GUIDE TO RESTAURANT BENCH, BANQUETTE & BOOTH SEATING

The terms Bench, booth & banquette seating are used interchangeably in restaurant spaces with a particular style and seating the restaurant space focuses on. Bench and booth seating is a stylish solution for restaurant spaces, cafes, bars, and nightclubs. Whereas Banquettes or fixed seating create space-saving, cosy, intimate seating booths for guests to eat, drink and enjoy their time privately. It is very important to know the various types, styles, and materials for restaurant booths when determining the seating layout for your restaurant. 

Here is a guide on choosing the perfect restaurant seating guide to make your dining space functional and aesthetic.

 

Why Choose Banquette Seating?

When designing a restaurant interior space, it is very important that the furniture is not all on one level. By doing so there is a differentiating factor that makes the restaurant space look more like a dormitory or canteen if all the furniture ends up at the same height. 

Banquette seating allows the introduction of more height-based furniture giving it some elevation in terms of design and aesthetic appeal. 

Banquette seating can also be used to maintain foot traffic through the restaurant space and allow hotel staff to work efficiently without much disruption. Similarly, it can be used to divide a room, for example, separating the restaurant from a bar area or to separate a dining area from the restaurant.

• Upholstery and Materials

Choosing the correct upholstery for banquette seating is particularly important as using plain fabric can sometimes look uninteresting and disrupt the whole aesthetic of the interior design. To add a little volume and texture It’s a good idea to introduce two-toned fabrics, buttoned backs, fluted or piped upholstery to your restaurant interior design. 

Considering the fact that more food and drink is split on banquette seating than loose chairs, many designers opt for faux leather upholstery which can be wiped clean easily.  

We at Table Place Chairs have a variety of options for your restaurant spaces to introduce a more contemporary aesthetic.


• How to structure Banquette Seating

Well-designed banquette seating can often transform some of the most boring spaces in a restaurant into the most popular areas with just a little creativity. Lighting also plays an important role and lux light levels should always be appropriate for this purpose. Large pendant fittings over bar or restaurant banquette seating impact a diner’s choice of seating.  Banquette and bench seating are the perfect solutions to add a classic look to your restaurant, café, club lounge, or any commercial space.

Here are some advantages of Bench and Banquette style seating for restaurants: 


  • Banquettes are a perfect option for crowded dining spaces. 
  • This type of seating stretches across every inch of the spare wall with a u-shape banquette maximising both seating and table space. The buttoned back style dining banquette seating from Table Place Chairs comes with either a wooden plinth base, wooden legs, or metal leg frame, perfect for any hotel lounge and can be made to a specific size.


  • Banquette Seating is Cosy
  • Many restaurants adopt banquette-style seating because it has the flexibility of being used as a booth as well as banquette seating, it is also very comfortable and luxurious. This type of seating gives a personalised experience and one can skip bumping into people passing nearby. The London leather banquette from Table Place Chairs is a go-to when it comes to such seating, with a classic design and a luxurious look it is the go-to seating for high-intensity crowded establishments. Suited for the commercial grade it has a fluted back style and comes with either a wooden plinth base, wooden legs, or a metal leg frame.


  • Banquette seating can add beauty to any establishment.
  • Banquette seating is often unique by feature. It is generally custom-built for space, it often has beautiful detailing and custom features like storage in the benches, bookcases above or below, etc. The features that can be added to custom-built banquette seating will truly make the space increase functionality and increase the efficiency of the space it is placed in. The Paris Banquette Sofa from Table Place Chairs is a perfect example of banquette seating that adds a classic look to any commercial space. A roll-top back style banquette sofa seating that comes with either a wooden plinth base, wooden legs, or metal leg frame. Its high-back feature allows it to turn into a more private space.  The clean lines and deceptively simple design of this banquette sofa befits a sophisticated contemporary interior.


    Why Choose Booth Seating?

    Booth Seating in restaurant spaces is a very popular choice, they offer comfortable seating options, pleasing aesthetics, and an intimate dining experience, making them an appealing addition to dining venues.


    Why are Booths an excellent seating choice in a restaurant dining space?

    • Booth seating creates less traffic and eliminates the need for servers to walk around all four sides of a table.

    • They also provide a more comfortable feel and aesthetic than traditional table seating and offer your customers more privacy.

    • Available in a wide variety of colours, styles, and designs the initial cost of a Booth seating might be higher, but in the long term, booths provide one of the most cost- and space-efficient layouts you can choose for your hospitality dining room.

    Here are 4 quick tips for selecting the perfect restaurant dining booths 


    When choosing booth seating for your restaurant, you should consider the style, the materials, and the shape of the booth.


    1. Match the style of the booth to the overall restaurant aesthetics

    Restaurant booths give a glance at your space and enhance your existing interior decor elements. They range from plain back, button-tufted, fluted, and high back. Each style represents a different theme of interior design. 


    2. Choose the correct material for your restaurant booth

    It is very important to choose the material of the booth in accordance with the design and the type of restaurant it is. In addition to the style, the material of the booth also affects the overall ambience in a restaurant space. Different kinds of materials serve different kinds of purposes and are mainly used to enhance the booth’s visual aesthetics and level of comfort. For example: 


    Upholstery, such as vinyl or fabric, is used to cover the foam padding on both the seat and back of the wood frame of the booth to create a comfortable dining experience. For example, for a family-friendly restaurant, having padded vinyl booths makes it easy to clean stains that are very likely to occur around children.


    3. Consider the Number of Occupants That Can Fit In Each Booth Shape

    Single Booth– One booth bench. It can accommodate up to two people comfortably side by side.

    Double Booth – Up to 4 people with 2 people sitting side by side and 2 more back-to-back.

    ½ Circle Booth – Standard dimensions are 48” x 90” x 48”. Can accommodate 4 people.

    ¾ Circle Booth – Standard dimensions of 48” x 90” x 90” x 48” can seat 6 people.

    Wall Bench – Available in various lengths, this booth is usually paired with restaurant table-and-chair sets allowing for comfortable seating and enough aisle room for servers and patrons.

    L-Shape Booth – Mostly used in corners and allows for optimal use of space.

    Deuce Single Booth – Similar to that of a single booth but measures 30” instead of 48” long. Known as a single-person booth (sits 1 person).

    Deuce Double Booth – Measures 30” long, in contrast to the standard double booth’s 48” length. Allows two people to sit back-to-back.


    4. Know the Booth Components and Their Terminology.

    Top Cap: Strip located on the top of the booth. 

    Head Roll: Added foam cushion for the head for comfortable seating.

    End Cap: Located on the side of the booth.

    Back: Added foam cushion for back support to help keep guests comfortable.

    Crumb Strip: Between back and cushion for easy cleaning.

    Seat: Seating area of the booth.

    Skirting: Located right below the cushion using the same material

    Welt cord: Additional piping for strength and style

    Toe Kick: On the bottom of the booth around the foot area to prevent wear

    Base: The foundation of the restaurant booth


    Conclusion:

    Banquette seating can be transformed into comfortable private booths as well as changed to accommodate groups by bench seating accordingly, thus making this type of seating multifunctional and increasing the efficiency of commercial spaces with large crowds.