Glossary

Last seating

What does last seating mean?

Last seating is the latest time a party can be seated, not the time the restaurant closes. A room with a 10 PM last seating serves that table a full meal and might not lock the door until midnight. Publishing it precisely matters in both directions: booking slots must stop at last seating (a 10:15 online slot after a 10:00 last seating is a broken configuration), and guests arriving at 9:55 are owed the same unhurried service as the 7 o'clocks. Kitchens staff and prep to it, and "kitchen closes" usually trails it by the length of one full order. In reservation systems the service period's end time should be defined as the last seating.