MRM Research Roundup: Restaurant Etiquette, Online Ordering and Fine Dining Costs

15 Min Read By MRM Staff

This edition of Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine's Research Roundup features news on restaurant etiquette, the cost of fine dining and green restaurants. 

Restaurant Etiquette

When it comes to going out to eat at a restaurant, there are unwritten rules customers and employees typically follow. A new YouGov survey asked 1,000 American adults about 40 restaurant behaviors: 20 by customers and 20 by restaurant management or staff.

For customers:

At least eight in 10 Americans think it’s unacceptable for diners to: refuse to pay for a dish they ate but didn’t like (90  percent), allow their children to roam freely (90  percent), debate menu prices (84  percent), stay past closing time (83  percent), and snap their fingers to get a waiter’s attention (81  percent).

Some of the most divisive behaviors include asking to taste a bottle of wine before purchasing, taking too long to decide what to order, and leaving no tip after receiving bad service.

The Cost of Fine Dining

Chef's Pencil has released a report on global fine dining costs in 2024. Our team analyzed prices for over 3,500 Michelin-starred restaurants in 40+ countries and territories. Key takeaways:

  • The United States ranks 5th worldwide among the most expensive countries to dine out at a Michelin restaurant with the tasting menu priced on average at $227 per person. San Francisco, New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles all count among the 15th most expensive cities for fine dining. 

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  • The global median cost of the priciest tasting menu is $179 USD (€167) per person, excluding drinks, government charges and tips. Additionally, each additional star adds $100 to the price, with one-starred restaurants averaging $165, two-starred at $256, and three-starred at $356.
  • The most expensive countries and territories include Denmark ($314), Hong Kong SAR ($266), Iceland ($248), Singapore ($241), and the United States ($227). Vietnam ($130), Brazil ($131), Malta ($133), China, and Greece offer more affordable dining options.

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  • The priciest cities for fine dining are Copenhagen ($443), Macau ($283), Hong Kong ($266), San Francisco ($263), and Dubai ($259). Conversely, Chengdu, Vancouver, Hangzhou, Sao Paulo, and Taichung are the most affordable.
  • Alpine ski resorts with the highest dining costs include Megève ($314), Courchevel ($304), Baiersbronn ($295), and St. Moritz ($275).
  • Lakeside and beach resorts like Ascona, Miami Beach, Amalfi, and Antibes also feature high dining expense.

 The State of Online Ordering

Paytronix’s 2024 Paytronix Online Ordering Report found that guests transacting directly with a brand order 35 percent more items per check compared to those who order via third-party marketplaces. Online ordering represented 27 percent of all orders for restaurants and convenience stores in 2023, and operators in the top 25 percent of online ordering volume saw online orders jump to 62 percent of all their orders last year.

Additional findings from the Online Ordering Report include:

  • Guests who order both in-store and online have the highest order frequency, the best retention, and 35 percent more lifetime value than customers who only order in-store.
  • First-party ordering platforms are the preferred method for consumers during lunch and dinner, and they also spend 30 percent more per transaction. However late-night orders (any time after 8pm) are nearly one third more likely to be done using third party marketplace apps.
  • Mobile apps generate 34 percent of digital orders, and mobile app users have a 45 percent higher CLV than web users.
  • Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) loyalty members place 38.4 percent of their orders online, while Full-Service Restaurant (FSR) counterparts order online 30.2 percent of the time.
  • Loyalty program members also shine when it comes to frequency, visiting their favorite establishments over 40 percent more often than non-members.

2024 Global Tastemakers

FOOD & WINE announced its 2024 Global Tastemakers awards, a celebration of the best food and drink experiences and destinations in the U.S. and abroad. From the best restaurants and bars to the best cities, hotels, cruises, airports, and airlines for food and drink, the results were curated and ranked by respected food and travel experts from around the globe in collaboration with FOOD & WINE editors. The complete lists and awards methodology are now featured on foodandwine.com/globaltastemakers.

