Restaurant tables and table sets

Tables decide how many covers a room can hold, so they come before the chairs in any plan we draw. This page gathers 88 complete tables and sets, from bar-height high-tops to long communal tables and folding tables for event rooms. Count the parties you seat on a busy weekend, then match sizes and shapes to them.

Size the table to the party

Most houses seat more twos and fours than anything else, and the sizes follow from that. Two guests need a top of 24 by 24 inches at the least, 24 by 30 for comfort, and 30 by 30 if plates and glasses crowd in. Four guests can manage at 30 by 30, though they'll be happier at 36 square or at a rectangle measuring 30 by 48. Round tables of 42 to 48 inches hold four to six; give a party of eight a 60-inch round.

Square tops lead the page, listed on 72 tables, with rectangles on 56 and rounds on 37. Several models come in more than one shape, so a dining room can mix squares for twos with rounds for larger parties and still match.

The five kinds on this page

Complete table sets pair a top and a base, which saves a matching step and suits a new room furnished in one order. Bar-height restaurant tables stand beside the bar or along a window rail. Communal tables seat a taproom or a brunch crowd shoulder to shoulder. Folding tables earn their place in a hall that turns from lunch service to a wedding by evening.

Tops vary as much as shapes. Solid wood is listed on 20 tables, aluminum on 18, synthetic teak on 15, with resin and steel on nine each. Under them, steel bases lead with 31, then cast iron with 22 and aluminum with 16.

Inside, outside, and the parts on their own

Indoor use is listed on 73 tables and patio use on 55; many carry both. The terrace takes only the ones with a patio listing, and even those want rinsing, drainage and cover at the end of the season.

Single tables run from $67 to $515. When the right top or base isn't here as a pair, build your own from table tops and table bases. Sketch each room in venue plans, table by table, so the chair count follows from the tables rather than the other way around.