Restaurant Menu Planning: Why Family Style is a Win-Win for Large Groups

Restaurant menu planning is a large undertaking for restaurants. Whether you are planning for basic table service or special menu items for private events at your restaurant, there are a lot of considerations. Afterall, your food and bev are the masterpieces of your business, and what you serve gives your guests an experience to remember.

If you’ve ever dined out with a large group, you know the chaos that can ensue. Multiple orders, waiting times, splitting the bill, and ensuring everyone gets their preferred dishes can be a logistical nightmare. But there’s one dining style that’s been saving the day for groups and restaurants alike: Family style. Let’s talk about why opting for family style is a win-win for both restaurants and your guests and how event management platforms like Tripleseat make it an even smoother experience.

The Restaurant’s Perspective on Menu

Efficiency and Experience

• Streamlined Kitchen Operations: One of the primary challenges for a restaurant when serving large groups is coordinating multiple individual orders. With family style, dishes are prepared in bulk, reducing the margin for errors and ensuring dishes come out simultaneously. This means less stress for BOH staff and more consistency in the dishes’ quality.
• Increased Table Turnover: By streamlining service, tables can be cleared more swiftly, allowing restaurants to serve more customers in a shorter time. This is especially crucial during peak hours.
• Cost Efficiency: Bulk preparation often translates to better inventory management and reduced waste. Restaurants can forecast needs more accurately, ensuring they utilize ingredients optimally.
• Enhanced Guest Experience: When guests aren’t waiting for multiple individual dishes, they enjoy their meal more fully. The communal aspect of family-style dining fosters conversations and shared experiences, making large group dining even more memorable.
• Integration with Platforms like Tripleseat: Leveraging platforms like Tripleseat helps restaurants easily manage large group bookings. From direct booking and reservation management with TripleseatDirect to customized menus, Tripleseat ensures that the entire process, from booking to dining to secure, online payments, is seamless.

The Guest’s Perspective on Menu

Variety and Value

• Taste More, Choose Less: One of the best aspects of family-style dining is its variety. Instead of committing to a single dish, guests can sample multiple dishes. This is perfect for the indecisive foodie or someone looking to try something new.
• Shared Experience: There’s a communal aspect to passing dishes around, sharing, and discussing food. It fosters conversation and can make the dining experience more intimate and memorable.
• Cost-effective: Ordering dishes in bulk or as part of a set menu can be more economical than individual dishes. Guests often find that they get better value for their money.
• Efficient Service: No waiting for that one late dish. Everything comes out together, ensuring everyone eats at roughly the same time.
• Easy Direct Booking Process: For guests organizing large gatherings, features that allow your guests to make group reservations like TripleseatDirect make it easy. Not only can they plan group dinners with ease, but they can also view customizable menus, provide preferences, and even make special requests. It’s a hassle-free way to ensure everyone’s needs are met.

Make Large Group Dining Easy with Tripleseat

Family-style dining is not just about large platters of food; it’s about creating a shared experience that brings people closer. For restaurants, it offers an efficient way to manage the chaos that can sometimes come with large groups. It’s a choice that promises a win-win for both you and your guests.

With event management software like Tripleseat at your disposal, managing these groups becomes even more straightforward, ensuring a flawless experience from start to finish. Book a convenient time to learn more.