Restaurant Etiquette Ladies Should Know

Finally, this long-awaited moment has come: your beloved has invited you on a date at a restaurant. The dream you have dreamed of for so long has come true. Of course, this event goes beyond everyday life, and therefore preparation should be taken with full responsibility.

Let’s say you have already visited a hairdresser, a manicurist, a beauty salon and called all your friends and mom. But the excitement still persists. After all, an episode from the film “Pretty Woman”, where the main character finds herself in a very comical situation due to ignorance of the norms of etiquette, has lodged in the subconscious.

Away from excitement and anxiety! Today we will tell you what rules a true lady must follow in order for the evening to go 100%.

Wardrobe

Let’s start our journey through restaurant etiquette with the wardrobe. And this is logical, because he is the first to come our way. We remember a few simple rules:

1. In the wardrobe we leave all the things that we don’t need at the table. These are outerwear, shopping bags, a hat, an umbrella. We must enter the hall light.
2. The gentleman will definitely help us to take off our fur coat or coat.
3. A lady’s handbag is always with us. It is strictly forbidden to transfer it to your man – this is bad manners.
4. When entering a restaurant, you can almost always see a mirror. All we can do near him is to take a glimpse of our appearance. If you notice any flaws, we go to the restroom. You should not tidy yourself up near the wardrobe.

The first stage of etiquette is observed. Moving on.

Ladies room

An obligatory ritual that every girl must perform before sitting at a table is a visit to the ladies’ room. Here we perform all the necessary procedures:

1. We fix clothes and hair.
2. We rinse our hands before eating.
3. Wash off lipstick from lips (there should be no traces on the glass).

Make sure you don’t need to go to the bathroom any time soon. Indeed, during the serving of the main dishes, a woman should not leave the table.

How to sit down and get up from the table

According to the rules of etiquette, a man must help his companion to sit down at the table. To do this, he pulls out a chair, and then helps the lady move it.

Also, the rules of good manners say: if a woman leaves her place, the gentleman must stand up a little. When the meal is over, the girl is the first to leave the table.

At the table

The elegance of manners plays a special role in restaurant etiquette. Taking your place is not worth fussing about. We keep our back straight, sit on 2/3 of a chair or chair. Our man should sit to our left if we have a table for 3 or more persons or face to face if a table for two.

All accessories and gadgets must be in a woman’s purse. They have no place near plates and cutlery.

Firstly, if you use third-party items during a joint dinner, the gentleman may feel that you are not interested in this meeting.

And, secondly, it will be extremely difficult for a waiter to arrange food and drinks around phones, notebooks or wallets. Let’s observe the elementary rules of decency. After all, you are a true lady, and you must behave accordingly.

Service

How to contact the waiter correctly? We recommend that you either memorize the name written on the badge or narrate impersonally. For example: “Would you be so kind”, “please come over”… Light contact by gestures is also allowed.

Another golden rule that women often neglect is indifference in cleaning the table. In no case should you serve dishes and wine glasses to the waiter. But interrupting the dialogue during service is a sign of good manners.

Conversation

There are three topics that should not be touched upon during dinner – money, religion, and politics. It is actually quite easy to choose the right direction of the dialogue: the conversation should be interesting and understandable to the gentleman. If you can’t think of an interesting reason to talk, discuss the food. This is perhaps the most versatile topic.

Food intake

We start eating only when the dish has been served to both you and your beloved. The only exception is soup – it is customary to start it immediately. Each gastronomic masterpiece has its own rule, and it must be observed if you want to look like a real lady.

For example, fish cannot be cut with a regular knife. There is a special fish knife for her. If not, use two plugs. Ordered a meat steak? Cut off a small piece with a knife and eat it elegantly.

An integral part of every meal Is bread. It is usually served on a shared plate. Visually select a suitable piece and take it with special tongs. You need to put it on a special “pie” plate (if there is none, you can use a serving plate).

Often, pastries appear on the table. As a rule, it is served on a large platter, which relies on a common knife and spatula. The waiter will divide the dish into several portions and, at your request, put the selected piece on a dessert plate.

Secure each dish at home. This will make it easier to navigate the restaurant in the future.

Beverages

Drinks are an important part of your meal. In case you plan to consume alcohol, it is also recommended to order still water in the proportions of 1 glass to 1 alcohol-containing glass. Thus, you, firstly, will save the body from dehydration, and, secondly, you will get rid of intoxication and ill health the next day.

Pouring drinks is an exclusively male occupation. A girl should under no circumstances fill her glass on her own (even when it comes to soft drinks).

Dancing

According to the rules of etiquette, a girl is invited to dance by a gentleman. A lady can invite her beloved only in the case of a white dance. At the same time, a man cannot refuse her.

If another visitor to the restaurant invites you to dance, he must first ask permission from your companion. In this case, the right to choose will still remain with you.

End of the evening

Once the meal is over, fold the fork and knife together by turning them with the handles to the right. This means that the waiter can remove your plate. If you are planning to finish your meal, put the cutlery in the shape of the letter “X”. In this case, the service personnel will understand that the meal has not yet been completed.

The invoice will be submitted to the initiator of the meeting, and you should not be interested in the amount written on the check. If a man asks you out on a date, it means that he takes care of all the expenses.

Remember the most important thing: during dinner, behave sweetly and naturally, behave with dignity. Even if it seems to you that something is not going according to plan or there is some kind of tension, do not show your fears to your beloved. Let him think that everything is going as it should and you are delighted with the time together. He should have extremely positive and pleasant memories of this evening.