Business Dinner Etiquette: Proper Manners for Dining with Clients

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Dining out can be so revealing of one's character that many companies make it part of their onboarding process before or when they hire you. It shows how well you can maintain a conversation, how will you fit in socially with your boss, your team, and how you can navigate basic etiquette.

No matter where you are, a business lunch or dinner always has a host. If you go out with your superior, your boss chooses the restaurant, as well as the time. If you're just going out with colleagues because you're hungry, there may not be a host necessarily unless, of course, you want to pick their brain then you become the host and you invite them. The same is true vice versa. If someone wants to network with you or understand how you can help them and they approach you, then they become the host. In that case, just go along or answer the questions. If you are the host, on the other hand, do your homework and know who your guest is.

When you pick a restaurant, don't choose anything that's overly loud or crowded because after all, the main goal is to have a conversation. In the same vein, don't choose a restaurant that focuses on sloppy or difficult to eat foods. It is essential to make a reservation because nothing makes you look as unprofessional as having to wait for a table because you didn't take any precautions.

Where exactly should you sit? Obviously, there's a table but especially with bigger parties, there can be large tables and specific hierarchies. It's easiest when you're the guests. Just wait until the host tells you where to sit. In case you're not offered a seat, wait until your host sits and put yourself in a position that allows for easy conversation. In general, the person highest up on the food chain gets the best seat and so forth. So sometimes, just the place where you sit at the table can indicate if you're a big shot or not.

A good host will always introduce new parties to each other. In a business setting, that means you mention their name, as well as their position and what they do. If on top of that, you happen to know more information about those two people, you can share that as well which gives them a common conversation starting point.

Dress appropriately. As a basic rule to a business dinner or lunch, you should wear the same things you wear to the office. Of course, if it's a more formal business dinner in a nice restaurant, you can dress up more but in some cases, it's not advisable to dress better than your boss because he might get offended. On the other hand, if it's an important client meeting, you want to dress up through the usual standard. O

Don't show up ravenous and don't try to eat as much food as you can if someone else pays for you. Of course, hunger can get the best of anyone so if you know you're hungry and you have to talk a lot, maybe eat something in advance.

Greet everyone involved with a handshake and smile. Yes, everyone, not just the boss or higher-ups but everyone from the top all the way down. It's very important that you stand up when you're doing it, otherwise, it just feels and looks sloppy.

Mind your table manners. You don't want to look like a pig and you also don't want other people to end up with your soup on their face.

It's time to order, do so carefully. That means, don't order the most expensive dish on the menu and if you are the guest, you can always follow the lead of your host. Never order more courses than your host because that may look like you're abusing their generosity.

If you go out with colleagues for lunch,

Now, what about the tipping in servers? Tipping can hugely depend on the culture you're in and so it pays to know in advance what to do, when, and where, and what the usual amount of tip is.