TOP 10 U.S. CITIES FOR FOOD AND DRINKS

  1. New York City                                          
  2.  New Orleans                          
  3.  Chicago                         
  4.  Austin, Texas                                          
  5.  Los Angeles                                           
  6.  Charleston, South Carolina                                          
  7.  Miami                    
  8.  Washington, D.C.                                                 
  9.  Portland, Maine
  10. Honolulu, Hawaii               

TOP 10 INTERNATIONAL CITIES FOR FOOD AND DRINKS

  1. Tokyo, Japan
  2. Istanbul, Turkey
  3. Mexico City, Mexico
  4.  Paris, France
  5.  Lima, Peru
  6.  Rome, Italy
  7.  Singapore
  8.  Copenhagen, Demark
  9.  Osaka, Japan
  10. Madrid, Spain

TOP 20 U.S. RESTAURANTS

1. Anajak Thai in Los Angeles                                   11. Locust in Nashville, Tennessee  

2. Aragosta in Deer Isle, Maine                                 12. Naro in New York City

3. Semma in New York City                                       13. Leah and Louise in Charlotte, North Carolina

4. Birdie's in Austin, Texas                                         14. March in Houston, Texas

5. Kasama in Chicago                                                15. Maty's in Miami

6. Damian in Los Angeles                                          16. Kin in Boise, Idaho

7. Chubby Fish in Charleston, South Carolina           17. Nixta Taqueria in Austin, Texas 

8. Daru in Washington, D.C.                                       18. Mister Jiu's in San Francisco

9. Bell's in Los Alamos, New Mexico                          19. Tatiana in New York City

10. Kann in Portland, Oregon                                     20. Mosquito Supper Club in New Orleans

BEST OVERALL U.S. WINNERS

BEST U.S. RESTAURANT: Anajak Thai, Los Angeles

BEST CITY IN THE U.S. FOR FOOD AND DRINKS: New York City

BEST CITY IN THE U.S. FOR BAKERIES: New York City

BEST HOTEL IN THE U.S. FOR FOOD AND DRINKS: Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee

BEST U.S. HOTEL BAR: Silver Lyan, Washington, D.C.

BEST BAR IN THE U.S.: Superbueno, New York City

BEST OVERALL INTERNATIONAL WINNERS

BEST INTERNATIONAL RESTAURANT: Mérito, Lima, Peru

BEST INTERNATIONAL HOTEL FOR FOOD AND DRINKS: The Lodhi, New Delhi, India                                   
BEST CITY FOR COFFEE: Copenhagen, Denmark       

BEST INTERNATIONAL CITY FOR BAKERIES: Paris

BEST MARKET FOR FOOD AND DRINKS: La Boqueria, Barcelona, Spain

BEST INTERNATIONAL HOTEL BAR: Connaught Bar, London

BEST INTERNATIONAL BAR: Bar Benfiddich, Tokyo

BEST AIRLINE FOR FOOD AND DRINKS: Emirates Airways                                                 

BEST AIRPORT FOR FOOD AND DRINKS: Changi, Singapore

BEST INTERNATIONAL CITY FOR FOOD AND DRINKS: Tokyo

BEST CRUISE LINE FOR FOOD AND DRINKS: Silversea  

The QSR Dining Advantage

In the dining space, QSR restaurants are outshining full-service chains — that’s a main takeaway from a new white paper by foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai, titled The QSR Dining Advantage. The white paper analyzes numerous chains and finds that overall, visits to fast-casual and QSR chains were up 2.1 percent year-over-year during Q1 2024, compared to 0.4 percent for full-service restaurants.Over the past year, Fast-Casual & Quick-Service Restaurant (QSR) chains have thrived, consistently outperforming the Full-Service Dining segment with positive year-over-year (YoY) visit growth every quarter since 2023. In this white paper, we dive into the data for leading dining chains to take a closer look at what’s driving visitors to the QSR segment and what other dining categories can learn from fast-food’s success. 

  • Over the past year, QSR & fast-casual chains have outperformed full-service restaurants, with positive visit growth nearly every month since March 2023. 
  • Continued investment in fast service and the streamlining of drive-thru and mobile order pick-up are driving visits to QSRs, as demonstrated by the increase in short visits at Taco Bell, Chick-Fil-A, and Wendy’s. 
  • Full-service restaurant chains like Applebee’s are driving lunch-rush visits by embracing quick-service formats. 
  • Chicken chains as a whole are gaining visit share in the Fast-Casual & QSR spaces, and high visitation rates at the restaurant level – including at Raising Cane’s and Chick-Fil-A – are another indication of the segment’s triumph. 
  • Holiday promotions – both in the form of limited-time menu items like at Arby’s and experiential events like at White Castle – continue to be a recipe for success in the QSR space. 

