Surely being nice to restaurant and cafe staff is the best way to get the good service you deserve in return?
Similarly, going to a popular restaurant at the height of the dinner rush and expecting perfect service is folly. Drew Nieporent, the owner of Corton and many other restaurants around the world, says succinctly, [...]

Duke, a part time DJ and Salsa dance teacher, has spent the last few months – working weekends and pulling all-nighters – preparing for the opening of Randwick’s newest cafe, Duke’s Lounge, at 153 Avoca Street.

In addition to being open early enough to serve breakfast, Duke’s Lounge will eventually also be a place to head [...]

The layout and design of restaurant and cafe menus, including the use of typography, can greatly influence diners when it comes to selecting what to order, according to US author William Poundstone.
Puzzles, anchors, stars, and plowhorses; those are a few of the terms consultants now use when assembling a menu (which is as much [...]

MBA students give Spanish restaurant “elBulli” the once-over and find it wanting… the same elBulli that only opens for six months of the year, and from a total of two million requests, grants reservations to just 8000 diners annually.
There is much about the restaurant that is inefficient, as MBAs are quick to note: Adrià [...]

Don’t go getting ideas above your station just because the staff at your favourite cafe or restaurant have started referring to you as a regular.
Prior to establishing regular status, you can’t let on you have interest in becoming a regular. Being needy is a turnoff. Likewise, acknowledging you’re approaching regular status – even if [...]

A rather comprehensive list of tips for restaurant waiting staff, with, incredibly, another 50 to be published next week.
Veteran waiters, moonlighting actresses, libertarians and baristas will no doubt protest some or most of what follows. They will claim it homogenizes them or stifles their true nature. And yet, if 100 different actors play Hamlet, [...]

Ten short cuts that restaurants may take to save a few dollars while still apparently serving top-notch food and beverages…
Says a former maître d’ at an expensive Chinese restaurant known for its celebrity clientele: “The owner figured his customers knew nothing about Chinese food (he was right) and was a genius at saving money. [...]

So a rival to my restaurant economic recovery indicator has emerged, the MUI, or men’s underwear index.
Here’s the theory, briefly: Sales of men’s underwear typically are stable because they rank as a necessity. But during times of severe financial strain, men will try to stretch the time between buying new pairs, causing underwear sales [...]

How’s this for a cafe or fast food business plan, move the location of your outlet to suit the needs of your customers… commercial zones during the week, residential areas at the weekend. The shipping container size fold-out restaurant suits such requirements perfectly.
The strangely named MuvBox is a masterpiece of design for a fast-food [...]

Yes taking photos of food is fun, but don’t go forgetting your table manners when doing so:
If you do take photos, you need not ask the server’s permission, but it’s polite to follow these simple guidelines: First, don’t take multiple shots from multiple angles, kneel on the banquette, or rearrange the table. Jeffrey Porter, cowriter [...]