Front of the House: Restaurant Manners, Misbehaviors & Secrets

by Jeff Benjamin, Robert Neubecker (Illustrator)

In the bestselling tradition of Restaurant Man and Setting the Table, Front of the House is a revealing and wryly humorous behind-the-scenes look at the gracious art of great restaurant service.
Great restaurant service is a gracious art that’s been studied, practiced and polished by Jeff Benjamin, two-time James Beard Award nominee and managing partner of Philadelphia’s acclaimed Vetri family of restaurants. Sagacious and observant, he beckons us behind the scenes for an insider’s look at reserving a table, what your server thinks of you, what it takes to get ejected from a fine restaurant and a host of other revelations.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published March 10, 2015

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rich are different. Those restaurants that cater for them are different too. They serve them in the same way as in a cheaper restaurant but they want more money for doing so.

I recently went to Le Petit Maison in Miami. It is a very upscale restaurant indeed. The tables do not have flowers but a couple of tomatoes and a lemon as decoration. The cocktails were delicious, the food was good but not outstanding. the service was overly-attentive. This was a first date, he was out to impress, I was out to see if he was interesting and the bloody servers want to fill the water glass, fill the wine glasses, is everything all right, LEAVE US ALONE. I don't know what the bill came to, but my partner, sadly not the billionaire racing car driver I so liked, but a handsome Cuban lawyer who drove a Mustang said he always deletes the service charge and leaves the same tip in cash. He left $75!!! I should give up bookselling and be a waitress, I really should.

So I say to myself, I see why the prices were high - higher quality food, experienced and trained kitchen staff, napery, table settings, rent of the location, but why should the server get so much more money than if it was a cheaper restaurant? They weren't any better, they didn't do anything different, yet they expected 18% or more to take an order and bring food to the table, clear plates away and pour wine and water?

After dinner we went to Sugar a 40th floor garden bar. The views are fabulous, the dj keeps it going, the drinks are delicious, the prices are high, but the bar staff only expect the customary $1 or $2 per drink! What a contrast to the wait staff in Le Petit Maison.

This book tells customers how to behave in an upscale restaurant. How we have to please the servers, what we should do to be good guests. Fuck that, the amount we are paying and you should cater not just to our palettes but our every whim! (I have to admit the stories of the really bad customers are definitely entertaining).

Still it was a well-written book and if I hadn't read a million restaurant books and run a few as either manager or owner, **not upscale** I would have probably enjoyed all the revelations of what it takes to run an upscale restaurant even more.

It took more than a year to write this review, I'm trying to catch up all 'currently reading' before 2020,/i>

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. Well written, quick reading, and highly informative. Provides great insight in to the behind the scenes of one of our top restaurants. Lots of good service lessons that are easily transferable to all aspects of business.

[Devon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm confused about who this book is for. Is it for customers of fine dining restaurants? A lot of the book seems to be speaking directly to customers, but I can't imagine why someone whose only interest in hospitality is eating at restaurants would ever be interested in reading a book about it. If it's geared toward managers of fine dining restaurants, the advice is a little too scattered and vague to be truly helpful. And if it's for front of the house staff? Well, everything here is common sense and looks at things from the customer's perspective, so if you're a server or hostess who doesn't know how to act around customers then maybe this book is for you but it's probably too late at this point.

Probably the most boring and disorganized book that I've read this year, but it did make me want to eat at one of these restaurants so at least that's something!

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a life long restaurant manager there weren't any huge insights here, the best thing I got was about working with customers and co-workers which is to be nice, pure and simple. If you're looking to learn something I think there are better resources.

[JustJams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and interesting. A must read for anyone who wants to start a business.

[Vince Deuschel · Rating 5 out of 5]

After 15 years managing restaurants - it is refreshing to be reminded of why I love doing so - even learned a new trick or two. Going to buy copies for all my managers.

[Brooke Everett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic read. A perfect primer on how to be a good guest and on inner workings of restaurants for those who aren't in the hospitality industry, and a good reminder of best practices and philosophies for those of us who are.

Naturally, my evil little heart loved the stories of guests behaving badly.

