Enjoying A Meal Comfortably

By Laurence Civil

Having a meal in a restaurant should be a comfortable experience but various situations can arise that will make us feel uncomfortable and detract from the pleasure. So how to manage the situation?

Even when making a reservation if you have special dietary needs tell the restaurant. If you have an allergy such as to dairy ask if they have soya milk for your coffee, if not check if they have any objections to you bringing your own. When getting to the restaurant by car, check what parking they have available, if not find out where you can park conveniently so as not to arrive flustered.

Once you arrive at the restaurant be in control of the situation, remember "he who pays the piper calls the tune". Do not allow yourself to be bullied by assertive service staff. If you would prefer an alternative table to the one being offered and the restaurant is not full say so.

When you are shown the menu and you do not know or understand certain words used in the description, ask what they mean. They may have a "special menu" and may be trying to push it but be firm as well as order the dishes you plus your party want.

While ordering wine no matter how good the recommended wine is and how well it pairs with your meal what is most important is it should be the wine you like. When the bottle is brought to the table and you feel that it is corked or tainted, tell the waiter and ask to change the bottle.

As soon as the food arrives and it is not hot enough, not the dish you ordered or the meat has not been cooked how you requested, send it back. There is nothing more annoying than to be with a group of friends and everyone has their food except one; if that situation occurs do not let it last too long.

If you are the host no matter how important the waiter thinks you are, insist that your guests are served first and that they are given as much courtesy if not more as is given to you.

Whilst dining in a Chinese restaurant, only chopsticks are on the table and you are not comfortable using them, ask for western style cutlery.

In the unlikely event that the waiter accidentally spills red wine on your clothes, there is no need to make a drama out of a crisis, simply splash the area with club soda and it should lift the stain. The restaurant should at the very least offer to pay for professional dry cleaning without being asked, if they do not insist that they do.

Sometimes a piece of meat can be so tough that we cannot chew it any longer and would like to take it out of our mouth politely. Cover your mouth with your left hand (assuming that you are right handed) and raise a spoon with your right and gently allow the offending item to fall into the spoon. A napkin in the left hand may make it more discreet and could be slid over the spoon as it is lowered to the table.

Finally, when it comes to paying the bill check that you are only paying for what you ordered and that extra items have not been added. If you are not happy with the account bring it to the attention of the restaurant manager plus have him resolve the situation.

If service charge has been applied to the bill as is common practice in Thailand it is in lieu of a tip.

Regardless of the restaurant level you are dining in or how much you are paying, what is most important is that you should walk away feeling that you got value for money for the meal you had.