Is it ever okay to ask to switch tables in a restaurant?

by Nola James

Jul 30, 2024

Eyeing off that window table or cosy booth? Read this first.

It’s Friday night, and you’re out at a hip new restaurant (if you’ve got kids, imagine that you’ve called in a babysitter). First drinks have just landed; starters are on the way. Life’s a peach … until the group next to you starts shrieking like hyenas or, all too common days, watching TikToks on their phone at full volume.

Can you ask to move? “I think so! I do it myself sometimes, when I am a guest,” says Louise Radman of Hobart wine bar Institut Polaire.

“You want to have the best experience possible and sometimes, you get a certain vibe – maybe it’s for the view, or somewhere more spacious, or for an intimate conversation.” Radman’s reassurance comes with a big caveat, however: if you’re going to ask, do it sooner rather than later.

“There’s quite a bit of backend work in moving a table that people might not realise,” she says, citing a flow-on effect for bookings, dockets and table settings.

“The core of our philosophy is genuine hospitality, and that’s the most important thing to us. But obviously, there are only a set number of tables in the venue.”

Sophie Adams, venue manager for Chin Chin Melbourne, offers similar advice. “Of course it’s okay to ask,” she says. “Go for gold!” But that doesn’t mean that your request will be granted.

“We get requests for quiet tables often, which is basically impossible to accommodate.” Chin Chin has taken bookings since COVID lockdowns lifted, so there’s a high chance that the prized window tables or corner nooks are spoken for. “I get it,” she says of the desire to land the perfect position.

People are dining out less, especially now, with the cost-of-living crisis going on. When they do go out, they want the best of the best. That said, “I would rarely move a guest who has already started their experience. We want to make sure you’re getting the right service, which means sticking with the same waiter,” Adams says.

“[Tracking] allergies and dietaries, that’s important to us, too. So, moving tables can be a little bit of a challenge in that respect. If we can move you, we will, but because of the pace we often encourage the guest to stay put.”

Jessie Crossley’s runs Locavore, a cafe in Lilydale, Victoria. There are five comfy booths running down one side of the small dining room, with stand-alone tables in the centre. Everyone wants a booth, Crossley says, and often when one table vacates, guests who are already seated will ask to move over. “If it’s quiet, it’s at the waiter’s discretion,” she says, “but if it’s busy it’s just too tricky. We need to keep them aside for larger groups.”

Is it okay to ever DM a restaurant on social media. Source: iStock

In that vein, moving tables can go both ways. Crossley recently had a table of four come in just after she’d sat a table of two on a booth. “Thankfully we knew them quite well,” Crossley says of the incumbent guests, whom she relocated.

“But there are times when we just wouldn’t [ask a guest to move] because we don’t want to cause a drama.”

“Sometimes we’ll have a large group walk in without a booking, and we might ask a smaller table to move so we can accommodate them,” Radman says. “That revenue makes a lot of difference to us, as a small venue. We really appreciate it when our guests can be accommodating.”

To show her gratitude, she’ll buy the table a round of drinks.

Whatever the outcome, showing respect for your waiter will go a long way. It might even get you a better table next time. “The sheer volume of people that we seat every service means that of course you’re going have someone throwing little tantrum (and there’s nothing like a good story to tell at the end of the shift),” Adams says.

But it’s not necessarily going to get you what you want. “Someone who is a pleasure to be around is going to get the best experience. You get out what you put in.”