What makes a great restaurant? Certainly good food must rank as a major drawing point. Many other factors, however, contribute to a restaurant's success. Take atmosphere as one point, for instance. A look at the ambiance of some of the world's most intriguing restaurants proves an eye-opening experience.
You'll find the Conrad Maldives Restaurant at the Rangali Island Resort in the Indian Ocean southwest of India. This tiny restaurant is actually an aquarium which seats just 14 people. Located 16 feet below sea level, the plexiglass walls present diners a 360-degree view of marine life. The signature cuisine is, of course, seafood, but other entrees are available. Seating consists of small, rectangular tables with a chair at each end.
From down to up, the Redwoods Tree House in Warkworth, New Zealand features eating 32 feet in the air. The bell-shaped dining area perches in a redwood tree and is reached by an raised walkway built of planks from New Zealand's redwood trees. This restaurant books only private events, seating up to 30 guests for a small fee of $3000. Guests dine at rectangular tables.
Surfing the web brought out several restaurants with cave-like atmospheres and some that were located in actual caves. The Grotto in Rayavadee Resort in Krabi, Thailand captures attention as one of the more picturesque. Small, intimate, square tables rest on the sand floor of a sea cave overlooking Phranang Beach and its beautiful, azure waters. The restaurant offers classical Thai dishes, but are renowned for their barbeque.
Nikunotoriko in Tokyo just opened last year. It's décor consists of one floor with cave-like walls and ceiling and a second floor with greenery and tree-like beams. The low lighting makes for romantic and relaxing dining. Tables may be set for formal, Western-style dining or a more Oriental orientation with low rectangular tables and floor-level sitting cushions. Most dishes feature grilled meat.
While the restaurants described above are fanciful and unique, the reality is most people will never eat in one of them. They are mentioned as examples of the range of designs that make up the places people can and do eat. Quirky restaurants aside, designing restaurants involves many factors. No matter how good the food or beautiful the décor, the foundation of any good and enduring restaurant design lies in the basics.
Rectangular tables are popular in many restaurants. Rectangles suggest a group event such as a celebration or a business event. They offer flexible seating of five or more patrons. Pushed together they can make a more formal, banquet style setting. Square tables restrict seating to four or less. They imply camaraderie and equality of those placed around the table. Small squares create intimacy and closeness of diners such as a double date or a small family. With their straight edges, rectangles and squares are easily placed along side walls, bars or within booths, leaving open aisles and clean space. These table tops may often be found in modern décor and in fast food places.
Round tables take up more room that rectangular or square tables. Depending on size they can seat three-plus diners. Round tables suggest equality; think knights of the round table. Round can also mean romance, such as a pair of sweethearts nestled together at a small round table.
Lifting the tablecloth and looking below the table top, you find two choices of support--multiple legs or one center post also known as a "pedestal." The center post offers more flexibility for foot placement than legs. With the industry standard pedestal base, you will often find that chairs can be pushed in straddling the foot of the base allowing more room between tables.