Take Your Restaurant Ambiance To The Next Levels With These Tips

Diners today don’t just want to dine in at a restaurant but want a fulfilling experience as a  whole. Therefore, a restaurant’s ambiance is just as important as serving them great food; handling kitchen operations, or any other key element of working in a  restaurant. It would help if you offer an excellent ambiance for your customers that would make them come back more. Everything from the lights, furniture, layout, design, interiors, artwork and even the table settings together make a restaurant ambiance. So, let’s break down the elements of your restaurant’s ambiance for better understanding: 

The Five Elements of Restaurant Ambiance: 

1. Light Quality
2. Noise Level 
3. Space and Scale 
4. Touch 
5. Smell 

We shall cover all these elements one by one in this blog article. First, however, let’s understand why creating an ideal ambiance is necessary to boost sales: 

Working On Your Restaurant Ambiance 

The restaurant industry is one of the most competitive industries to penetrate. As a result, new restaurants and cafes are popping up every single day and shutting down even faster. 

Having a perfect restaurant ambiance helps you make more loyal customers. Furthermore, once you have your staff well acquainted with the regular customers, they can always upsell their orders and thus increase your restaurant profits. 

Factors Contributing To Overall Restaurant Ambiance

Your restaurant’s ambiance is subject to several factors. Some of these factors are easily quantified, and the others not so much. For example, elements like restaurant interiors, lights, sound, table setting, and decor come under tangible factors. Whereas, factors like customer service and setting the mood at your restaurant come under intangible factors. 

Let’s gain some insights on each of these factors, to have an ideal ambiance at your restaurant 

Tangible Factors 

1. Restaurant Interiors: Your restaurant interiors include everything from the paint on the wall, to the design on your ceiling, to the floor layout. We suggest you hire an interior designer to have interiors that reflect your restaurant’s concept. Although, in most cases, a fine dining restaurant devotes extensive focus on getting the interiors right, depending on the restaurant theme and concept, as compared to other formats. 
2. Furniture: Get the right chairs and tables, reflecting your restaurant niche. Along with that, you can go for a couple of couches, or different styles of chairs to add a quirky vibe to your restaurant. 
3. Sound: The music at your restaurant is a significant mood setter for your customers. The right set of musical tracks, therefore, can make a simple dining experience extraordinary. Many fine dining restaurants and bars have started getting artists on board to perform live for their customers. 
4. Lighting: Restaurant lighting is another significant factor for setting your restaurant’s ambiance. Depending on the restaurant theme and concept, you can go from a dim, romantic light set up to a bright, classy light setting. 
5. Restaurant Setting: Another factor you need to consider while planning your restaurant ambiance is how your restaurant ambiance and seating arrangement is styled. 
6. Decor: Adding small decorative elements can add more depth to your restaurant and help you attract customers. For example, adding a neon board with a message or some indoor plants that compliment the aesthetics of your restaurant may help you boost sales. 
7. Restaurant Crockery and Table Accessories: Pay extra attention to your tableware as it can elevate the overall experience. Understand which crockery goes best with your brand image and food presentation. 

Intangible Factors 

1. Customer Experience: Studies on consumer behaviour suggest that consumers come back to a particular restaurant for the service they receive there. Thus, providing a stellar customer experience is an inevitable part of your restaurant’s ambiance.
2. The Vibe Of Your Restaurant: Your restaurant’s vibe is something that cannot be measured but only felt by the customers. Ideally, happy staff members set a cheerful vibe at any restaurant. Your restaurant’s vibe is something that your customers will notice the minute they enter your restaurant.

Things To Do About Your Ambiance To Attract More Customers 

Knowing your customers’ tastes and preferences is the first move towards creating an ideal restaurant ambiance. Once you’ve understood what goes into setting up the right ambiance, here are the tips you can use at your restaurant

• Make Your Entrance Insta-Worthy

Unlike the old saying,” Don’t judge a book by its cover,” customers of the restaurant industry judge a restaurant by its entrance. Therefore, it would be best if you kept your main door as attractive and accessible as possible so that your customers are attracted. Cafes like Inside Stories and Diggin have exemplary entrances that customers love getting photographed at. 

• Stick To Your Theme 

The next tip is to always stick to the theme of your restaurant. This is what makes you unique. For instance, if you are opening a castle theme restaurant, you must have everything according to that idea. Your tables, ceiling, interiors, even your crockery should complement the theme. Customers crave such experiences. 

• Consider Adding Natural Lights, Plants, and handmade decor items for the aesthetic feels 

Add more natural light to your place to make the make look brighter. Even if you have a darker theme, you can use natural light in a way that compliments the darkness. 

• Get Artworks 

Bring in more artworks and have walls dedicated to murals to create a beautiful ambiance. You can go for the artworks that complement your theme, but try including more artforms than the usual paintings. 

All in all, your restaurant’s ambiance is a crucial aspect of your business growth. Especially when you’re thinking of expanding, you need to have all your outlets in sync with the same theme.