Restaurant and Café Tables for Commercial Projects: Tops, Bases and Edges Specified for Use

Restaurant and café tables are bought as sets across many outlets, not as single pieces. A chain order mixes table sizes, top materials, base types and finishes, and the same table can arrive from three different makers: a top from one, a base from another and the fixings from a third. Quotations that look alike can leave out bases, fixings or edge treatments, so the specification has to name every part.

FBM Furniture works with companies only: Developers · General Contractors · Builders · Commercial Project Owners · Interior Design & Construction Companies · FF&E Solution Providers. Send the outlet layouts, table schedule, quantities and the project location, so we can compare the same specification line by line.

Product scope

• Dining, café, bistro and bar-height tables for restaurants, hotel dining rooms and cafés
• Table tops in solid timber, laminate and compact laminate, metal, stone, marble and sintered stone
• Table bases and legs in steel, cast metal, aluminium and timber, fixed or free-standing
• Outdoor and covered terrace tables where the project states the exposure

Seating, booths and fixed joinery come from different production lines. See our pages on restaurant booth seating and banquettes, hotel lobby and lounge seating and public area and restaurant furniture.

What to specify before requesting quotes

Schedule field	What to record
Item code and quantity	One code per table type, with the quantity per outlet, area or phase.
Size and shape	Top length, width or diameter, height, and the shape as drawn, including any corner radius.
Top material	Core material, surface, thickness and edge profile, written for the model quoted, with the finish code and approved sample.
Base and legs	Material, section, number of legs or columns, levelling feet, and how the base joins the top.
Fixing	Free-standing, fixed to the floor or fixed to a wall, and who supplies the fixings.
Use and exposure	Indoor, covered terrace or open terrace, as the project states it, and any wet or heat contact the surface must tolerate.
Finish	The finish code for top, edge and base, with an approved sample for each.
Evidence required	The test report or declaration the project specification asks for, with its edition, for the model offered and the destination named.
Packing	How tops and bases are protected and marked by outlet and item code, and which parts ship separately.

The table is a checklist. Add a line for anything your project needs that is not listed, such as umbrella holes, cable grommets or table numbers.

The top, the edge and the corner

The top is the surface guests and staff touch all day, so its material, edge and corners matter as much as the base. Give the finish code and ask for a sample that shows the surface, the edge profile and a corner on the exact top material. Mark any cut-out on the drawing, and say who supplies the parts that fit into it. Approve the sample in writing, and keep it as the reference for the bulk order.

Stone, marble and sintered tops

State the material by name as the specification writes it, ask how pieces are selected and matched across an outlet, and ask for a sample from the same production, not from a showroom range. Because stone tops are handled and packed differently from bases, ask for the packing method and for the way each package is marked so that damage can be traced. For the specification of marble, sintered stone and laminate tops by material, see our page on table tops: stone, sintered stone and laminate.

Bases, fixings and levelling

A table base carries the top and decides whether the table is stable on the actual floor. Ask the factory to state the base material and section, how the base is fixed to the top, and what levelling the base provides. If tables are fixed to the floor or to a wall, give the fixing detail and say who supplies the fixings, so that the fixing is a purchased part and not an afterthought on site.

Indoor, terrace and outdoor use

Name the exposure in the schedule. A table for a covered terrace and a table for an open terrace may be different products even when they look alike, so quote the finish, the base material and the top for the exposure the project states. Ask each factory what evidence it can provide for the exact model and the use named, and compare the answers before comparing prices.

Name the rules in the specification

The rules that apply to table tops depend on the destination, the building and the materials, including any wood-based panels. Name the requirement in the specification and ask each factory what evidence it can provide for the exact model offered. Our United States, Canada and Australia and New Zealand compliance pages explain how we approach the main rules. For a United States restaurant project, the height of a table top and the space under it are also read against the 2010 ADA Standards; our note on accessible dining surfaces reads sections 226 and 902. Your specifier or certifier decides what applies to your project.

What to request from the factory

• Shop drawings for each item code, with the top, base and fixing confirmed against your layout.
• A description of the top material, the edge and the base, with the sample reference.
• A finished sample of each top, edge and base finish.
• Evidence the specification asks for, issued for the model offered and the destination named.
• A packing and marking description by outlet and item code, and a statement of any proposed substitution for approval before production.

Send the layouts, drawings and quantities together. For the wider range, see our public area and restaurant furniture page and our case studies, including restaurant chain furniture with marble-top tables for the Middle East and metal side tables and wire chairs for a Melbourne commercial project.

FBM Furniture is the furniture-focused team of FBM Sourcing, which manages the entire China procurement package for overseas construction projects. FBM Sourcing’s guide to restaurant table and table base manufacturers covers the supply side, and its guide to natural stone, marble and granite slab manufacturers covers stone tops.

Frequently asked questions

What should a restaurant table specification include?

Give the floor plan with item codes and quantities, the top size, shape, thickness and material, the edge profile, the base type and its fixing method, the finish with an approved sample, whether the table is for indoor or covered outdoor use, and how the units are packed. Add the evidence the project requires, with its edition, for the model offered and the destination named.

Are table tops and bases quoted by the same factory?

Often not. Stone and sintered tops, metal bases and timber tops can each come from a different maker, and the interface between them is yours unless one factory quotes the complete table. Ask for one drawing that shows top, base and fixing together, and ask each maker to confirm the connection.

Why do table edges and corners matter on a restaurant order?

The edge is the part guests and staff touch. State the edge profile and corner radius on the drawing, ask for a sample that shows the edge on the exact top material, and approve it in writing before bulk production.

How are stone and marble tops handled differently?

Approve a sample and state how stone pieces are selected and matched. Ask how tops are packed and protected, whether they ship separately from bases, and what the factory records on delivery documents so that damage can be traced to a package.

How does FBM Furniture charge for restaurant tables?

For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. Our own team performs one inspection after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and your team is welcome to attend.