{"id":160050,"date":"2025-11-03T07:15:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T07:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/160050\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T07:15:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T07:15:21","slug":"from-phone-calls-to-licking-the-knife-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/160050\/","title":{"rendered":"from phone calls to licking the knife \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are few greater pleasures in life than dining out. The table is set, the food is cooked by somebody else, filling the dishwasher is somebody else\u2019s problem, and if you choose wisely, the food will be delicious.<\/p>\n

But as anybody who has ever been seated next to a family screening Paw Patrol at full volume can acknowledge, the enjoyment of a meal can be quickly undone by the antics of fellow diners. Dining etiquette isn\u2019t about starched napkins or memorising which fork is which; it\u2019s about creating an environment that everybody can enjoy.<\/p>\n

The Phone Call Offenders <\/p>\n

Over a recent lunch in a perfectly lovely restaurant, the man at the next table decided it was the ideal time for a full-blown video catch-up with his bestie. Phone propped against his water glass, no headphones, and absolutely no sense of shame. <\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t say a word, quietly seething inside (cowardice disguised as politeness), but the meal was ruined, and sadly, I now know far more about his personal life than I ever wished to. Maddening doesn\u2019t begin to cover it. By all means, take your call, but take it outside. The food will wait, and the rest of us will thank you.<\/p>\n

The Tablet Babysitters<\/p>\n

Yes, raising children is hard. Yes, sometimes the iPad is the only thing between peace and pandemonium. But please, if you go down that route, bring some headphones \u2013 Peppa Pig\u2019s nasal commentary is not conducive to an enjoyable meal. I love to see children in restaurants (sometimes), and I am aware that it can be challenging for parents (I\u2019ve been there), but remember, their screen time shouldn\u2019t be the soundtrack to someone else\u2019s dinner date.<\/p>\n

The Finger-Snappers <\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to believe that this is still a thing, but according to British chef Adam Handling, it\u2019s still prevalent. To me, nothing says \u201cI peaked in 1989\u201d quite like snapping your fingers at a server. It\u2019s rude, it\u2019s lazy, and it\u2019s completely tone deaf. Servers are hardworking professionals, not trained spaniels. If you can raise a fork, you can raise a hand. In general, the rule is to always be polite to the staff. I mean, why wouldn\u2019t you?<\/p>\n

The Scent Offenders <\/p>\n

We all have that one friend who gets a little handsy and overzealous with the perfume as they rush out the door to meet you for dinner. Perfume, cologne, and body spray are all lovely in moderation, suffocating in excess. If your fragrance enters the room before you do, it\u2019s too much and can have a distinct impact on other diners\u2019 enjoyment of a meal. As my grandmother used to say, less is (sometimes) more.<\/p>\n

The Prolific Poster<\/p>\n

Guilty as charged \u2013 I mean, I\u2019m not perfect. Sadly, my inner circle now instinctively leans back when the food arrives, trained to give me a clear shot instead of leaning in for conversation, as it should be. Unless it\u2019s your actual job to capture the perfect image, resist the urge to turn dinner into a full-blown photo shoot. A discreet snap is charming, but rearranging the table into a makeshift studio is not. Eat first, post later \u2013 your followers (and your friends) will survive.<\/p>\n

The Great Tipping Debate <\/p>\n

And then there is the bill. If the service has been good and the staff contributed to make your experience a pleasant one, tip. It\u2019s as simple as that.<\/p>\n

The Pass\u00e9<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that the rules of modern dining have changed. In our parents\u2019 day, screens at the table were not a consideration, but using the wrong fork? Mon Dieu! Personally, I have no issue with elbows occasionally resting on the dining table; however, I do draw the line at licking a knife (you know who you are) or using a napkin as a tissue. Waiting for everybody to be served before digging in? In the words of one of my good friends and regular dining companions, \u201cDon\u2019t let good manners ruin good food\u201d. She is a wise woman indeed.<\/p>\n

Corinna Hardgrave, restaurant critic for The Irish Times\"02\/07\/202002\/07\/2020 – MAGAZINE – Byline – H&S – – Corinna Hardgrave, The Irish Times, restaurant columnist. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill \/ The Irish Times Photograph: Dara Mac Donaill \/ The Irish Times <\/p>\n

My husband Steve, my most regular dining partner, knows etiquette is already half out the window. I order for him, we swap plates midway, and if there\u2019s lobster, I tuck my napkin into my shirt and use a finger to lick the plate clean if the sauce is good \u2013 abominable to some, but to me just good eating.<\/p>\n

Phones at the table? Always. Nobody touches a thing until I\u2019ve got the shot \u2013 they\u2019re the rules, I\u2019m working.<\/p>\n

What I won\u2019t play along with are the phoney rules that ruin meals, such as not eating until everybody\u2019s dish has arrived. In theory, civilised. In practice, steak goes cold while somebody else\u2019s souffl\u00e9 still hasn\u2019t risen. Same with elbows. Rather than sit bolt upright with my arms clamped to my sides, I prefer to lean in and enjoy myself.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the seating plan racket. You\u2019re marched past a sea of empty tables and dumped by the loos or the service station. I once asked to move and was told, \u201cThose tables are reserved, for people.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d I said, \u201cwe\u2019re people too.\u201d It took five minutes of awkward pleading, akin to negotiating a hostage release, before they let us sit on a sunny terrace with plenty of room.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s service charge. Since December 2022, Irish law has required that anything called a service charge must go to the staff \u2013 100 per cent of it. Restaurants are required to display their policy clearly. Yet menus still mutter about \u201cdiscretionary\u201d service charge as though it\u2019s compulsory, daring you to look mean-spirited by asking for it to be removed. I\u2019m not saying don\u2019t tip \u2013 please do, and generously \u2013 but I prefer to leave mine in cash.<\/p>\n

Worst of all, truffle oil. It\u2019s just rude to add it to food. By any fair reading of consumer law, it\u2019s a misleading description: there is no truffle in it, yet menus are free to pass it off as though there were. It\u2019s just oil, reeking with industrial flavouring \u2013 2,4-dithiapentane, a sulphur compound related to formaldehyde \u2013 that makes the whole room smell like a service station forecourt after someone\u2019s dropped a mushroom in a puddle of petrol. Dining etiquette should start with one basic law: no more truffle oil, anywhere, ever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are few greater pleasures in life than dining out. The table is set, the food is cooked…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[18,117,64254,2215,19,17,5281,2212],"class_list":{"0":"post-160050","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-food-month","11":"tag-for-you","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-restaurant","15":"tag-weekendreview"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115484539565885229","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}