What do you look for in a Restaurant?

there is a show on cable TV called............. Diners,  Drive-ins, and Dives.

Watch it and notice what makes these places successful,

This show features very successful small restaurants that have signature meals and don't try to compete with other restaurants.

my advice..... open a restaurant that has the best most unique food in town, and charge more for your food... you're much better off by encouraging all the cheap people and "picky eaters" to go to Denny's.

one thing I learned over the years as a small business owner....The only thing worse than being broke....is working your ass off, and being broke.

here's a link...http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/diners-drive-ins-and-dives.html

Our favorite lament about restaurants: our favorites that had good food at low prices-alway went out of business!

Cleanliness is #1 with me.  If the table/booth is sticky and dirty I can only imagine what it's like behind the scenes.  That said, some of the best restaurants are named "EAT".

For buyin' or eatin'?

Books that can be deciphered if former, people comin' and goin' if the later.

Olive Garden is in my mind the classic you'll eat garlic and you'll like it joint. There is absolutely nothing on the three Olive Garden menus I've checked that doesn't include garlic or onions.

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That one hit close to home!  I'm allergic to garlic and no longer go to Olive Garden because they can't even give me a salad without garlic!  But, to answer the original question, there have been a lot of good answers.  Notice most of them say they want relative quiet, comfortable seating, good service, cleanliness, and good basic food.  So do I.  For people with allergies, you need to serve food that can be modified and still be edible.  I love restaurants that make their own dishes from scratch because the chef can make modifications.  We also prefer table and chairs to booths which are too straight and make my back hurt.

My dad was a restaurant manager and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.  It owns you!  And it's very stressful.  I worked for him at one point because he wanted family on the cash register because theft was a problem.  You REALLY have to love cooking and feeding people to start a restaurant and, even then, it's a dicey business with a huge failure rate.  People don't usually just start a restaurant without having been in the business previously and without having a specialty dish such as the aforementioned ethnic foods.  What is prompting you to consider this business?

ArdraF

Watch Restaurant Impossible if you want to know why NOT to open a restaurant. I figure it's kind of like owning a campground .... sounds good until you start thinking about the hours and the money and the problems involved.

I think the three things that top my list are friendly outgoing wait staff, good flavorful food, and good value. I also tend to like places that aren't loud and some privacy from other patrons.

We happened into a local non-chain restaurant in a small town we were in last weekend where we encountered those exact qualities. The parking lot was loaded with cars. We went in and were promptly seated. After taking a look at the menu, I ordered a senior steak dinner for $7.99. I told myself, this is going to be a mistake. I received a cup of soup, a small salad, and a steak with a baked potato. The food was delicious and the quantity was more than I could finish. As I was paying at the register, the cashier informed us that we hadn't waited long enough to get the desert that came with the senior meal; a slice of home made pie of my choice out of the huge pie case. I couldn't believe they could serve that much food for such a reasonable price.

We were back the next afternoon getting the tri-tip sandwich for lunch... ;D

Ambiance, fine food, pleasant and competent wait staff.

greensleep said:

Ambiance, fine food, pleasant and competent wait staff.

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  The Ritz Hotel Dining room or a Roadside Diner ? I suppose it depends who will be the judge.

Differing strokes for differing folks, folks.

Quality of food.  All else is academic.

We try to keep our food quality expectations realistic and in line with pricing.  We have been pleasantly surprised at both ends of the spectrum, but rarely have we been disappointed by inexpensive restaurants.  As others have mentioned, the small diners in crossroad farm towns off the interstates have been the most satisfying. Chicken-fried steak and cherry pie!  Yum! (Hope my doctor doesn't read this forum).

Regardless of price, my expectation is that the server make me feel like he/she cares that we are there.  As a general rule, our "tip-o-meter"  starts at 20% and can go up or down from there.  My pet peeve is ordering a glass of wine with dinner that doesn't arrive until dinner is half-eaten.  That's a real tip killer.

First impressions count for us.We look for a place that has easy access and looks modern and well cared for. The local mom and pop might have good food but if the building looks neglected we keep going unless we are desperate which seldom happens. OTOH, don't give us a mediocre meal with overblown ambiance and prices to match like a lot of the chains. A simple well prepared meal in a clean comfortable atmosphere keeps us wanting to come back.

