Have You Broken Any of These Unspoken Hotel Breakfast Buffet Rules?
Yes, there is breakfast buffet etiquette … and you’ve likely broken some of these rules.
By Kristy Alpert
For many travelers, myself included, the breakfast buffet is often a deciding factor when choosing a hotel. Forget pillow menus or turndown service, a generous breakfast spread is one of the biggest perks a hotel can offer its guests. Where else do you get to wake up to an endless display of pastries, chafing dishes of scrambled eggs, and bowls of chopped fruit?
No matter how many times I’ve stayed in hotels or set an alarm to make it downstairs in time for breakfast, I’ve always had an underlying uncertainty that I might be breaking the unspoken rules about breakfast buffets.
And that’s because … I’m a banana stealer.
The rules of a breakfast buffet have always been notoriously vague. Show up between this time and that time, give your room number, and leave your table the way you found it. The rest, until now, has been up to discretion. Can I just pocket this apple that I didn’t get around to eating? Who knows?! Can I walk away from the waffle iron and then come back when it’s done? Unclear. Do I have to pay for the whole buffet if I only want a cup of coffee? It’s anyone’s guess.
Until now.
We needed answers, so we spoke with the experts to give us the official—and unofficial—rules of the breakfast buffet. Whether you take these rules to heart or not is up to you, just maybe don’t tell the front desk you saw me take that banana.
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Use a Fresh Plate Every Time
A new plate is an absolute must, according to Bryan Skelding, executive chef at The Greenbrier resort, which hosts one of the longest-running breakfast buffets in America. But returning to the buffet with a soiled plate isn’t just bad manners, it’s borderline offensive to the chef. “A fresh plate keeps the experience both sanitary and true to the way the dishes were intended to be enjoyed,” says Anthony Fabiano, hotel manager at Waldorf Astoria Orlando. “Breakfast is best enjoyed in stages. A thoughtfully built plate is almost always more enjoyable than one towering masterpiece of every item available.”
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It’s Okay to Skip the Line if You’re Considerate
We’ve all been there: you have your eyes on that bacon tray, but there are four chafing dishes between you and your crispy strips. Can you cut past the guests waffling between eggs and pancakes to get to the one thing you’re after? “There’s no forced flow,” assures Justin Alexander, VP, global brand management and breakfast expert at Holiday Inn Express. “So guests can go straight for what they love.” Executive chef Anthony DiGregorio at the JW Marriott Reston Station in Virginia also has no problem if guests head straight to the middle of the buffet at the hotel’s executive lounge. “Just be courteous to the other people that are there trying to have a good time,” he says. “You say, ‘Hey, I just want to grab one of those. Can I sneak in?’ Not a problem.”
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Wait by the Toaster—or Waffle Iron—Until Yours Is Finished
You can’t just pour down some batter and walk away. “You should wait,” says Bryan Skelding, executive chef at The Greenbrier resort, who also agrees the toaster should never be left unmanned. Aside from risking someone stealing your toast, even a small delay while others wait for you to return so they can use the machine can end up creating a bigger backup in service. Justin Alexander, vice president, global brand management and breakfast expert at Holiday Inn Express has a trick he uses while waiting. “Start at the coffee station, then head straight to the one-touch pancake machine,” he advises. “You’ll have a fresh, bean-to-cup coffee in hand while watching hot pancakes land on your plate.”
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Don’t Pile Your Plate With More Than You’ll Actually Eat
The phrase “my eyes were bigger than my stomach” could have very well originated at a breakfast buffet, where excitement often leads to overloaded plates. “Scope the full spread before you plate anything,” advises Jeffrey Morgan, chef concierge at Conrad Washington DC,where the club level Sakura Lounge offers one of the highest-end breakfast buffets in the city. “The best item is rarely the first one you see.” An overloaded plate also leads to food waste. “A pet peeve of mine would be when people fill their plate and eat half of it,” says Anthony DiGregorio, executive chef at the JW Marriott Reston Station in Virginia, “and that’s because for me, as a chef, I don’t want my team’s hard work to go in the trash. But also, if it’s eggs, the chickens live a life. They make these eggs. You don’t want it to be all for nothing. Show it some respect.”