Restaurant Burnout

A new study analyzed Glassdoor reviews from more than 500 of the largest companies and found that these industries have the most burnout. The most common burnout keywords in reviews were “stressful” and “long hours,” but companies ranking the highest might surprise you.

Industry key findings:

  • Workers in the restaurants and food service industry complain about burnout most.
  • Employees at Chipotle Mexican Grill complain the most about burnout and the most common burnout keyword found in their reviews is “stressful.”
  • Senior management and work/life balance categories had the worst ratings for Chipotle.
  • Starbucks, Darden Restaurants, and Aramark also experience the most burnout among restaurant and food service workers.
  • Performance Food Group, Sysco, and US Foods experience the most burnout among retail & wholesale workers.

Solid Sales of Cocktails

Cocktails delivered solid sales growth in the US On Premise in the last quarter of 2023, according to exclusive new research from CGA by NIQ.

The Quarterly Sales Tracker, powered by CGA’s BeverageTrak service, delivers an array of insights into cocktails across the US, helping suppliers and operators understand consumers’ latest preferences and respond with winning strategies.  

The Tracker shows a five percent year-on-year increase in the total cocktail value velocity in the last quarter of 2023. Outlets sold an average of 1,192 cocktails in Q4 across 778 tickets, with both numbers rising by six percent. The average price of a cocktail was $13—up by $1 from Q4 2022.  

Nevada retains its status as the most lucrative state for cocktails, with the average outlet selling over twice the number compared to the national average, leading ahead of the District of Columbia, California, and Kansas.

The Margarita remains comfortably the most wanted cocktail in the US, attracting more than a fifth of all sales, while the Martini and Moscow Mule are the next most popular. The fourth quarter also saw the Spritz, Negroni and Espresso Martini gain in popularity, while the Manhattan, Bloody Mary and Lemon Drop lost share. Check data meanwhile shows the Mai Tai commanded the highest average selling price in Q4, just ahead of the Negroni, Espresso Martini and Old Fashioned and Manhattan.  

Consumers continue to shift towards tequila-based and wine-based cocktails, the Tracker indicates. Tequila took a 34.1 percent share of cocktail base sales by value, up by 1.8 percentage points year-on-year—largely at the expense of vodka, which saw share fall by 1.3 percentage points to 28.2 percent. Wine-based cocktails increased their share by 1.2 percentage points to 6.8 percent and are now more valuable than rum-based choices.

Green Restaurant Awards

The 2024 Green Restaurant Awards commend the restaurants and organizations in the restaurant industry which have accomplished a high level of environmental achievement in their respective categories. The Green Restaurant Awards include categories such as: 

  • Greenest Restaurant 
  • Greenest University 
  • Greenest Airport 
  • Greenest Caterer 
  •  Energy Efficiency Award 

GREENEST RESTAURANT 

Certified Green Restaurant® that received the most GreenPoints™ 

MUSE Global Kitchen is a 4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® in Calabasas, California which has implemented 71 environmental steps and earned 579.82 GreenPoints™, the most GreenPoints™ of any Certified Green Restaurant®. MUSE Cafeteria serves 100 percent vegan food and has on-site solar panels that produce 70 percent of their annual energy usage. Along with those extraordinary steps, they compost pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste, purchase organic food products, use reusable and recycled products, and much more. 

GREENEST CATERER 

Certified Green Caterer™ that received the most GreenPoints™ 

4 Star Certified Green Caterer™ Big Delicious Planet (BDP) is the Greenest Caterer in America, earning more GreenPoints™ than any caterer. BDP has earned 452.66 GreenPoints™ by implementing 112 environmental steps since they became a Certified Green Caterer™ in 2013. This caterer offers 25.66 percent vegetarian and an additional 14.16 percent vegan food options. With a geothermal heat pump, a heat recovery system, and windows covered in window film that blocks solar heat, BDP is making significant strides in saving energy.  

GREENEST INDEPENDENT RESTAURANT 

Independent Certified Green Restaurant® that received the most GreenPoints™  

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Kitchen Sync, located in Greenville SC, has implemented 90 environmental steps to earn 439.30 GreenPoints™. This Certified Green Restaurant® is making significant strides in the Energy Category, earning over 215 GreenPoints™ for Energy Star appliances, occupancy sensors, 100 percent LED lights, an on-site renewable solar energy that generates 35 percent of its energy usage, and more. 

