More and more hotel restaurants are going with a more natural, minimal look, like this one from JIA Shanghai’s Issimo restaurant: fork, knife, napkin and bread plate. Even high-end hotel restaurants are becoming more casual in their approach today.

“We just do minimal,” he says. “The tabletop is a simple fork, a clean-line knife, a decent napkin and a water glass. That’s about it. Maybe a nice candle; no tablecloth. We want to be approachable.”

Hill says that if you put a giant wine glass on the table, for example, or a white tablecloth, a restaurant may appear to have a high average check and scare away guests that it hopes to bring in.

For that reason, in almost every restaurant he has opened in the last year, there has been no linen on the tables other than napkins, he says. Instead, the restaurants are designed with natural wood tabletops which are then minimally adorned.

As for the napkins, Hill looks for those that feel comfortable, like they belong in the environment. So, if the restaurant is a Southwest bistro, he wants the napkin to feel like it belongs in a bistro, while for a farm-to-table concept, he wants to feel like the napkin is from a farmer’s hutch—something that feels comfortable.

In general, Hill is partial to textured fabrics, especially those with a raised rib texture, and he has been happy with the selection offered by Garnier-Thibaut. “We like a textured napkin—we think it has a great look and feel, and it comes in multiple colors at a reasonable price,” he says.

To pick the particular product line, Hill works with a local representative and his restaurant design teams. “We look at the color boards, go through what they have to offer, and match that to the design boards, the wood, the walls, and the environment of the restaurant,” he says. “We’re generally able to find a match for something upscale or something more rustic.”

Weather-resistant placemats are used throughout the day for a clean, natural presentation on the terrace of Neomi’s Grill at the Trump International Beach Resort in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.

“We’ve found that, more and more, restaurants are turning to placemats for a cleaner presentation,” Rauscher says. He uses placemats in the resort’s three-meal restaurant, Neomi’s Grill, and outside on that restaurant’s terrace.

The presentation is casual at breakfast and lunch, while for dinner, Rauscher stays with the placemats for outdoor seating, but does move to white tablecloths inside. He says this helps give the guest a different experience at different dayparts.

“When you are serving three meals within the same venue, the table setting helps tie in with the changes in service and food presentation,” he notes. “It’s just a way to let guests know that, at dinner, it’s different.”

While the trend may be away from overly adorned tables in hotel restaurants, there remains some customer demand for traditional fine dining, and that means tablecloths.

The napkins at SWB in the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale were selected to feel like they belong in a Southwest bistro.

Dewar is currently in the process of re-evaluating Turner’s linens, and flat white is no longer the standard recipe. Instead, she is looking at off-white or cream-colored cloths, as well as sage green and dusty blue varieties—“something soothing to the eye, not that stark white,” she explains. And she’s looking at different textures—geometric shapes and stripe-style bands that enhance the look without overtaking it.

“There are so many more options available today than just a few years ago,” she notes.

Milliken’s Damask HD product is offered in a range of 24 colors forthe banquet business.  Color has proven popular with clients in the Mid-western United States.

“Color is definitely in, and using color to create a feel and enhance the room has a big impact,” says Kevin Phenegar, F&B director at The Sagamore in Bolton Landing, New York. “Shades of greens, blues, reds and (other) colors applied correctly make a huge statement in establishing a memorable event.”

At the InterContinental Chicago, Director of Banquets Narcis Kadic is using a chocolate-colored pattern Jacquard product from Milliken.

“We selected this product because it’s different,” Kadic says. “It is not the typical light color look that everyone expects when they walk into the room. Our meeting rooms have a lot of beautiful wood panels throughout, so it fits quite well.”

Kadic says the color is versatile enough to be appropriate for day or night functions, and “because of the darker color, pretty much anything you put on it will stick out and show well. So far we have received great feedback from our clients, and have many clients requesting (the product) for future events, weddings included.”

The Hilton Minneapolis, meanwhile, uses sandalwood colored tablecloths with “high-definition” stripes, also from Milliken. Chris Larson, director of banquets, says the linens offer an elegant look that goes well with the varied décor of the different ballrooms in the hotel.

In addition, “the 'high-definition’ stripes are distinctive and add a value perception to the clients,” he says. “We have had many compliments since we started using them. We feel the stripe look enhances the trend in more linear dinnerware.”

Direct comments to: derek.gale@reedbusiness.com