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Don’t Leave the Serving Utensil in the Food
“The buffet is communal,” emphasizes Jeffrey Morgan, chef concierge at Conrad Washington DC, “treat the serving utensils accordingly.” At the Sakura Lounge, where Morgan runs the breakfast buffet, that means placing the serving spoons on the plate beside the dish so it’s easy for the next guest to use. “Obviously, don’t let it fall into the oatmeal or fall into the scrambled eggs,” adds Anthony DiGregorio, executive chef at the JW Marriott Reston Station in Virginia, who notes that, unless there is a hook on the spoon to hang it from a bowl, it belongs outside the dish on the provided plate. “If it does fall in, say something to the server. Let somebody know, ‘Hey, I had an accident. This fell in. It should be replaced.’”
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Tell Someone if You Spill Something
It’s not a faux pas to spill; accidents happen. The error comes when people walk away from their messes and expect them to magically go away. “The biggest misstep is always anything involving sanitation,” says Anthony Fabiano, hotel manager at Waldorf Astoria Orlando, who mentioned the stakes go up whenever bare hands are involved. It’s not always necessary to clean your mess yourself. “That’s why we have the servers,” says Anthony DiGregorio, executive chef at the JW Marriott Reston Station in Virginia. “At the least just let somebody know. Bring it to somebody’s attention, but it’s not the end of the world.”
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Close the Lid
No one likes a lid-leaver, that careless person responsible for “every chafing dish cover left askew, steam escaping, food drying out for the next person,” shudders Jeffrey Morgan, chef concierge at Conrad Washington, D.C. It’s sort of like that person who talks on speakerphone in a public space. Contain it; spare the others. “Put the chafer top back down so the food stays hot,” says Bryan Skelding, executive chef at The Greenbrier resort, who also adds not to forget to “let the runner or server know if something needs to be refreshed.”
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Don’t Ever—Yes, Ever—Put Anything Back
Grabbed an apple you don’t think you’ll eat? Not going to open that yogurt container after all? Too bad. It’s yours. “Once something leaves the serving tray, it shouldn’t make a return appearance,” says Anthony Fabiano, hotel manager at Waldorf Astoria Orlando. Especially if it’s something like a yogurt, a carton of milk, or a hard-boiled egg that requires refrigeration. “I would rather people didn’t just because you don’t know how long it’s been sitting out, not under refrigeration,” says Anthony DiGregorio, executive chef at the JW Marriott Reston Station in Virginia. “You should not put it back.”
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Food to Go Is Okay … Within Limits
“A piece of whole fruit on the way out is one thing,” says Anthony Fabiano, hotel manager at Waldorf Astoria Orlando, “turning breakfast into a packed lunch is another.” Most chefs and hotels are okay with grabbing something to go, especially at the higher-end buffets that aim to make anything possible. “If you want something specific, ask,” says Jeffrey Morgan, chef concierge at Conrad Washington DC. “Ask for a to-go coffee or a small grab bag. A good hospitality team will always try to accommodate.” But other breakfast buffets are a different beast. “It’s the Wild Wild West when it comes to the free breakfast buffets,” says Anthony DiGregorio, executive chef at the JW Marriott Reston Station in Virginia. “I’ve seen everything from people taking the centerpieces and floral arrangements. But I think so long as you’re being mindful about it and you’re not taking an excessive amount, for me, it’s never an issue.”
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Don’t Fill Your Water Bottle (or Travel Coffee Mug) at the Drink Station
No one’s knocking your earth-saving water bottle ways (in fact, kudos to you!), it’s only that you’re still technically in a restaurant, and there are health codes that your Stanley falls under. “For sanitary reasons, it’s best to use a clean glass first and refill your bottle from the table,” says Anthony Fabiano, hotel manager at Waldorf Astoria Orlando. The same goes for travel coffee mugs. Simply fill a fresh cup of coffee and pour it into your to-go mug. Many hotels would be happy to get you a ceramic mug from the back if you’re uncomfortable using a non-recyclable one at the buffet. And also, yes, coffee from a communal dispenser is fair game for any hotel guest at most hotels, regardless of their buffet buy-in status.