There’s no easy formula to create the perfect restaurant. Unfortunately, individual tastes and preferences will almost always conspire against anyone ever reaching perfection. However, what one can easily learn to understand is the difference between creating a good restaurant and a bad one.
It would be much easier to reference the points that make a bad restaurant, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out most of these. So it is therefore the good points that people go away remembering that are important.
Great dining is all about atmosphere. A relaxed environment that encourages good quality social interaction will lead the diner to feel as comfortable out as they would in their own home. If you can create this aesthetic, then you will be half the way there. If your quality of food is good, then you will have the whole package, and your customers will leave remembering great food and the fact they had a great time.
The place itself should be busy – although not too busy – and a good level of service is very important. Aim for discreet but attentive, getting the balance of somewhere bang in between overbearing and ignorant. Leaving the right time between courses is also important, and to do this you will need the final part of what makes a great restaurant: the right design.
Commercial kitchen design can make the difference between a confused and stressful area and one that is not only harmonious but also extremely productive. The restaurant design itself should also lend a cohesive quality to the dining experience allowing enough room between tables for people to not feel like others will be intruding, but close enough so they don’t feel like they are completely alone.
To create a great restaurant, you need to start with the basics, and the right commercial kitchen design and the right restaurant design are the first places you should start.