Do you have a regularly scheduled family brunch? Meeting for family brunch is a easy way to spend quality time together, in a beautiful setting where you don’t have to do the work of making the meal or cleaning up afterwards. Many public golf courses even offer brunch specials specifically designed for people who enjoy family brunch.
However, there is a right and a wrong way to do family brunch. If you are new to the delightful world of family brunch, stand by for our list of simple etiquette rules:
The Dos and Don’ts of Family Brunch
- Don’t: Overwhelm the host.
There are a few constants in life: Newton’s law of gravity is true no matter where you are in the world. And so is the brunch rush. You are probably going to have to wait to get a table when you go to brunch. And the better the brunch spot, the more likely and longer that you’ll have to wait for a table. That’s part of life.
However, the way you wait for your table matters. After you add your name to the list, don’t ask the host every five seconds how much longer you’ll be waiting, like a child on a road trip. Don’t make demands of the host, such as whether or not you can order a mimosa while you wait, and if there is somewhere for you to sit until a table opens. If the host is busy attending to all of your requests, they’re unable to seat the tables ahead of your, so that eventually they can seat your party.
Instead, add your name to the list, and relax until you are called. If there is a coffee shop within walking distance, try hitting it up for a caffeine fix and to kill some time. - Do: Keep your drink order simple for faster service.
This might come as a surprise, but brunch establishments do not keep as many bartenders on the clock as your local popular bar. If you treat your brunch order as you would an Saturday night order, it can take some time to get it to you. Especially if each of the ten people at your table orders their own unique and complicated drink. Instead, stick to a nice cold brew coffee or a mimosa (orange juice and champagne doesn’t take long to pour together) that the bar tender can get to you pronto.
We’ll throw this in for free: For much quicker service, convince your table to go in on a pitcher together. - Do: Check out the menu for any dietary restrictions, in advance.
These days everyone has some kind of diet limitation. Going gluten free is so popular. Or maybe some of your dining guests are vegan. Dairy-free. On the paleo diet. Strictly eat grass. Whatever your party’s dining restrictions, you don’t want to get through the line and get a table, only to look at the menu and realize that one person is stuck eating the kale used to garnish the plates because nothing fits into their diet.
Before settling on a brunch spot, use that handy smart phone you spend too much time looking at anyways to pull up the menu and make sure there is a good option for everyone. - Don’t: Ask for the bill to be split a hundred ways.
If you have ever been a server or worked in a restaurant in any capacity, you know how tedious it is to split a bill seven ways. This requires a ton of time and brain power for a server who needs to get a drink to that table and food out the the other table and take the order of their other table, all right at this moment. Not to mention, someone is definitely going to get screwed over in the deal (maybe a member of your party who pays for another person’s drink, or the server who gets stiffed on the tip because everyone thinks someone else has it.)
Instead, use the time that you are waiting to grab a table to hit up an ATM and get cash. That way when the server brings the bill, you don’t have to give them seven credit cards and a telephone book-sized list of instructions.
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