A restaurant request can cover the dining room, the bar and any patio. Restaurant tables can be ordered as a top and a separate base, so the top size, the base and the height can be matched to each spot on the floor plan.

What a request can include

  • Dining chairs and bar or counter stools, with the seat height the table or bar calls for.
  • Table tops, with the size, shape, material and edge, and table bases, with the height and the footprint.
  • Booths and banquettes, the upholstered bench seating built along a wall, which can be built to measured lengths.
  • Host stands, server stations and waiting area seating.
  • Patio sets, outdoor umbrellas and umbrella bases.

Accessible seating

The 2010 ADA Standards require that where dining surfaces are provided for food or drink, at least 5 percent of the seating spaces and standing spaces at them meet section 902. The U.S. Access Board’s advisory note to section 902 says dining surfaces include bars, tables, lunch counters and booths. Section 902 sets the top of the surface at 28 inches minimum and 34 inches maximum above the floor, with knee and toe clearance below and a clear floor space of 30 by 48 inches in front for a forward approach.

The accessible seats have to be dispersed throughout the space that contains the dining surfaces, under section 226.2. The Justice Department’s guidance on the 2010 Standards explains that the rules count seating and standing spaces, where the 1991 Standards counted fixed dining tables, and says the change lets designers disperse accessible seating and standing spaces through the dining area. Section 206.2.5 requires an accessible route to all dining areas in a restaurant, including raised, sunken and outdoor dining areas, with exceptions for some mezzanines, some alterations and tiered seating in sports facilities.

The standards have no separate rule for a bar higher than 34 inches. Ask the project’s architect or the local building official how the 5 percent rule applies to a bar before ordering stools and bar tables. The guide to accessible tables, counters and benches has the clearance dimensions.

Standards for seating

BIFMA’s standard ANSI/BIFMA X5.4 covers public and lounge seating in indoor spaces, and BIFMA lists restaurant, dining and cafeteria settings in its scope. ANSI/BIFMA X5.1 covers side chairs, stacking chairs and stools, and ANSI/BIFMA X6.4 covers occasional-use seating, also with restaurant and dining settings in its scope. A manufacturer’s test report names the standard and the edition a chair was tested to.

Upholstered seating for indoor use, including upholstered booths and banquettes, has to meet the federal flammability standard in 16 CFR part 1640, which adopts California’s Technical Bulletin 117-2013 smolder test. For upholstery fabric in a busy dining room, the Association for Contract Textiles guideline for high-traffic public spaces is 30,000 double rubs on the Wyzenbeek abrasion test, in which a machine rubs cotton duck, a heavy cotton fabric, back and forth over the fabric, and each pass back and forth counts as one double rub.

Patio furniture

ASTM F1838 sets performance requirements for adult and children’s plastic chairs for outdoor use, with tests for weathering, impact and static load. It replaced ASTM F1561, which ASTM withdrew in 2019, so a specification that still names F1561 should be updated. ASTM F3512 sets procedures for testing and rating the wind safety and durability of market umbrellas, and ASTM says that type of umbrella is used at hotels, restaurants and bars.

What to send with a restaurant request

  • The seat count for each area and a floor plan, with the table sizes and shapes you have in mind.
  • Dining height or bar height for each table, and the seat height of the stools if you know it.
  • The top material and edge, the base style, and the chair frame and seat finish.
  • For the patio, whether furniture stays outside through the winter and whether umbrellas need weighted or in-ground bases.

The checklist for a quote request goes through each detail.