Bringing a big party out for dinner? follow these tips and you’ll get invited back.
Eastern Standard
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During the lunchtime planning stage, it was six friends, give or take, planning to meet after work for food and drinks. By four o’clock, the group had swelled to eight. Two hours later, it was 10 people, minimum. The more, the merrier, right? Just one problem: where to meet? It’s not always so simple to come up with a location where the food is good, the drinks are fairly priced, the atmosphere is hip, and the crowd is lively enough to add energy to your party but not so deafening that you can’t talk to the person sitting next to you. (Oops, another text message. The guest list is a dozen and counting.) Going out with a group can be fantastic — a blow-out party at which someone else does the dishes — but it can also be an exercise in frustration, especially if you’re the designated planner. Here’s some advice on how to pull it off without pulling out your hair.
First, not every restaurant works well for a large party. Some restaurants are too small, others too big, and some just can’t pull off the level of organization required to make a large party feel at home. Single best tip: find a restaurant that wants to serve larger parties.
Eastern Standard is one restaurant that thinks bigger is better. Owner Garrett Harker says accommodating large parties was one of his primary design goals when he opened the place in 2005. “I love the energy that large parties add to a room,” he says. “Their energy is an important part of the brasserie experience. [Eastern Standard] is best when it’s bustling and frenetic, a room full of people coming together over great food, thoughtful drink, and warm hospitality.” But Harker acknowledges that not every space works for big groups. “When I was at No. 9 [Park], often a party of 10 would call for a table, and more often than not, we would be unable to accommodate them.” Harker saw that being able to welcome large groups was a competitive opportunity. So he’s worked to make Eastern Standard group-friendly in design, and has instilled a group-savvy service standard, too. “We actively coach our staff on ways to serve a large group so that our service standard doesn’t feel diluted as a result of the inflated number of people at one table,” he explains. “I think most restaurants and diners set the bar too low for a large party. As a result, both the diners and the professionals think it acceptable if it takes longer to be served, if the food is executed less precisely, if the menu choices are limited. They accept that since the server has more going, the service will drop off accordingly. I don’t believe in accepting that as the status quo.” Harker says that in the Eastern Standard kitchen, executive chef Jamie Bissonnette drills the staff to be flexible with large parties, and the floor manager often assigns two servers to handle the extra work.
But it’s not just what the restaurant can do to ensure a good experience for a large group. It’s always better to call ahead, even if you don’t know the exact number of people in your party. Almost every restaurant at every price range can make room for a large party with some advance notice. And giving that notice should mean you’ll be treated well, rather than being that annoying and unexpected party of 12 whose arrival throws the staff into a sulk.
When you want the royal treatment and your group a) is boisterous enough to fill a room with sound; b) has at least some revelers who are over 40 and already semi-deaf; or c) just wants some privacy, lots of restaurants will be delighted to reserve a private room for you at no extra charge. It doesn’t have to be an engagement party or a going-away bash; all you have to do is ask in advance. Avila’s Steve DiFillipo says he often makes four private dining rooms available to large groups. “But I prefer to have large parties in the corner of the dining room,” he notes. “I like the fun and energy they bring into the room.”
Once you’ve picked your location, get your group to think about how to order to maximize the odds of getting food on the table before closing time. Restaurateurs advise nominating one person to be responsible for ordering a bunch of appetizers for the table as soon as you’re seated. Put them in the middle and share. If the server has to take appetizer and first-course orders separately, you can forget getting home to watch Jon Stewart. Same goes for drinks. Try to get some agreement on shareable drinks: oversize bottles of Belgian beer, bottles or carafes of wine, pitchers of margaritas — even all three. Do anything you can to simplify the who-gets-what process. When it’s all over and the server brings the bill, it’s best if you’ve agreed ahead of time to split it in equal shares. And if at all possible, pay for the meal in cash. The staff will be begging you to come back — next time with even more of your friends.