If you have ever been nervous about where to place your napkin or about how to politely excuse yourself when getting up to use the washroom while dining, then this blog may be beneficial to you. Although restaurant etiquette has loosened up in the past few years, formal dining conduct still exists today. In fact, it continues to be taught in various etiquette classes all over the world.
Below there is a list of formal dining etiquette and conduct that you probably have unknowingly broken throughout your life.
1. Never lift the menu off the table:
Even if you have an urge to bring the menu closer to your face, keep at least one edge of it touching the table. In formal dining, the menu or at least the bottom of it must always be touching the table.
2. Sipping from a glass:
Once you sip a drink from a glass, it is considered polite and mannerful to always sip from the exact same spot for the rest of the evening. This is done to avoid getting a lip ring on top of the glass from natural oil, chapstick or lipstick. Put the glass in the same spot and position you picked it up from in order to follow this rule.
3. Do not clink the glasses:
The less noise you make in a fine dining restaurant, the better it is. In fact, clinking glasses for cheers could do damage to the delicate glassware.Thus, avoid clinking the glasses, even if it is for the sake of pictures.
4. Oyster fork:
If you order an oyster and do not see an oyster fork on the table, it means that the oyster is loosened and ready to eat. If you find a bit of it stuck to the shell, use a knife to loosen it instead of asking for an oyster fork.
5. Keep the rim of your plate as clean as possible:
The service staff will be the ones to lift the plate with their hands to clear it out. To show respect to them, it is advisable to keep the rim of the plates as clean as possible.
6. Placing the discards:
The upper left part of your plate must be used to keep the discards. If there is an ingredient that you didn not like in the food, you can pick it out and place it on the upper left-hand part of your plate. The bottom right part is for the sauces and butter.
7. Leave the last bite on the plate:
Never finish off the food on your plate. This shows that you liked the food but weren’t so famished as to clean the plate. Finishing off the plate might mean there was not enough food or that you are still hungry.
