Yay! Makan-makan (feasting) activities with the gang, awesome! It’s gonna be a blast!
Dining with a large group of friends/colleagues or family members is terrific. It’ll be filled with joy and laughter. Plus, it’ll make a fantastic occasion for a memorable dining experience… except when it’s not.
Making reservations at a restaurant for yourself or a small group is very different from a large group of let’s say 40 people.
PS: 40 “hangry” (hungry + angry) guests will literally eat you alive – just kidding. Just being dramatic, but there is some truth there.
So, unless you’re already a pro at making reservations for large groups, here are 8 tips to help you be a rockstar (and to prevent you from being eaten alive) when organising your next large gathering.
1. Prep Work
All great gatherings start with meticulous planning. And, you’ll also sound like a pro when you contact the restaurant.
Prepare the following information before you start calling up restaurants. They will ask for the information below:
- The total number of attendees/guests
- Desired date(s)
- Desired time(s)
- Dietary restrictions
- Preferred cuisine
- Do you need a private dining area?
- Budget allocation
- And other relevant information
Pro Tip: Don’t just trust venues who claim they can cater to large groups. Look for some testimonials or do a little digging on social media. Seating capacity versus operation experience handling large groups is a totally different ball game.
Dandy’s contemporary and cosy ambience with ample seating capacity* is perfect for birthday parties, corporate & social events, and weddings.
Dandy have also made it easy-peasy to make your reservations for large groups. WhatsApp us or fill in this form.
2. Choose from Group Menu
Yes, we understand that you’ll want to customise your event down to every detail. But, insisting to order items that are not covered in a restaurant’s group menu could be a disaster in the making.
For seasoned restaurants with lots of experience hosting large groups, they’ll probably decline your requests to customise the group menu too much. Restaurants with the capability to host large groups have spent an incredible amount of time designing the group menu for efficiency.
At Dandy, this means our well-oiled process allows us to serve you scrumptious food without hiccups and your attendees get to enjoy their food at its best and on time. Major win for both of us.
Remember guest getting “hangry” – yeah, let’s avoid that.
3. Don’t Make Everything Revolve Around Dietary Requirements
This doens’t mean we ignore attendees with dietary restrictions. We’re all about inclusiveness, okay… What we mean is to not make it a spotlight.
For example, if 5 attendees are vegetarian, then order 5 sets of vegetarian meals for them. Don’t adjust the entire group menu for the five vegetarian in your list.
Looking to limit your choice revolving around dietary restrictions may upset your other attendees too.
4. Pick Venues With Ample Parking Space
This may seem trivial, but based on our experience hosting large groups, it’s a big deal!
The convenience of getting to a restaurant is going to make the experience a whole lot better. This especially true if your gathering involves the elderly, kids, or people with disabilities.
Lucky for you, all of Dandy’s outlet comes with ample parking so accessibility isn’t going to be an issue.
5. Keep The Restaurant Updated
A surprise doesn’t go well with restaurants. Seriously, it’s not cool. There’s a lot of pre-planning that has to be done ahead of time to ensure we provide you with the best dining experience.
Showing up with 5 extra friends for a reservation for 40 pax is going to disrupt it. We will have to set up tables, reassign staff, and many more to ensure we can slot in the 5 extra pax.
It also means that you’re depriving your attendees their seat and meals on time.
So if there are changes to your plans, keep us informed so we can serve you better, alright?
Alright… Now that we’ve covered the tips for planning, we’ll talk about some tips you can practice during your gathering.
1. Be On Time
Oh boy… this is one thing we’re infamous for – “The Malaysian Timing”. If the invitation says 7pm for dinner, there’s a high chance that 30% will arrive at 7.30pm.
Don’t lahh like this can or not?
If attendees show up at different times, it’s going to impact the flow of your gathering. As a restaurant, we’ll also have to serve our walk-in guests and to prepare their orders.
If you know your group usually runs late, tell them a white lie. Tell them a time that is 20 minutes earlier than the reservation made.
2. Appoint a point-person
What’s a point-person? It’s like a table leader.
So if you have 40 pax gathering, you can appoint more than one. Maybe 4.
It helps with communication and to ensure a smoother experience for your event. Imagine if 10 different people approach the waiter for different things at a different time.
Refilling a glass of water, getting an empty plate, extra sauce, and the list goes on…
The waiters would be so distracted from their primary role that things would start falling off the cracks. That’s when unpleasant things could unfold.
3. Be Patient
Handling a large group can take longer. Because of the volume of things to do, waiters may need more time to deliver every dish to the table.
Kitchen staffs will also need to balance out the preparation time so that food don’t turn cold waiting to be served on the kitchen counter.
Sometimes a little bit of patience can go a long way to ensure positive vibes keeps on flowing.
That’s it!
8 simple tips for a stress free dining with a large group.
And… By the way…
Dining in a large group doesn’t always mean you have to be in a restaurant, right?
We’ve got your bulk orders covered as well. You know… like the VIP factory visits, team building, achievement celebration, etc…
Whether you’re planning an in-house or offsite gathering, Dandy can deliver our wholesome food to you. Your venue, our tasty food.
Visit this link to find out more.