GREENEST NYC RESTAURANT 

New York City-based Certified Green Restaurant® with the most GreenPoints™  

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Well& By Durst, located on West 42nd St in NYC, has implemented 118 environmental steps to earn 306.55 GreenPoints™. This Certified Green Restaurant® has 100 percent LED lights, Green-e Energy Certified Green Wind Power that offsets 100 percent of energy usage, and a selection of certified organic food products.. Well& By Durst also composts pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste and recycles grease. 

GREENEST AIRPORT 

Airport with the most Certified Green Restaurants® 

John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, NY has 58 Certified Green Restaurants® located across Terminals 2, 4, 5, and 8. The Certified Green Restaurants® in the airport have collectively taken more than 2,000 environmental steps to earn more than 5,500 GreenPoints™. John F. Kennedy Airport is shrinking their environmental footprint by cutting down electricity usage, decreasing waste, and reducing water usage. 

GREENEST AIRPORT CONTRACTOR 

Airport Contractor with the most Certified Green Restaurants® 

With 104 Certified Green Restaurants® across 12 airports, SSP America is significantly improving its restaurants’ environmental impact by decreasing energy, water, and waste.   

GREENEST UNIVERSITY 

University or College with the most Certified Green Restaurants® 

Harvard University has 19 Certified Green Restaurants® located in Cambridge and Boston, MA. Collectively, these Certified Green Restaurants® have taken more than 1,000 environmental steps to earn over 4,100 GreenPoints™. 

GREENEST UNIVERSITY RESTAURANT 

Dining facility at a college or university with the most GreenPoints™ 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Whitney Dining at University of Connecticut has implemented 109 environmental steps to earn 398.96 GreenPoints™. This Certified Green Restaurant® recycles plastic, glass, aluminum, paper, cardboard, grease, electronics, printer ink/toner, and fluorescent lamps. The dining hall also has back-of-house and front-of-house composting, makes quarterly food bank donations, filters and reuses vegetable oil, uses solid warewashing detergents, and has bulk packaging for 80 percent of condiments and 100 percent of milks and creamers. 

GREENEST K-12 SCHOOL 

K-12 School Cafeteria with the most GreenPoints™ 

MUSE Global Kitchen, also the winner of the 2024 Greenest Restaurant Award, is the greenest K-12 School Cafeteria in North America. This 4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® in Calabasas, California has implemented 71 environmental steps and earned 579.82 GreenPoints™, the most GreenPoints™ of any K-12 Certified Green Restaurant®. 

GREENEST K-12 CONTRACTOR 

K-12 Contractor with the most Certified Green Restaurants® 

Flik Hospitality has 26 Certified Green Restaurants® located across the U.S. in K-12 schools. These Certified Green Restaurants® have collectively taken over 1,020 environmental steps to earn more than 4,190 GreenPoints™. 

GREENEST CHAIN

Restaurant Chain with the most Certified Green Restaurants® 

Arooga’s chain of 13 restaurants across the northeast and Florida are all Certified Green Restaurants®. With an average of 28 environmental steps and 93 GreenPoints™ per restaurant, this chain is making significant sustainability strides. Arooga’s requires each of its new locations to open as a Certified Green Restaurant®. 

GREENEST FOOD CONTRACTOR 

Food Contractor with the most Certified Green Restaurants® 

With 109 Certified Green Restaurants® across the U.S., Compass is the greenest food contractor in North America. Collectively, Compass’s Certified Green Restaurants® have taken over 5,240 environmental steps to earn more than 19,560 GreenPoints™. 

GREENEST CORPORATE CAFETERIA  

Certified Green Restaurant® located in a corporate office that received the most GreenPoints™ 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Hertz Corporate Headquarters Café, located in Estero, FL, has implemented 88 environmental steps to earn 312.49 GreenPoints™. This café is making significant strides in the Energy Category, earning 162.49 GreenPoints™ for generating 20.7 percent of its energy usage with solar panels, Energy-Star appliances, occupancy sensors, over 50 percent LED lights, and more. 

GREENEST ZOO RESTAURANT 

Certified Green Restaurant® located at a zoo that received the most GreenPoints™ 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Base Camp Café at the Cincinnati Zoo has implemented 89 environmental steps to earn 364.20 GreenPoints™. This Certified Green Restaurant® is significantly reducing its energy usage with window film that blocks solar heat, duct sealing, low flow restroom hand sinks, over 94 percent LED lighting, Energy Star appliances, and more. 

