One of the most overlooked aspects of running a restaurant is that of ambiance. While it’s great to have a killer menu and perfectly trained restaurant staff, the mood that you set for guests can directly inform whether they make a return visit. Arguably of more importance, the proper restaurant vibe will set the tone for how each service goes. A rowdier, more “hip” ambiance can be great for, say, a bar — but nobody wants to go to a fine dining restaurant to sing karaoke or play trivia.
So, how can we set the correct restaurant vibe for your target market?
Understanding Restaurant Ambiance
As mentioned above, your restaurant’s vibe will directly inform how you serve guests. It’s the same as your home — the scene that you set will establish how those who visit interact with it in the moment.
What is Restaurant Ambiance?
Ambiance is a fancy word for a simple idea; it’s the idea of what you present beyond the food, the drinks, and the service. It can be as complicated as weekly restaurant events, such as game nights, or as simple as the background to your guests’ meals — but it heavily informs who will visit you, for how long, and whether or not they’ll return.
Key Elements of Restaurant Ambiance
No matter what type of restaurant you are running, there are a few key things to keep in mind while trying to set the mood. Most of them are likely something that you have already considered, but a few are often missed. Things like lighting, music, decor, and the building’s layout can make a huge difference in how the same building will be interpreted.
Lighting
Lighting is one of the first things that guests will notice about your restaurant, and that makes it incredibly important to establish your own unique restaurant ambiance. Just like date night, a little bit of mood lighting goes a long way, so take a moment to sit down in your lobby and think about how you feel when you do so.
Think about the restaurant vibe that you’re trying to establish. If you want a more relaxed environment, a well-lit lobby can help communicate that you’re cleanly, safe, and easygoing. Conversely, a dimmer, more moody light setup can make the experience more intimate.
Music & Soundscapes
Music is another one of the things that most guests will notice almost instantly. Whether you’re running a bar, fast-casual restaurant, or a fancy fine dining establishment, music is incredibly important. This can range from live performances to the usual Spotify playlist, but make sure you’ve established what type of music you want in your restaurant.
The same building will appear differently and, importantly, attract different people if it’s playing heavy metal than if soft classical music laces the background of conversations.
Decor and Design
On the visual side of things, your restaurant’s decor plays a major part in your restaurant ambiance. People are naturally visual creatures, and that means that what adorns your walls, tables, and even your bathroom stalls will tell people what they’re in for. A collection of mementos, newspaper clippings, and fun table settings can be great for a family-friendly restaurant, but those same things will feel out of place in a nice French or Italian joint.
Understanding this and sticking to a theme will help enforce the vibe that you’re trying to build, and allow you to immediately set the tone for who you are and what your restaurant vibe is supposed to be.
Layout and Seating Arrangements
The manner in which you arrange your seating is crucial for a few reasons. First and foremost, it will directly affect service — one table placed too close to another can mean that servers waste precious seconds while running food, bussers aren’t able to quickly run dishes, and customers may feel cramped. While lighting can help, especially in small restaurants, taking the time to weigh the paths that people will take through your building can go miles toward establishing a specific vibe.
If you want a friendly, communal experience, large tables that can seat multiple parties (or a long bar) can help you lean into that. Conversely, if you’re aiming to create an intimate experience for guests, it may serve you better to place fewer tables. This can allow customers to feel as though they have a bit more privacy and, ultimately, be more at home — which is the name of the game in the hospitality industry.
Sensory Elements
Smell and feel are also crucial to establishing your restaurant ambiance. We all know the feeling of smelling something delicious before you enter the door; it’s intoxicating and leads to excitement. While you can’t just remove the smell of oil from a burger joint, for example, you can take the time to air out the building.
Similarly, the furniture you use can heavily impact the vibe of your restaurant. Barstools are great for a quick seat and chat, but they don’t really foster the desire to stick around. On the flipside of that, a cushy booth can encourage people to stick around far after they’ve finished eating. Consider how much table turnover you want, and think about how you feel when you sit in your lobby. Is it comfortable? Is it too comfortable? Do you feel encouraged to stay, or to get up and move around?
Creating a Personalized Restaurant Vibe
All of the advice above is great for actually setting a restaurant’s vibe, but it doesn’t do much without understanding what that vibe is. Let’s talk about figuring out what your business is, and how to present it best.
Infusing the Restaurant’s Personality & Theme
Every restaurant has a theme of some sort, whether they mean to or not. In different types of bars, you have a variation of sports bars, dive bars, and music bars (among many others), and each has a very different overall feel. In the same way, two Italian restaurants in the same building may have wildly different vibes based on their personality, theme, and general goals.
If you’re a hip joint, show that! Play modern music, make room to mingle or dance, and lean into it. If you want an air of sophistication, dim the lights, turn down the music, and light a candle or two — it really does make a difference.
Using Storytelling to Create a Memorable Dining Experience
This is a surprisingly simple step that can have a major impact on your overall restaurant ambiance. Let customers discover who and what you are by setting yourselves apart with your decor, layout, and music choices. Even something as simple as displaying newspaper clippings, rave reviews, or your first dollar can help guests identify more easily with your business.
Highlighting Unique Features to Set Your Restaurant Apart
On a similar note, lean into who and what makes your restaurant special. Highlight your killer chefs, let bartenders show some flair with drinks, and encourage your employees to be themselves. Something as simple as allowing the cool people that you hired to be at home can show what makes your business so special — the people.
Tips for Enhancing Restaurant Vibes on a Budget
Now, the combination of lighting, seating, decor, and music can get expensive. But it doesn’t have to be — so let’s talk about how to set yourself up for success.
Cost-Effective Ways to Improve Ambiance
The simplest way to affordably set up an improved restaurant vibe is to look at the factors listed above and see what needs to change. If your lighting needs a change-up, look into candles and thrifted lamps. Seating and tables can be sanded down and refinished to breathe new life into them rather than throwing them out and buying all new. And, just like your middle school self, build a playlist, build ten. This can allow you to cut out the risk of sudden mood shifts from a random radio station and ensures you get precisely what you want, when you want.
Methods for Gathering Customer Feedback
Beyond your own goals and desires for your restaurant, the more important thing is that you have to cater to your customers. This means that, sometimes, change is required to keep the people who have supported you so far.
We’ll talk about how to get that feedback below, but the simple truth is that if your customers don’t like the vibe that you want, you have two options: change your restaurant ambiance to appease them or find new customers.
Analyzing Feedback to Make Informed Improvements
There are countless ways to collect feedback from customers. Something as simple as a survey or “how was everything tonight” can allow customers to express what they like, what they don’t, and what surprised them. Then there are reviews.
You know it, I know it, we all know it — customers love to leave feedback (some helpful, some… not so much) in reviews. One critical review shouldn’t cause you to jump to adjust your restaurant vibe, but several might be cause to reexamine your approach.
On a more subtle level, though, there are ways to learn about how your vibe is being received without interacting at all. Look at your daily tips, observe how people interact when they enter and after they sit, and take notes. Are they squinting when they come in? Maybe it’s time to dim the lights a touch. Do tips seem better when specific music is (or isn’t) playing? Adjust your playlists accordingly.
Ultimately, establishing your restaurant’s ambiance will take time, adjustment, and the willingness to change. So pay attention, plan carefully, and be open to altering your vibe to fit your business’s needs.
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