Different Places to Stay, Within the Same Restaurant.

Counters, tables and booths: what kinds of seats does our restaurant need?

When thinking about restaurant seating, the first question is often how many people can fit. Yet even within the same restaurant, the scenes seen from a seat facing the cooks, a place by the window and a seat enclosed by walls are different.

Photographs of Jangjeongjeong’s counter, window seats and booths let us look at where guests face and who sits opposite them. This story is not about the kitchen’s position or the forge concept, but about the different places to stay within that space.

ATELIER SOW · Branding · Interior Design · Construction

A window-side booth at Jangjeongjeong with opposing benches and a side partition beside large street-facing glazing — A window-side booth at Jangjeongjeong. A surface open to the street and surfaces enclosing the interior can be seen together at the same seat.

A Seat That Faces the Cooking Up Close.

From Jangjeongjeong’s counter seats, guests face the cooks and the preparation of food directly. The worktop forms a boundary between people working and guests sitting, with a row of chairs facing the kitchen.

It is a different scene from dining across a table and looking at one another. Planning a counter also means considering which tasks should be visible, where dishes and glasses will sit, and where staff will serve and clear them.

It is a relationship between guests and operators that cannot be defined by the counter’s length or the number of chairs alone.

Cooks preparing food across the counter from guests facing the kitchen at Jangjeongjeong — Counter seats facing the kitchen: a scene that invites consideration of what guests see and how service will work.

Beyond the People at the Table, the Street Comes into View.

A long bench and tables line the windows, with chairs opposite. The street is visible through the large glazing, while lights suspended over the tables mark the places to sit.

Having a window does not make every seat the same. A seat’s orientation changes depending on whether the window is behind it or beside it, and how the seat appears from the entrance route.

When reviewing window seating, we consider daylight at different times, views through the glass and room to pull out a chair and pass, alongside the view outdoors. Jangjeongjeong’s photographs offer a starting point for reading these relationships.

A long bench, tables and opposite chairs beside large windows, with slender pendant lights at Jangjeongjeong — A long window bench and chairs opposite. Table orientation and the surface opening towards the street shape the character of the seating together.

Partitions Shape the Direction a Seat Faces.

The booths contain tables and benches facing one another. Vertical surfaces between the tables separate views of neighbouring seats, while suspended lights illuminate each tabletop.

As the window-side booth shows, window seats and booths are not entirely separate categories. One place can sit beside a window while being enclosed on its sides. That is why we look beyond the name of a chair to the relationship between windows, walls and lighting around a seat.

When planning booths, we review the number of people sitting together, how they enter and leave, and which side staff need to reach for serving and clearing. A partition alone does not establish sound isolation or complete privacy.

Jangjeongjeong booths with partitions between tables, opposing benches and slender lights suspended over the tabletops — Opposing benches and surfaces that separate views of neighbouring seats. The photograph shows seating divisions, not acoustic performance.

Different Seats, Within One Way of Operating.

At Jangjeongjeong, counter seats facing the cooking sit alongside tables, window seats and places defined by booths. Within the same atmosphere of materials and light, the directions guests face and the ways their surroundings are enclosed differ.

There is no need to copy this seating arrangement into a new restaurant. The seats required must be reconsidered according to the menu, service method, usual party sizes and the actual entrances, columns and building services.

Considering the number of seats alongside the kinds of places people want to stay: a seating layout suited to your restaurant begins with that conversation.

Jangjeongjeong’s open kitchen, turning counter, seated guests and surrounding tables seen together — Places to work and places to stay within one dining room. The relationships visible in the photograph are a starting point; the conditions of a new project need their own review.

BEFORE A CONVERSATION

Alongside Floor Area and Seat Count, Tell Us These Three Things.

Not everything needs to be decided. Start with the conditions you know, and we can identify the seating and operating arrangements to review together. These are questions for a new project conversation, not measured results for Jangjeongjeong’s seat count, aisle dimensions or operating performance.

How Will Guests Spend Time?

Whether people come alone or in groups, the dining and service you will offer, the counter, table or booth seats you have in mind, and your desired seat count.

How Will Food and Glasses Move?

We consider how staff take orders and serve food, how used dishes and glasses are cleared, staffing and the equipment required.

What Is the Current Space Like?

Share plans or photographs, entrances, windows, columns and confirmed service locations, together with your intended schedule and budget range. Unknown conditions become items for site verification.

ANOTHER SIDE OF THIS PROJECT

Continue reading

The kitchen came before the dining room.From the sparks of a hammer to the light of a dining room