How to Find the Best Restaurant Furniture

Helpful Tips

• When you go shopping for restaurant furniture, it's important that you have an idea of what you want in mind. Although you may have a lot of choices to make, knowing what you want to get while shopping can cut down on time and effort shopping for commercial furniture. Remember, the furniture should match the theme of your restaurant, it's important you get matching furniture to prevent your restaurant from looking off. 
• When shopping for commercial furniture, choose appeal and comfort before style. Although the style is important to have for your restaurant, you don't want to buy tables and chairs your customers won't want to sit on or feel comfortable sitting at. 
• Whatever furniture you buy, make sure that you can maintain it yourself and it can last for years to come. We don't suggest buying at big retailers because their furniture tends to not last as long. 
• Before heading down to the store to look for commercial furniture, make sure you do plenty of research beforehand. Use Google to search the best furniture sellers in your area and what materials your furniture should be composed of to last the longest amount of. You should also research commercial furniture prices to ensure you're getting the best possible deal. 

Restaurant Seating

When looking for what kind of commercial restaurant furniture to buy, it's important to have an idea of what kind of layout you need to buy for. For example, do you need standard tables? Or, do you need bar or bistro tables? It's important to know this because every type of setting requires different types of seating. 

Commercial bar stools typically come with wooden and metal frames but are usually available in a number of finishes to match your restaurant's décor. Bar stools often only have a bottom but can fit outfitted with a back and swivel stand. Something to keep in mind, bar stools that come in metal, vinyl, or wooden, are easier to clean. But, bat stools in mesh or wicker, may fit well with your décor, but are much harder to clean. Fortunately, bat stools and their bases can be bought separately, so you can make a more unique look for your restaurant. 

Restaurant chairs usually come with wooden or metal frames, but also come in plastic, vinyl, and wood, which are easier to clean on a regular basis. If you're a popular restaurant, you should consider buying stackable chairs that are easier to store every night. 

Benches and booths are common for more premium restaurants. Often, this type of seating is upholstered and come in a wide range of fabrics and colors to match your décor. Usually, vinyl is more common because It's more comfortable and easier to clean. 

High chairs and booster chairs are common in family restaurants that serve young children. Booster seats are typically made of wood and plastic, but often only come in one height. However, you should consider buying booster seats that come in a dual-height. Also, some booster seats come with straps to help secure children into the seat more. High chairs, like booster chairs, are made of plastic and wood and almost always have straps to keep children more secure in their seat. Fortunately, high chairs are easily stackable to help with storage space and easy to move. 

Restaurant Tables

Tables for your restaurant can be bought as all-in-one sets or as separate bases and tops. An advantage of buying tables in separate pieces is that, if something becomes damaged, you can replace just the damaged part. This is less expensive than replacing a full table. The tops of the table are available in a few different shapes including round, square, and rectangular. You can find them in a range of sizes and materials like wood, laminate, and more. Bases can be found in pedestal styles with T-shaped, disk, or square bases. These are durable and easy to clean. 

All-in-one tables can be found in many different styles like small bistro tables, tall bar tables, and large dining tables. These tables are available in a wide range of different materials. This includes wood, melamine, aluminum, or glass. There are plenty of options to choose from, so be sure to think about the style of your restaurant when selecting your tables. Some restaurants may also benefit from having a few folding tables on hand. These tables are easy to store and can be taken out when you need to accommodate extra seating. The tops of these tables are made of melamine or molded plastic and the frames and legs are made of steel or aluminum. 

Commercial Patio Furniture

Does your restaurant have an outdoor seating area? If so, you will need to buy a special type of furniture. Outdoor commercial furniture should be extra durable and weather-resistant so it can withstand the conditions outside. Outside tables are made of either laminate, metal, stone, or wood. The tables sometimes have holes in the center to accommodate patio umbrellas, a selling point for customers. 

As far as outdoor seating goes, you have a few different options. Select the one that best fits the aesthetic of your restaurant. Benches can be purchased with or without backs and can be placed around tables or to offer guests a place to wait for tables. They can be made of wood or metal. Outdoor commercial chairs are made of plastic, wood, wicker, or metal. These chairs can usually be folded or stacked, making them easy to store during the off-season. Outdoor bar stools are made of the same materials as outdoor chairs.

What is the difference between a residential chair and a restaurant chair?

A restaurant chair, as it will be subject to heavy and constant use, should have a stronger structure than a chair used for private and residential.

It is possible to reinforce in various way a normal chair for residential use in order to make it suitable for the Ho.Re.Ca. sector.
If the restaurant chair is upholstered the material use should be highly resistant to abrasion (the Martindale test is generally use to test the resistance of any upholstery materials to abrasion).

Fabrics or vinyls that could be considered suitable for contract use should pass at least 80.000 cycles without showing signs of abrasion. Special attention should be pay to the fire regulation. Restaurant are public places often crowded and fire hazards are much higher than in a private home or villa. Fire regulations are different from a country to another; you should always inform your supplier about these requirements so that he can offer you upholstery materials (fabric, vinyl, leather and foam) which complies with your specific local regulation.
Real leather can also be treated so that it could comply with fire and safety regulations; however the use of real leather on restaurant chairs should be carefully considered. Real leather is delicate and it will soon show signs of ageing and abrasion; so unless you are looking to give your restaurant a vintage look you may want to avoid the use of real leather.