Every business in the food industry competes with others by offering better prices, locations, tastes, and special deals, but very few can succeed from the margin of their interior design. Many people don’t realize this, but the way a restaurant is decorated psychologically affects customers’ behaviour, making them either order more or less and even influencing how long they stay in the restaurant. 

Although it’s a broad subject, here are a few basic ways that restaurant interior designers can affect the customer experience.

5 Crucial Ways to Influence Customer Experience

Most of the time people choose a place based on its ambiance and interior. So, before consumers even try your cuisine, they will form a favorable impression of your restaurant based on the interior design, which is why every owner should consider including appealing and distinctive concepts. 

1. Architectural Layout & Flow of Spaces

Interior design is a big part of a restaurant’s flow of space. The structure, how the seats are set up, and how the traffic flows can either make dining easier or harder. The goal of good interior design is to create an Ergonomics interior where people can relax in comfort while still feeling like they have some privacy. This can also influence one’s disposition and actions. In our design, we improve the restaurant’s flow and establish separate dining areas with strategic placement of booths, open spaces, and dividers.

Each type of seating arrangement, such as communal tables, banquette seats, or benches, can transform a restaurant’s ambiance and efficiency in unique ways. Comfortable soft seating arrangements can encourage groups to relax and prolong their stay. On the other hand, minimal or austere seating can allow for movement and energy, making it better for quick lunches or morning meetings. This wide range of options must be refined in light of the demands of different types of consumers. For instance, taking into account their varying preferences for individual or group activities, and ultimately adding to the venue’s success and profitability.

2. Colour Scheme

Colour schemes can elevate even the most remarkable architectural plans and ideas by quietly influencing how people see a space or by purposefully eliciting particular feelings. The use of colour strategically can change the quality and features of a restaurant. Whether it makes a smaller area feel more expansive or a larger, more industrial-scale setting that seems more intimate, a good colour scheme always works.

Colour is a powerful tool that well-designed restaurants may use to attract customers’ eyes, evoke a response from them, and shape their overall impression of the space. Just make sure the colour scheme doesn’t go against the restaurant’s overall message when it’s still in the planning stages.

3. Welcoming Lighting & Scents

It doesn’t matter how well-executed your interior design is, bad lighting will ruin the mood and finish off the look. The way your restaurant is lit up says a lot about its atmosphere. When dealing with the effects of light, every space type presents its own distinct set of obstacles. Simply said, the location can’t serve as a dining or socializing spot unless the lighting is just correct. If the lighting in restaurants is just right diners will be able to see the menus and their meals without any strain.

Many people don’t know that smell marketing exists. Indeed, it works wonders. Restaurants like Tabule and Mean Bao have an irresistible aroma that draws you immediately when you pass by. Including the appropriate aroma in your restaurant’s interior design layout can boost food sales. Those who pass by will be tempted to stop and smell the cooking if you install a ventilation system or have an open kitchen.

Alternatively, you might choose synthetic fragrances. Scents, like chamomile, lavender, and vanilla are ideal for an upscale restaurant. In a bakery or dessert restaurant, the aroma of freshly baked bread would be perfect. And the invigorating combination of peppermint, cucumber, and citrus is perfect for a bar or restaurant that serves corporate workers.

4. Carefully Chosen Acoustics

Your interior design strategy should also consider acoustics. Music has a significant effect on the customer experience and is essential for establishing the mood. This style is often used in many Toronto restaurant designs. Sometimes, finding the right music volume and the right genre of music for your restaurant can be a tough job. So, it’s best to use acoustic control measures such as acoustic panels or curtains to reduce the loudness of your music and get a cohesive sound system. The ideal musical selection should be according to the tastes of your target audience. We suggest instrumental or classical music for expensive restaurants and a live piano music system for intimate restaurants.

5, Temperature Control

As the seasons change, a greatly built restaurant interior design should have strategies for temperature control. Heating methods like central heating or radiant heaters are necessary to make a warm environment in winter. In the same way, air conditioners are necessary in the summer to beat the heat. As part of our strategy plan, we strategically place windows, shades, and insulation in order to get the most natural light and keep the value of temperature just right. 

While there are many things to consider when choosing a restaurant, 67% of guests put their overall dining experience at the top of their list.

Our Specialty of Perfecting the Back & Front of the Restaurant 

A great restaurant works like a well-oiled machine. The tasty food you see is half part of the story. A designer should focus on both the front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house areas to build a well-designed and holistic interior.  

1. Functional Layout of the Back of the House Area (Kitchen)

   About 60% of a restaurant’s total square footage is usually taken up by the eating area, bathrooms, and waiting area. The kitchen takes up the other 40%. This means you have a ton of room to experiment with the design elements that will make your restaurant unique.  It’s not enough to just work on the Front-of-house. When you hire an experienced interior designer, you can rest assured that they know how the front and back of the house work together and then make strategies accordingly.  

   In recent years, open kitchens have become more common. In these kitchens, customers can watch the chef prepare food, which can be fun. It also changes the way your kitchen is set up in a big way.

2. Pleasant Front of the House (Seating Area)

   Your restaurant’s eating area, and bathrooms are all in the front-of-house area. Your dining area should be welcoming and incorporate a biophilic design so that your visitors may enjoy their food and your company. You’ll need to figure out how much space you want to give each guest based on your highest occupancy. 

   Some general seating guidelines for this concept are: 

• 18 – 20 square feet for fine dining 

• 12 –15 square feet for full service 

• 18–20 square feet for counter service 

• 11–14 square feet for fast food

• 10–11 square feet at least for a banquet. 

• 15–18 square feet for table service in hotels and bars

  There are a lot of different seating ways, like chairs, high-tops, benches, and small tables. Giving your guests a choice of seating will help you host all kinds of parties. It’s important to make sure your guests have enough room so that other tables don’t bother them. There should be enough space between chairs and tables so that guests can get up and leave the table easily and so that servers can move around.

Build Customer Loyalty Through Interior Design:

Paying close attention to the parts of restaurant interior design can be challenging but very rewarding. Like any artistic project, the end result of either building or renovating a restaurant is a result of many careful decisions and the work of many people working together. But only an expert can turn a boring project into a masterpiece. So, it’s your turn to make a place where people want to come back for more.

Sansa Interiors is Toronto’s premier holistic interior design studio. Let’s craft your dream restaurant together!