A proper restaurant floor plan goes a long way towards increasing staff productivity and driving sales. Regardless of their size, every restaurant should have a functional and practical floor plan so that the space is well-designed and welcoming for guests. To help inspire you, here are five small restaurant floor plan examples that’ll definitely leave an impression.
Image Credit: Archdaily
- Auriga
- Capital Central Brewery
- Hikki
- Rhoda
- Nando’s
1. Auriga
The Auriga restaurant is one that utilises its space really well. While it can be tempting to take advantage of a large area and cram in as many tables and seats as possible, this restaurant has taken a different approach.
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As you can see, the restaurant isn’t afraid to limit its number of tables and seats. A common problem in many restaurants is that there isn’t enough room between tables. This can often leave guests irritated as they continuously hit other tables and seats with their chairs or need to squeeze past them repeatedly.
That’s not exactly the most comforting of restaurant experiences.
In Auriga’s floor plan, this shouldn’t be a problem. There’s enough floor space around the tables which is both convenient and aesthetically pleasing. Not only does this allow guests to feel more relaxed in a spacious environment but it’s also an effortless way of shining the limelight on the impressive interior.
Images Credit: Archdaily
The choice of seating isn’t limited either as there are lots of different areas, such as the bar which is given enough floor space in itself. The restaurant even takes advantage of its outdoor space which is equally as spacious. In the floor plans, you’ll also notice that Auriga has done a fantastic job of strategically placing their seating areas.
It’s no secret that customers dread being taken to a seat that’s closest to the restrooms. So, Auriga’s approach involves seating areas not being too close to the bathrooms or the kitchen. Something to think about for your own small restaurant floor plan.
2. Capitan Central Brewery
The Capitan Central Brewery is almost the complete opposite of Auriga yet boasts its own interesting floor plan. Away from the industrial vibe and a unified colour scheme, Capitan Central Brewery’s floor plan looks to be designed for a busier environment.
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Despite having a lot of floor space to play with, this example sees a lot more seating areas to cater to many more guests. While it doesn’t have the same ‘exclusive’ or ‘private’ feel as the previous example, the floor plan remains welcoming and looks perfect for a group of friends to catch up after work.
The best example to show this from the floor plan is the communal seating areas. Rather than keeping the tables smaller and separated, Capitan Central Brewery isn’t afraid to add in much larger tables as the restaurant floor plan looks to be designed for larger groups.
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Images Credit: Archdaily
Another way in which this restaurant utilises its floor space well is giving its statement spiral staircase its own importance. Rather than letting it get lost amongst all of the noise, the seating areas are placed far enough from the bright red staircase so that one of the restaurant’s main features can stand out.
3. Hikki
Hikki is a minimalistic restaurant and the floor plan reflects that perfectly. Although Hikki has a lot of floor space to work with, they’ve stripped back their approach and placed a minimal amount of tables and seating to portray its minimalistic vibe. This reflects the Japanese culture nicely, as the Japanese utilise space well and designs are always uncomplicated.
Although it doesn’t apply to every single guest, there’s no denying that some do prefer sitting nearer to the kitchen so that they can see how the chefs prepare their food. Hikki’s restaurant floor plan sees only a couple of tables near the kitchen area as opposed to overcrowding it.
As seen in previous examples, this restaurant has also avoided the mistake of placing seating areas near the restrooms. Guests don’t want to be forced near the bathroom area, especially in a fine dining setting which can ruin their experience.
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Images Credit: DesignThis
A final takeaway from Hikki’s restaurant floor plan is the strategically placed tables. You’ll notice that despite having so much space in the middle of the restaurant, all of the tables are placed against the walls. This allows the bar area to remain in focus, the main hall remains empty and having fewer tables spaced out suggests exclusivity.
4. Rhoda
What makes Rhoda’s floor plan different from the others is the style of open-kitchen you tend to find in Far East Asian restaurants. You’ll instantly notice the ‘kitchen’ area where the chef prepares food is right in front of the guests. This style of seating again suggests exclusivity as only a handful of guests can sit there at a time.
The floor plan shows that this restaurant is accessible, it’s a more personal environment and makes for a special dining experience. You can somewhat split this small restaurant floor plan into two separate sections as it features both booth seating as well as communal areas.
Images Credit: Architonic
So, you get the more intimate areas as the restaurant becomes more peaceful at night as well as areas for larger groups of people to keep the restaurant buzzing by day. Like some of the other examples, Rhoda’s floor plan also utilises the space well so that tables aren’t placed too close to avoid frustrating guests.
5. Nando’s
While Nando’s is a franchise and the interiors are largely the same, there are still many all over the world that feature different floor plans and styles – making some better than others. Here’s an example of one that stands out for better reasons, from how it utilises the floor space to the placing of the tables.
In typical Nando’s fashion, this floor plan has remained true to the franchise’s habit of placing the smaller tables on the edge of the restaurant and keeping the bigger ones in the middle. By strategically placing the smaller tables closer together by the windows, it gives off the impression to others that it’s busy – so the food must be good and the restaurant should be visited.
Like others, the tables aren’t placed too close to the restrooms which can damage the experience. Plus, the outside space is used nicely. It’s easy to forget about outside spaces but the seating is perfect for those summer months.
Images Credit: GRDG
Another big point to notice from this particular floor plan is the entrance and the tied flooring section. It’s welcoming as the entrance leads you to a space where the path is clear. In some restaurants, you can find that guests are seated and a queue of people can be stood next to them.
This isn’t what they want when they’re trying to eat, while guests that are trying to get to the counter also don’t want to navigate around endless tables. This floor plan makes it visible as to where the waiting area is and where they need to queue so that no guest’s experience is affected.
With so many different options out there, we recommend you take your time to finalise how you’ll utilise your restaurant floor space to boost sales and elevate the guest experience to keep everyone happy. That’s why we’ve created a free template pack so you can see some examples to use for inspiration.
View Some Ready-Made Restaurant Floor Plans
If you’re not sure where to begin with your small restaurant floor plan, we’re giving you access to a library of templates that you can use to inspire you. The pack covers multiple areas of floor plan information, such as their importance, several examples if you’re looking for fresh ideas and much more.
Download the template pack below.
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