Sure, the main reason we go to restaurants is to enjoy a good meal, but we often forget how important the non-food elements of a restaurant are in giving us a nice experience. If we really think about it, everything is important; the interior, the atmosphere, or even the background music that is playing.
Let’s dive deeper into why we really go to restaurants:
1. To socialize
Restaurants are places for people coming together. They’re public yet very private rooms in which many people feel more at ease than at home when in certain company.
Except for enjoying the food, many people go out for the social aspect of sharing a meal with a friend or friends without having to be distracted by the process of cooking. Even more, They get to share a leisurely evening with loved ones whom they want to devote their full attention to, with as few interruptions and distractions as possible.
2. To break the routine
As someone who earns their living by sitting in front of a screen pushing bits around all day, preparing and eating food helps me to feel anchored back in the physical world. Eating is also a leveling experience– no matter how base or rarified our pursuits, we all must sustain ourselves with food. Eating out, and seeing others engaged in this fundamentally human activity, fosters a sense of membership in a community larger than the sphere of individual home and family.
3. No time to cook
Some people barely have time for meals, never mind the time it takes to cook and eat a meal, even a meal that would take a good cook only a few minutes to prepare. This is why restaurants are a lifesaver.
Either because of laziness or because we’d rather use our time differently, when we come home tired after a long day at work, putting in the additional time and effort to cook a meal at home doesn’t always appeal. On the other hand, going out to eat means that we can spend that time relaxing with our partner or catching up with friends, in addition to resolving the need for food.
4. As a source of inspiration
Even people who enjoy cooking like to go to restaurants once in a while. The reason is that eating out can be a source of ideas and inspiration for new ingredients, spices, techniques, and presentations to try at home.
5. Tasting different cuisines
Restaurants are varied in their cuisines and delivery. Thai, Indian, Chinese, we can have it all in an hour’s length without having to go shopping to find and buy different spices and special ingredients and still failing to make them.
6. Enjoying the interior
In addition to food and customer service, the restaurant décor is of utmost importance to guests, too. The interior design and décor create a pleasant mood that is pleasing to the eye. Even furniture, table coverings, silverware and glassware, wall décor and floor treatments matter.
7. Enjoying the music
Music is so powerful that it has the potential to change our mood, energize us or relax us. The right background music creates a good customer experience which we enjoy while we eat.
8. Because chefs make dishes you
can’t cook at home
Sometimes we just want a dish we simply cannot make at home, at least, not easily. This includes complex dishes or dishes of ethnic cuisines that we don’t know how to cook. Similarly, It also includes dishes that – even though simple in concept – are very time consuming. A proper bowl of ramen is an example that fits into both these categories
9. To try something creative
When we want to try something creative that we never would have thought to do, restaurants are the go-to place. However, Restaurants are where we can find critically acclaimed chefs who combine ingredients, textures and flavors together in an unexpected and delightful way.
10. For entertaining guests
Restaurants are great for entertaining guests, especially if it’s a big group. However, If you live in a metropolis and are not very wealthy, chances are that your apartment is not sized for fitting, let alone entertaining them decently. A restaurant is, simply, an easier and more pleasant option. Plus it gives everyone the ability to choose a dish they’d like.
11. The feeling of dressing up
and going out
Sometimes, we just want to dress up and go somewhere fancy to enjoy a meal. So, Fine dining restaurants are perfect for this.
All in all, there’s nothing like a home cooked meal. However, restaurants offer a great alternative for a lovely experience and amazing chef-prepared food. Most noteworthy real restaurants offer something that makes them unique that always makes us go back.
About the author:
Dafina Zymeri is passionate about ongoing, self-motivated and self-paced learning. She writes for Kiwi, which is a restaurant LMS that aims to help restaurant owners train their staff in an easier and more effective way. Moreover, they offer online training courses for different Restaurant services.