"To me, legitimate food blogs are to quality magazines what illegitimate food blogs are to scribbled rants on a bathroom wall." p. 32

"Thought goes into everything we do." p. 55

"I also came to despise raw onions. I meet hundreds of guests each day and have no desire to greet them with onion breath." p. 55
Heard THAT. I've been ordering salads without raw onions forever - no thanks on dragon breath aftermath! The only exception to this rule is tacos, and since the onions are usually soaked first they aren't so intense.

"Like any other human interaction, the more respect you give, the more you will receive." p. 66

"The hospitality business is both blessed and cursed by the fact that most people have eaten at a restaurant many times and have a basic understanding of what works and what doesn't. Not many industries can boast (or lament) such an experienced customer base, and that base of knowledge usually helps service run smoothly. But there is a small subset of restaurant-goers who believe they've earned the right to offer advice to our staff on the spot, and then later to let the rest of the world know what should have been done via Yelp or other online forums. I call this guest the Educator." p. 109

"One of our managers in particular, our beverage director Steve, has a gift for gently handling these situations. He's like the Jerk Whisperer." p. 121

"Threatening a staff member or manager with a bad Yelp review is tantamount to saying, 'I'm gonna tell my mommy on you.' It's childish and unproductive." p. 125

"To paraphrase Seinfeld, anyone can make a reservation, but the important thing is to keep the reservation. Too many people show up for their reservation at whatever time suits them, expect to be seated immediately and then sit for as long as they like, effectively preventing the restaurant from turning their table." p. 166

[Carianne Carleo-Evangelist]

While I'm not familiar with the Vetri brand, this was an interesting look at the hospitality industry via that lens. A mix of common sense knowledge and some interesting behind the scenes like reservation management. Good, quick read

[Kendeigh Worden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect read for anyone curious or serious about the service industry. Everything people don't know about everything 'behind the scenes' in a restaurant.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of interesting, but really more about how to run a restaurant, not gossip about running a restaurant.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview, made me think about how I see a restaurant and the work that occurs there. I appreciated the better understanding I have for the day to day.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book because my friend Nancy Gorshe read it. Nancy and her husband, Chef Michael Lalewicz, own and operate the Depot Restaurant in Seaview, Washington. Michael cooks and Nancy runs the front of the house. At dinner there, Nancy told me that she bought copies of this book for each member of her staff as a Christmas present. It is easy to understand why. Jeff Benjamin recounts his lengthy experience in restaurants: cooking, waiting tables, managing. At the time of this writing, he was the working co-owner of seven restaurants in the Greater Philadelphia Area. He has much to say about customer misbehaviour of many sorts: broken reservations, petty theft, abuse of staff. But overriding all of these examples and observations is a strong sense of what it means to be in an industry that provides not only food and drink but hospitality. His sense of developing staff members is one which translates into any and every other industry. There is much to be learned, things contrary to commonly-held misconceptions, from his insider's look at the art, craft and business of running a restaurant. This was a most enjoyable and edifying read; thank you, Nancy.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Front of the House is a revealing and humorous behind-the-scenes look at the art of great restaurant service. I wish we had restaurants around here like the one described in the book.

As I read I was reminded of my interactions with customers over the years. I met and adored a lot of exciting and inspirational people. I learned a lot. Unfortunately sometimes the work (the research, the travel, the dream and vision of the owner, the service, and the motivation to please), is unappreciated at best, and worse, is misunderstood. Some people just don't get it.

I was confused at times. The writer repeats himself (Had I lost my place?). For whom was this book written? As instructions for customers? As a guide for those in the service industry? As a memoir? Regardless of intended audience, Front of House was an easy, quick and entertaining read.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

So well written and easy to understand without the author being full of himself. Gained a lot of insight into not only what I do day to day as a barista but also what goes into the day to day operations of a restaurant.
Recommend this for folks who are career front-of-housers and those who are curious about what goes on when you reserve a table at a restaurant.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book reads more like a series of rantings and ravings about customers who have wronged the author, and the author’s need to always be right, than an actual “behind the scenes” look at the restaurant industry. The first ⅓ of the book was worth a read, and although I finished the book in its entirety, the last ⅔ were quite a slug to get through.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, this is my brother in law's book but I would still give it 5 stars. Lots of great lessons that can be applied to more than the restaurant business. And some very funny stories. Enjoy!

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful for anyone in a service industry.

[Danielle Merkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend this book if you're in the industry. Vetri Family restaurants are now on my list.

[Yến · Rating 5 out of 5]

i like this book