Restaurant booths

A booth gives a party a wall to lean on and a corner of the room that is theirs for the evening. The 47 booths here run straight, in an L, and in half and three-quarter circles, with wood frames or upholstered backs. Measure the wall first and count the parties it has to seat.

Start with the wall

Tape the run on the floor before you choose anything. A booth works only when the length of the wall, the aisle in front of it and the table that meets it are settled together, and the aisle wants about 36 inches for service. The eight-piece minimum for tables and chairs does not reach booths, so a single run can be ordered by itself.

Count by party, not by seat. Four guests sit comfortably at a table 36 by 36 inches or a 30 by 48 rectangle, and each guest needs about 24 inches of edge. Work out how many parties of two, four and six the room sees on a busy evening, then match the runs to them.

Confirm dimensions and upholstery before the order goes in. A booth cannot be changed once it is in production.

Shapes and runs

Straight runs live in standard booths and configurable booths. Corners and curves have their own pages: L-shaped, half-circle and three-quarter-circle seating. From the middle of a curved booth, the table is within reach of every guest; from the end of a straight one, it is not.

Of the 47 booths, 40 are standard seat height and 4 are bar height. The bar-height booths sit with bar-height tables, so settle the table before the seat.

Backs, wood and upholstery

Plain backs are listed on 9 booths, and one lists a 12 channel back. Wood frames, upholstered seats and channel backs each have a page, wood booths among them. Upholstery options are listed for 38 of the 47 booths; request swatches and look at them in the evening light your room will have, not the light of the catalog. Check the seam where back meets seat, because it is the line a guest's eye follows along the whole run.

Booths carry a one-year warranty. Prices start around $198 and reach $979.

The table matters as much as the seat. Choose from booth tables, then save the run and the table to a seating plan so the wall, the aisle and the party size are counted together.