Choosing a table mix from breakfast to dinner

Buy tables for the extremes and make the middle by joining. The sizes, the mix, the bases that make joining work, and the tops and chairs that survive three services a day.

One room, three services

A hotel restaurant seats couples at breakfast, singles with laptops at lunch and parties of six at dinner, and the furniture has to flex between them without anyone dragging tables across the floor mid-service. The answer is a deliberate table mix: a small number of table sizes, chosen so that they join and split cleanly, on bases that make joining possible, with tops that survive the abuse of three services a day. This guide covers the sizes, the mix, the bases and tops, and the chairs to go with them; the distances between them are in the spacing and layout guide.

Table sizes by cover

The rule that governs every size is 600 mm of table edge per diner, which gives room for a place setting of roughly 600 × 400 mm plus shared items. From that:

Table height is 720–760 mm with chair seats at 450–480 mm, the same pairing as banquettes; poseur tables at 1050–1100 mm belong in the bar rather than the dining room. Accessible positions need a top no higher than 760–860 mm and 700 mm of clear knee space beneath, which is a base question as much as a height one.^[1][2]

Choosing the mix

The mistake is to buy tables for the average party. Buy them for the extremes and make the middle by joining. A workable mix for a 100-cover hotel restaurant looks something like this: around half the covers on 700 mm squares in banks that join in twos and threes; a quarter on fixed four-tops at 900 square or 1200 × 750 along the banquette; a few 1000 mm rounds for the corner positions where a round table softens the geometry; and one or two long tables or a private dining room for eights and tens. Breakfast runs on the squares split into twos; dinner joins them into fours and sixes and lets the rounds be the destination tables. Keep the number of different sizes to three or four, because every extra size is a base, a top, a linen size and a spare to stock.

Bases that join, and bases that don't

Tables only join cleanly if their bases allow it. A central pedestal is the most stable base for a single table and the worst for joining, because two pedestals side by side leave a foot in the way of the middle diner's knees; it is also the base that fails the accessible knee-clearance test if its foot is wide and high. A four-leg frame joins end to end but puts a leg at every corner. The joiner's base is a twin-pedestal or cantilever under a rectangular top, which keeps the feet inboard of the edge and the knee space clear. Whatever the base, ask for adjustable glides so that the tops meet level on a floor that is never flat, and for a weight that stops the table rocking when someone leans on it. Flip-top or folding bases earn their place in a function room and rarely in a restaurant.

Tops that survive three services a day

A restaurant table top is wiped with sanitiser after every sitting, has hot plates and cold glasses put on it all day, and is knocked by chairs and trays. The surface tests to ask for are the same as for any contract furniture: BS EN 12720 for cold liquids, with BS EN 12721 and 12722 for wet and dry heat, rated on a five-point scale where 5 means no change.^[6] On those tests, high-pressure laminate to BS EN 438 is the practical winner — hard, heat- and stain-resistant, cheap to replace — and modern laminates in timber and stone effects are convincing enough for most mid-market rooms.^[5] Solid timber and veneer look and feel better and can be refinished, but need a contract-grade lacquer to pass the liquid tests and will still ring under a hot plate left too long. Solid surface and quartz suit high-end rooms and are heavy, so the base has to be sized for them. Edge profiles matter more than they look: a square laminate edge chips, a post-formed or ABS-edged one does not, and a thick solid-timber lipping on a veneered top takes the knocks the veneer cannot.

Food hygiene inspection looks at whether the surfaces in food areas can be cleaned, and an open-grained or cracked table top is a finding waiting to happen; specify sealed, non-porous tops and check the finish against the hotel's sanitiser before ordering.^[8]

Chairs to go with them

Dining chairs are the most abused furniture in a hotel: dragged, tilted, stacked and sat on for eight hours a day. Specify them to BS EN 16139, the strength and durability standard for non-domestic seating, at Level 1 for a hotel dining room and Level 2 for a busy all-day or bar-side position; the 2025 edition adds tests for finger traps and backward falls that older certificates do not cover.^[3][4] Seat height 450–480 mm to match the tables; an armchair needs a wider table module (allow 650–700 mm of edge instead of 600) and must fit under the table apron or it will never be pushed in. If the seat or back is upholstered, BS 7176 medium hazard applies exactly as it does to banquettes.^[7] Stacking chairs are useful for the breakfast overflow and the function room; for the main dining room a chair that stacks four high is enough, and one that does not stack at all is often the better chair.

Common mistakes

• Buying for the average party. Forty four-tops and nowhere to seat a couple or a six. Buy squares that join.
• Pedestal bases everywhere. Tables cannot be joined and wheelchair users cannot get their knees under. Twin-pedestal or cantilever on the joiners.
• Too many sizes. Six table sizes means six linen sizes and no spares of anything.
• Domestic-grade tops. Rings and chips within a month; ask for the BS EN 12720–12722 results.
• Armchairs at 600 mm centres. They do not fit; allow 650–700 mm or use side chairs.
• Chairs with no strength certificate. Legs loosen in a year. BS EN 16139, current edition.

Specification checklist

• Three or four table sizes chosen to join and split: 700 squares as the workhorse, fixed four-tops on the banquette, a few 1000 rounds, long tables for eights
• 600 mm of edge per cover (650–700 with armchairs); height 720–760 mm; accessible positions ≤860 with 700 mm knee clearance
• Twin-pedestal or cantilever bases on joining tables; adjustable glides; base weight sized to the top
• Tops tested to BS EN 12720 / 12721 / 12722; HPL to BS EN 438 or contract-lacquered timber; chip-resistant edges; sealed and sanitiser-checked
• Chairs to BS EN 16139 (2025 edition), Level 1 or 2 by position; seat 450–480 mm; upholstered chairs to BS 7176 medium hazard
• Spares: one top and two chairs per size, ordered with the job

Frequently asked questions