While Often Overlooked, a Restaurant Host Can Make or Break a Busy Night. Here’s Our Love Letter for This Essential Role in Any Restaurant.
A restaurant host does much more than charm impatient 5-tops suffering from low blood sugar. In fact, they’re often engaged in a game of 3D Chess that spans the entire dining room, bar, and even the kitchen.
While walking around with menus and a smile might look easy to an outsider, very few people have the skills to work the door.
What makes the restaurant host so valuable?
They Present Gracefully Under Pressure
One large party is running late, and the other one is early. The line just misfired a 3-top, and suddenly, the tickets are stacking up. Guests are arriving with their parties incomplete and want to order off the happy hour menu that ended two hours ago.
A skilled restaurant host takes it all in stride, giving wait times, seating strategically, and even getting drinks for the people waiting—all with a calm smile.
They Take Names/Kick Ass
The host is literally taking names. Trying to keep track of a 20-deep waitlist on a busy night is no small task.
Sure, 2-tops are easier to sit, and maybe one can be convinced to sit at the bar, but seating larger parties requires much more foresight. As the night progresses, the chaos builds. Table 10a is getting a bill, and so is Table 5. Slide one table across the room, trade table 8 to a different server for a table to be named later, let the kitchen know they have another big top coming in 15 minutes, transfer the cocktails to the new ticket, and… on to the next set of guests who are trying to write their own name onto the list (that’s why you hide all the pens.)
They Have the Situational Awareness of a New England Patriots Special Teams Player
Ideally, the restaurant’s host knows what’s happening before it has a chance to happen. This can only happen when they are situationally aware of the entire room. Is the server in Section 2 falling behind? Is the bartender suddenly dealing with a large, complicated cocktail order from the now-seated 5-top? Is the Cold Station slammed with salads and not getting those desserts out fast enough? The host knows—and they know where to jump in to make it smoother.
They Have the Patience of a Saint
Since the role of a restaurant host is often (mistakenly) seen as being on the bottom rung, they get it from all sides. The guests want to know why they can’t add 3 people to their reservation and still be seated right away. Servers are falling behind, and they want tables bussed and water-topped. Bartenders are running low on white wine, lemons, and vermouth and need someone to go to the stockroom. The seasoned host can’t do it all, but they know to keep their cool and do what they can with a series of interlocking bad situations.
If you’re ready to take your career to the next level as a restaurant host, look no further than finding your next job on Poached, the nation’s leading hospitality employment site!
