with your mouth full is not only disrespectful but also not a pretty picture to look at. In this case you should eat in small bites. This process helps you finish faster and swallow the bites before speaking. You go out to eat with friends before you want to interact with them and not make eating your main purpose. So enjoy the nice conversation and eat at a normal pace.
5. I don’t like this food – mistakes happen when you are eating out. Maybe your food is not what you’ve pictured or maybe it is not cooked well. I have a couple of tips in this case: don’t season the food before tasting it. This will be an insult to the chef and it will make you come off a bit childish. Another mistake to avoid is to complain about your food after you’ve eaten half of it. If you notice that your food is undercooked, explain this problem to your waiter in a politely manner. In this situation you can tell the rest of the group to start without you. It’s not pleasant, but it is the right thing to do!
These are 5 mistakes that should be avoided when eating at a restaurant. Always remember that you are not alone and that you should be considerate to the likes and dislikes of your table partners. What common mistakes do you hate when eating out? Share them with us!
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