Restaurant Table Layout Planner
Enter the size of your dining area, pick your tables and spacing, and the planner lays them out on a scale floor plan. Mix table sizes, line a wall with a banquette or booths, mark columns and server stations, move the main aisle, then drag, add or remove tables until the plan matches your room. It counts tables and seats, shows the space per seat against industry ranges, and tells you how many accessible seats to plan for. It is a planning estimate: your local codes and your architect set the legal capacity.
How to use the restaurant table layout planner
- Measure only the seating area. Leave out the bar, host stand, kitchen, storage and restrooms. For an L-shaped room, plan each rectangle on its own and add the results.
- Pick your tables. Choose the table you will use most. For the rows next to the walls you can pick a different one: a banquette with 2-tops, a row of booths, or 2-tops by the windows with 4-tops in the middle.
- Set the spacing. 42 inches between table edges is the usual standard for full service. Choose 60 inches where servers need a lane between tables.
- Choose the main aisle: none, along the length or across the room. Drag it on the plan to move it, for example so it runs from the entrance to the kitchen door.
- Mark what is already in the room. Add a column, a server station or a blocked area from the bar above the plan and drag it to where it stands. The automatic layout moves the tables around it.
- Fine-tune by hand. Drag any table. Click or tap it to turn it, change its size, copy it or remove it, and add new tables from the bar above the plan. Tables closer than your spacing turn amber, and tables whose chairs would collide turn red. Undo takes back any step.
Restaurant table spacing guidelines
The planner uses the figures in Oak Street Manufacturing's restaurant seating layout guide, wall clearances from the NKBA planning guidelines and the corner spacing in WebstaurantStore's dining room layout guide:
| Distance | Guideline |
|---|---|
| Table edge to chair back | 18 in (46 cm) |
| Between table edges, standard full service | 42 in (107 cm) |
| Between table edges with a service aisle | 60 to 62 in (152 to 157 cm) |
| Main aisles | 48 to 60 in (122 to 152 cm) clear |
| Table edge to wall, guest seated, no traffic | 32 in (81 cm) |
| Table edge to wall, people walk behind | 44 in (112 cm) |
| Corner to corner, tables set diagonally | 24 to 30 in (61 to 76 cm) |
Booth and banquette dimensions
Booths and banquettes save floor space along a wall, because a bench needs no room to pull out. The planner uses these figures:
| Item | Guideline |
|---|---|
| Booths with a 30 in (76 cm) table | 72 in (183 cm) between the centers of the booth backs |
| Booths with a 24 in (61 cm) table | 66 in (168 cm) between the centers of the booth backs |
| Wall bench (banquette) | 22 in (56 cm) deep, table edge flush with the seat edge |
| Tables along a banquette | About 18 in (46 cm) apart, never under 12 in (30 cm) |
| Server station | About 2 ft deep and 4 to 6 ft wide, with at least 3 ft (91 cm) clear in front |
Sources: WebstaurantStore's guide to restaurant booths, Cornell research by Stephani Robson on banquette spacing as reported by Coke Solutions, the 2011 Cornell Hospitality Quarterly study that found tables less than 12 inches apart inadvisable, and Restaurant Development + Design on server stations.
Square feet per seat by service style
A quick way to judge a layout is the dining area divided by the number of seats. Oak Street's guide gives these ranges per guest:
| Service style | Space per guest |
|---|---|
| Fast casual | 11 to 14 sq ft (1.0 to 1.3 m²) |
| Casual dining | 15 to 18 sq ft (1.4 to 1.7 m²) |
| Fine dining | 18 to 20 sq ft or more (1.7 to 1.9 m² or more) |
| Bar seating | 12 to 15 sq ft (1.1 to 1.4 m²) |
The planner shows where your layout lands, so you can see straight away whether it reads as fast casual or fine dining.
Standard restaurant table sizes
| Table | Size | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Square 2-top | 24 × 24 in (61 × 61 cm) | 2 |
| Rectangular 2-top | 24 × 30 in (61 × 76 cm) | 2 |
| Square 4-top | 36 × 36 in (91 × 91 cm) | 4 |
| Rectangular 4-top | 24 × 48 in (61 × 122 cm) | 4 |
| Rectangular 6-top | 30 × 60 in (76 × 152 cm) | 6 |
| Rectangular 6 to 8-top | 30 × 72 in (76 × 183 cm) | 6 to 8 |
| Rectangular 8 to 10-top | 36 × 96 in (91 × 244 cm) | 8 to 10 |
| Round | 24 in (61 cm) | 2 |
| Round | 36 in (91 cm) | 4 |
| Round | 48 in (122 cm) | 5 to 6 |
| Round | 60 in (152 cm) | 8 |
Sizes and seat counts follow Oak Street's guide; the planner counts 6 at a 30 × 72 in top (three per side) and 8 at a 36 × 96 in top (four per side). Because every Onyx Resin table is made to order, you can also choose in-between sizes, such as a 30 × 60 in top for a roomier 4-top.
Accessible seating
In the United States, at least 5% of the seating at dining surfaces must be accessible (2010 ADA Standards, section 226.1). An accessible seat needs a table top 28 to 34 inches high, knee space at least 27 inches high and 30 inches wide, a 30 × 48 inch clear floor space in front of it, and a route at least 36 inches wide to reach it. The base matters as much as the top: a pedestal or a base set back from the edge keeps the knee space clear. Tell us which tables are your accessible ones and we will plan their bases around it.
Restaurant tables made for your floor plan
Onyx Resin makes restaurant and café tables to order in walnut, olive or poplar with epoxy resin, sized to your plan, including tops for booths and banquettes. Send your layout with the "Quote these tables" button and we will price the whole order together. Before you order, read our guide to resin restaurant tables for what owners and designers should check first.
This planner gives a planning estimate only. It is not an occupancy, fire or building-code calculation. Check your layout with your local authority and your architect or designer.