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Is it better to order dinner one course at a time or everything at once? —Sherri B., St. Louis
One might assume the answer is “it shouldn’t matter,” but it does because there’s a lot that goes on behind the proverbial double doors that the customer neither sees nor knows about. The general consensus in the industry is that the customer should tell the server how the meal is to be paced (leisurely, fast, really fast, etc.) and let the server pace the meal accordingly. Only the server knows how the kitchen is running that night, the complexity of the order, and whether a private room's order is getting ready to be worked, for example. Customers who order course by course (necessitating what's called an "order/fire" in the trade) inevitably wait longer. And owners go ballistic when customers "take the wheel," then two-star the restaurant on social media, saying, "The kitchen was slow."
SLM reached out to several restaurant owners for their impressions:
Niche Food Group owner Gerard Craft: “Guests should order everything at once, assuming it’s not a tapas-style restaurant, where items are served as they are prepared. The reason is that if you want a roasted chicken or a large steak, they take a lot of time to prepare and rest properly, so the cooking process usually starts when the appetizers are ordered.”
Restaurateur Zoe Robinson, owner of I Fratellini, Bar les Freres, and Billie-Jean: “My husband orders one course at a time and then wonders why things take so long! To each his own, but, of course, if you order all at once, the server can control the pace. If you order one course at a time, your order falls into the kitchen at a time the server can no longer control, like behind a 10-top or five other tables' orders. So, if you want to take your time and do one at a time, great! Just be understanding.”
Charlie Gitto's owner Charlie Gitto, Jr.: “When I dine out, I prefer the server be in control of timing. He/she is the person who takes the pulse of the table and knows when to pour more wine, when to bring the next course, etc. Let them do their job. In this regard, they know far more than the customer does.” (It's a sentiment echoed by Robinson: “People underestimate how intuitive and quick-thinking servers have to be. They’re adjusting and problem-solving every minute.”)
If you have a question for George, email him at gmahe@stlmag.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @stlmag_dining. For more from SLM, subscribe or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
