Yes to a starter, but be wary of specials: How to order the perfect meal in a restaurant
Don't overplan your meal. A bit of mystery can enhance the experience
For many of us, a restaurant trip is a real treat, so you want to make the most of every mouthful. From starters to small plates, how can you ensure you have the best possible dining experience? Restaurant critics share the insider secrets to ordering well.
“I would normally have a glance at the menu,” says London-based Jimi Famurewa, a restaurant writer for . But a bit of mystery can enhance the experience. “There is something to be said for having an element of surprise, like a bistro or gastro pub where they write the menu every day. If you have a vague idea it is cuisine you like, or you’ve seen dishes online that look appealing, then you’ll be alright.”
“Being able to judge from a menu whether a restaurant is worth your time is tricky,” says Jonathan Nunn, a food writer from London and co-editor of . “Most restaurants, whether they’re a local takeaway or a high-end kitchen, tend towards a template. However, one good sign is spotting something that breaks this template — the use of an unusual ingredient or cut, a regional dish, or something homemade that really doesn’t need to be. It suggests there is someone in the kitchen who is passionate about what they do.”
Don’t feel pressured to decide quickly, says Famurewa. “If you see snacks or bites, order a couple while you peruse,” he says. “It takes the pressure off, calms everyone down, and the people you are with will be impressed by you taking charge.”
“Diners have become more comfortable with cuisines where dishes are meant to be shared, so the skill of ordering for the table is increasingly valuable,” agrees Nunn. “If you don’t have it, find someone who does and let them take the lead. If you let people just order things they like the sound of, the meal will descend into chaos.
“An ideal order for a table should balance meat and fish, and different cooking techniques, along with vegetables and more delicate dishes so the meal is digestible.”
“The top of the menu tends to be where a lot of the great value and creativity is,” says Famurewa. “Starters are the best things at restaurants,” agrees Chitra Ramaswamy, restaurant critic for the Scottish edition of . Perhaps because “when you are at that stage of a meal, you’re so full of anticipation, hunger and excitement that the food tastes its best. Also, chefs often try out things in the starter section, so you tend to get more interesting food. I would never go to a restaurant and not have a starter.”
“I wouldn’t dream of ordering the same thing as the person I’m eating with,” says Ramaswamy. “I am a big believer in swapping plates and trying each other’s food.”
If you don’t know what something on the menu is, don’t get your phone out, says Ramaswamy: “Restaurants are a rare chance to resist our attention being captured by technology. There is a human standing right there whose job it is to find out those things for you. The chances are, they will be thrilled to tell you.”
“You shouldn’t necessarily trust the view of a waiter on what to order in a restaurant,” says Nunn. “There are many reasons that your goals may not align.” Your server could be, “trying to push you towards a safer dish, bamboozling you into ordering an item that the kitchen needs to get rid of, or upselling you something you didn’t want”.
Ramaswamy admits she has made mistakes with this: “I’ve gone to a restaurant where I’ve ordered off the specials, then realised afterwards that the regular menu had been crafted by an executive chef, so it’s really well thought out and coherent. If you’re swept away by the specials, you don’t get that chef’s vision.”
It is “100%” OK to ask a neighbouring diner what they are eating, says Ramaswamy. She recalls going to Macau Kitchen in Edinburgh, where the tables are very close to each other. “That intimacy meant I wanted to know exactly what [others] were eating. They gave us a recommendation, we took their advice and it was absolutely brilliant.”
“We all have restaurants where you always order the same thing,” says Ramaswamy. “That is fine, but there is something to be said for ordering something different from your favourite restaurant.”
“It is classic to fill up not just on bread but get really excited and order loads of starters, then run out of enthusiasm and stomach space as the mains arrive,” says Famurewa. While it can be difficult to undo an order, you can always order more if you need to.
Be prepared to take home any food you don’t eat, says Ramaswamy: “I grew up in an Indian household where we didn’t throw away a single grain of rice. So no matter how fancy the restaurant is, if I don’t finish, I say: ‘Can I take that away?’ The only thing that will stop a person from doing that is embarrassment.”
If you are knocking back the alcohol, “you’re not necessarily going to remember the dishes,” points out Famurewa. Instead, have “a cocktail or aperitif to start, or a mocktail or low/no option, some wine with your main, then maybe a digestif or a coffee.
“Dessert is definitely something to share,” says Adam Platt, the former restaurant critic of magazine and author of . “I like a lemony dessert: the acid cuts through the richness. But I’ll always share it.”