Lots of good advice and opinions    ... but when buying  LOCATION is paramount  -
Plan on working 3 to 5 years before profits start to flow... even for a mom and pop operation. Have menus than can be easily changed ( prices and items )
Just my 15 years of experience speaking
Good luck

Helmerb said:

Cleanliness is #1 with me.  If the table/booth is sticky and dirty I can only imagine what it's like behind the scenes.

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Rule #1, If I walk in and the place smells, I walk out.
Rule #2, If I use the Rest room, and it's dirty, I don't eat there...same goes for the dining room.  If they don't care enough about the cleanliness of the dining room, or restroom, they probably don't care enough about the cleanliness of the kitchen...and I'm not eating food that came out of a dirty kitchen.
Rule #3, if there is a bug problem, I won't eat there.
Rule #4, if I'm using the restroom, and I observe a staff member, especially a cook, or waiter, leave the restroom, without washing their hands, I won't eat there.
Rule #5, if I see an employee, who handles food, also handling money, without gloves on, then handle food, without washing their hands, first, I won't eat there.
Last rule, if the hostess, or wait staff, isn't responsive, and service is poor, slow, or the staff has bad attitudes, I won't eat there again.

I had salmonella once, from a restaurant, that had poor food handling practices, and I along with other friends, have got sick, from eating in places, where cleanliness, and/or hygiene were poor.  I go out to eat, for an enjoyable experience.  If I have to worry about what disease I might catch, or I have to chase the waitress down, to get a  drink, because she disappears, and doesn't bring drinks, silverware, etc., and I have to get up from the table, to get salt and pepper or ketchup from another table, because it's quicker than trying to track down the waitress, I won't go back.

Check the reviews on google,etc... if you find one with really excellent reviews... go eat there and see for yourself what is working

the internet has changed the way folks pick restaurants... all the way from find the place to reading about the food and service.

The excellent places make a fine investment/return.

TonyDtorch said:

there is a show on cable TV called............. Diners,  Drive-ins, and Dives.

Watch it and notice what makes these places successful,

This show features very successful small restaurants that have signature meals and don't try to compete with other restaurants.

my advice..... open a restaurant that has the best most unique food in town, and charge more for your food... you're much better off by encouraging all the cheap people and "picky eaters" to go to Denny's.

Click to expand...

Absolutely.  Good, fresh ingredients, interesting food combinations, creative chefs.

It doesn't need to be the cheapest in town, but if I'm paying midrange $$ for a meal, I want tasty food and a decent portion size.

I dislike Perkins chain out west--moderaty expensive food, smaller than average portions, and food that tastes like it came off the Sysco truck.  (Sysco has decent ingredients to be had, but some of their fare tastes identifyingly pedestrian--like their sour cream.)

Minority voice here probably, but I actively look for all-you-can-eat buffets and salad bars. Chinese or Country Cookin' by choice.

Clean bathrooms.  You can tell a lot about an establishment by the cleanliness of their bathrooms.

I agree with rest of posters. First thing I look for is local plates in the parking lot, they know if it's good food at reasonable prices or not. Breakfast/lunch I look for a family diner. Dinner I'm a steak & ribs girl so I look for a good steak house. Decor same as many above I like to see comfortable looking booths with high backs, I want to hear the people I'm with not the the table next to us or loud music. It has to look clean, if I see dirty floor or tables that have crumbs or sticky after it's been cleaned then I worry about the cleanliness of the whole place. I also like to see the kitchen, places that have that open window to kitchen are proud of their cook staff and not afraid of people seeing what is going on behind the scenes. One of my niece's got a job at our favorite steakhouse after few days she told us not to eat there anymore, picked her up from work one night at back door and got a peek at the kitchen & staff and haven't been back there in 8 years. Opening a restaurant I'd supply staff with aprons (launder them yourself) and have enough for them to change them when they get splashed, nothing worse than seeing someone with filthy apron making/serving my food

Clean bathrooms, we had 1 bathroom, it was tiny, with a narrow door. The fixtures were from the original 1960's gas station. Clean, paint and decorate like a beach cottage 1/2 bath and your customers will comment on it.
We actually discussed at length what to do with it, we decided that Mom determined whether they would ever set foot in your place again. Mom has ultimate veto power on these things. Smart dads get this and never argue it. Even if the food is good.

Bill