REUSABLES & GREEN DISPOSABLES AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ in the Reusables & Disposables Category 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Chauncey’s Choice at Coastal Carolina University earned 128.58 GreenPoints™ in the Reusables & Disposables category. This Certified Green Restaurant® serves all to-go orders in reusables, uses 100 percent reusables for staff meals, and only offers students reusable plates, cutlery, glasses, bowls, and more with no disposable options available. 

ENERGY CONSERVATION & RENEWABLE ENERGY AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ in the Energy Category 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Carvers’ Café at Mt. Rushmore earned 339.66 GreenPoints™ in the Energy category. This Certified Green Restaurant® has an on-site solar array that generates more than 55 percent of its energy use. 

FURNISHING & BUILDING AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ in the Building & Furnishing Category 

3 Star Certified Green Restaurant® 50 Burger, located in Salida CO, earned 67.69 GreenPoints™ in the Building & Furnishing Category. This Certified Green Restaurant® has reused and salvaged chairs, tables, booths, countertops, cabinetry, equipment, tableware, cookware, and more. 

SUSTAINABLE FOOD AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ in the Food Category 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® MUSE Global Kitchen earned 134.69 GreenPoints™ in the Food category. They earned these GreenPoints™ by being 100 percent vegan, purchasing Certified Organic food, and having on-site food production. 

CHEMICAL & POLLUTION REDUCTION AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ in the Chemicals & Pollution Category 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Putnam Dining at UConn earned 60.26 GreenPoints™ in the Chemicals & Pollution category. This Certified Green Restaurant® is located in a brownfield redevelopment building. Putnam Dining at UConn also uses a green certified pest management system, green hand soaps, and green cleaners. 

WASTE REDUCTION AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ in the Waste Category 

4 Star Certified Green Caterer™ Big Delicious Planet (BDP) earned 90.50 GreenPoints™ in the Waste category by recycling plastics, glass, aluminum, paper, cardboard, grease, fluorescent lamps, batteries, and electronics. BDP is also reducing the amount of waste that ends up in a landfill with back and front of house composting, donations of excess food twice a week to a local shelter, and reusable plates, cutlery, glasses, catering platters, and more. 

WATER CONSERVATION AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ in the Water Category 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Outpost Café at Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden earned 44.75 GreenPoints™ in the Water category. This Certified Green Restaurant® has an underground water harvesting system to store rain water, uses high efficiency pre-rinse spray valves, low flow kitchen and restroom hand sinks, Energy Star qualified appliances, low water landscaping, and more.  

SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD AWARD 

Received the most GreenPoints™ for Sustainable Seafood 

4 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Cougar Woods Dining Commons at University of Houston is the first Certified Green Restaurant® to earn the Sustainable Seafood Green Badge for having 100 percent sustainable seafood. 

GREEN MARKETING AWARD 

Certified Green Restaurant® which markets their certification in the most creative and effective way 

3 Star Certified Green Restaurant® Hunter’s Head Tavern at Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, VA has earned 14.5 GreenPoints™ in the Education & Transparency category. With take-out flyers, certification signage, Green Fox Facts, email promos, staff pins, and more, this Certified Green Restaurant® is implementing creative and effective marketing to educate the public and to be transparent about their sustainability. 

GREEN SOCIAL MEDIA AWARD 

Certified Green Restaurant® with the most effective and creative social media about its certification 

Certified Green Caterer™ Tall Guy and a Grill showcases its certification across Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. With regular social posts about its sustainability steps and a sustainability story highlight on Instagram, this Certified Green Caterer™ is promoting its certification in effective and creative ways. 

GREEN EMPLOYEE LEADER 

An employee in the restaurant industry who is a champion of sustainability at their Certified Green Restaurant® and in the restaurant community 

Kyle Phillips, Vice President of Concepts and Development for SSP America, is the winner of the 2024 Green Employee Leader Award.  Kyle was excited to bring the Green Restaurant Association to another SSP America airport after the Green Restaurant Association’s (GRA) work with SSP America at JFK T4.  Following Kyle bringing the idea to his executive team, 10 more airports are now working with the GRA to earn certification.  As a result of Kyle’s dedication, over 140 restaurant locations across these airports have recently earned certification or are currently in the process of earning certification.