Arrival
It is recommended that you make reservations a couple days before the
date you will be eating. Provide details to the restaurant about how
many people will be coming, your full name, the time you will be
arriving, and any special requests.
It is also recommended that you make a phone call the day of the meal
to confirm reservations.
Your arrival time at the restaurant should be about 15 minutes early.
This extra time will allow you some slack in case you are late
arriving, but if you are early you'll have time to familiarize yourself
with the layout of the restaurant and put away your
belongings.
If you are very early (on the order of a half hour or more), you might
wait in the bar, but otherwise you should stay close to the lobby area
where others will see you easily. If you do leave the area,
tell the host/hostess where
you will be, and he/she will call you in when the others arrive.
Don't ask to be seated unless you know others are likely to be late.
The person first arriving at a door should hold it for others
following, regardless of gender. The more senior person would be
given any preference or place of honor, but you should always be polite
and aware of the needs of everyone in the party, regardless of rank.
The person who takes your coat should get a tip, but not until you
leave. When you leave, a tip of a dollar or two is standard.
When walking to the table, the waiter or waitress should proceed first,
followed by the women and the men are last. The men should help to seat
the women if the waiter or waitress does not do it.