Planning Your Visit
Etiquette at this level exists to reduce friction, not to catch people out. Every convention below has a practical reason, and knowing the reason is more useful than memorising the rule.
By The Reservation Desk Editorial Team · Published March 27, 2025 · Last updated · 10 min read
Confirm the dress code, declare allergies and dietary requirements in advance rather than at the table, and arrive within a few minutes of your booking — the kitchen has sequenced the evening around your start time.
If you will be late, call. A ten-minute warning lets the kitchen adjust; a silent late arrival compresses your meal.
Work cutlery from the outside in, place your napkin on your lap on sitting, and rest cutlery together on the plate when you have finished a course. Nobody is grading you, but these signals genuinely help the service team read the table.
Phones face down and silent. Photographing your food is broadly accepted now; flash is not, anywhere.
The taste poured for you checks whether the bottle is faulty, not whether you like it. Cork taint smells like wet cardboard; if you suspect it, say so plainly and the bottle will be replaced without argument.
Give the sommelier a budget in a way that is easy for both of you — pointing at a price on the list works perfectly and is entirely normal.
Ask what something is. Ask how it was made. Ask for a recommendation between two dishes. Serious restaurants train staff extensively precisely so these questions can be answered well.
The only genuinely awkward move is pretending to know. It closes down a conversation the restaurant wants to have.
Raise it immediately, calmly and at the table. A dish that is not right can be remade in minutes; a complaint made afterwards by email cannot be fixed at all.
Good rooms respond to problems better than they respond to praise. It is the clearest test of a restaurant's culture.
In the United States, tip on the pre-tax total unless service is explicitly included, which it is at many prepaid tasting-menu restaurants. If in doubt, ask the host — the question is routine.
Lingering over coffee is fine; a table held for an extra hour past the last seating is less fine. Read the room, and if you want to continue, move to the bar.
The Reservation Desk Editorial Team — Independent research and editorial team
Our editorial team researches fine-dining access, booking windows and menu formats across the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. Every guide is compiled from restaurant-published information, official reservation platforms and first-hand dining notes, then re-checked before each update.
This guide is compiled and checked against our verification process and editorial policy.
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