Luxury is in the Details - 5 commonly overlooked details in restaurant design

Through my "travels" i have ended up branding and marketing luxury restaurants. What has always amazed me is the attention to detail with regard to menu, chef selection, interior design and exterior architecture. Everything is taken into consideration. That is everything EXCEPT the design and marketing.

Design and marketing is usually seen as a necessary evil for all restaurants. When the egos of luxury-minded folks get involved, it's a complete afterthought.

Every detail in a restaurant works in tandem to create an experience. From the moment a potential patron sees or hears your name to the moment they are dining in your location your restaurant's brand is building. Ignoring these details won't necessarily break your business. Paying attention to them and crafting them to properly fit your brand can increase the level of experience and, in turn, the potential for word of mouth.

Here are 5 commonly overlooked details in a restaurant's experience:

1. Staff uniforms.
Black pants and a white button down? Really? After all the thought put into the other aspects, that is all that you could think of? Come on! Get creative. When Vigor, my restaurant branding and marketing firm, developed the brand for Ciabatta in Reading, PA, we pieced together some uniforms so fun, that customers tried to steal them. Chef coats, army hats and other out of the ordinary apparel were used to support the hip, modern vibe.

What about special embroidery of the logo? Unique designs or slogans? Think about other apparel instead of just button down shirts.

2. Menus
Not just the main menu or the win menu, but all menus. Think about the bar. Think about desserts. All menus should be seen as a way to not only sell the cuisine, but support the brand too.

For instance, a woodsy, tavern slash cabin restaurant could use a slab of bark to hold their menus. Pentagram designed a great packet of menus for The Oak Room in New York.

3. Table settings and other elements
What do your table settings look like? Just a table cloth with some nice napkins? Here's another opportunity missed. Think about how the table setting could support the brand. Maybe monograms on the napkins. Fun slogans on coasters could work as well. How about pick up lines on matchbooks?

Take your attention to detail throughout your ENTIRE restaurant experience and you'll ensure people talk more. Every little surprise will boost the experience and increase the potential for word of mouth.

Dig in!

Tags: branding, design, marketing, menu, restaurant, uniform

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Comment by Joseph Szala on April 7, 2009 at 7:15am: Actually, no I'm not. I'll have to check them out.

@Chef Zig: I think the key is to get that healthy balance and it is very difficult to do and it is a bit of a strategy. Turning tables is point number one, but not at the sacrifice of the experience. We're on the same page. :)

Comment by susan holaday on April 7, 2009 at 7:05am: Are you familiar with uniforms from Shannon Reed, a fellow FOHBOHist? They are extraordinary and provide that extra touch high end operations want.

Comment by Carlos Noguera on March 11, 2009 at 8:08am: @pubmaster

Music selection is a great point that I hadn't even considered. There's no reason one should not be able to get a great selection of venue-appropriate music, particularly with the huge variety afforded to us by the Internet.

When the music fits the atmosphere of the venue, your business looks that much more polished, professional, and inviting to patrons.

Comment by Joseph Szala on March 11, 2009 at 5:58am: Great point!
Sound is HUGE and should be selected wisely. I have been in places eating in a relaxed, lounge-like restaurant and the music was fast paced techno. More like a a techno-NO. I was fidgety the entire time and the food didn't go down all that well.

Music is very important for setting the mood and keep people calm while eating. Save the face paced stuff for the dance floor especially during dining times.

Thanks for commenting!

Comment by pubmaster on March 10, 2009 at 3:36pm: I don't know if this fits exactly - I've been in so many places where the music either doesn't fit, or is a total disaster.
I know some of it is design and accoustics. Or a hearing-impaired employee playing with the volume controls. However, how about the selection of music itself? Does it fit with everything else, and create that sensory mood?
Sounds simple, yet it sometimes seems to be an afterthought, or just blamed on Muzak.
For me, anyway, the music contributes to the lasting memory of the experience.

just thinking out loud

Cheers !