What kind of restaurant customer are you?

If you follow us on social media, you know that we like to play the This or That game. What's interesting is that it shows what kind of restaurant customer Belgians are (or at least our followers). In this blog, we discuss a couple of trends we've discovered in 2021.

You prefer food to new love

How we know we attract the right audience? When we asked you what's the better feeling: new love or seeing the waiter come towards you with your food in a restaurant, 61% voted for the waiter.

Even though this was of course a joke, we can't deny that the thrill you get from seeing food meant specifically for you, is the best feeling in the world.

You take your first dates to restaurants

A whopping 83% would prefer a first date to be in a restaurant instead of a more adrenaline filled activity. It makes total sense! First dates are crazy stressful! You want to be the best possible version of you, and that your date likes you. But that's hard when you're kicking their ass at paintball, and it's also hard to keep up your sexy face when it's all contorted in agony as you plummet to your death in a rollercoaster.

Restaurants, on the other hand, are sexy. And an excellent way to get to know each other. Worst comes to the worst: if your date turns out to be boring, at least you had a good meal!

One tip, though: take small bites. Not speaking from own experience (but also yes), but imagine being in lively conversation, and you accidentally put a giant spoon of scorching hot pasta in your mouth... It's not going to end elegantly.

You don't need a man to dine out

Another finding was that only 33% still thinks it's necessary for a man to pay for dinner at a restaurant. As a heterosexual female point of view: when a man pays for dinner, we'll feel the need to take a cheap dish on the menu, and say no to that second gin and tonic (some people might see that last part as a good thing, but not us!).

That said: it's an awesome gift when your boyfriend pays for dinner, but it's the 21st century. Women make their own money: let's take turns!

You rather make eye contact than look at your phone

We're not going to lie... We're kind of ashamed to say that the next result took us by surprise.

When we asked you if you spend more time gazing into each other's eyes than at your phone while at a restaurant, 78% picked the eye-gazing.

Our first reaction? Were you all lying?! At restaurants, we see so many people staring at their phone instead of each other. But we're also glad to see this result. Glad that we are reconnecting with each other and putting down our phones!

You are afraid to be honest

Something we thought was so typical Belgian, was that most people indicated that if something was wrong with their food at a restaurant, they wouldn't say anything about it but would smile and lie it was good. Why is it that we Belgians are so afraid to say something? Most restaurants strive for perfection and their main goal is for you to have a good time. Moreover, you paid hard-earned money for this dish. If something's not okay, speak up (without being a dick about it...)!

Editor's note: our entire team picked "smile and lie".

You think food make for better memories

To end our little survey, it turns out that 52% will first take a photo of their food before digging in, and 96% will prefer to take photos of their food than a selfie while at a restaurant.

We get it. Restaurants put so much effort in creating the perfect dish and to make it look like a little piece of art, whereas we start to look increasingly like our aunt Mildred.

Conclusion

If we've learned one thing from our very scientific poll taking, it's that Belgians love food, love dining out, and don't like to spoil a good time with the truth!

If you are interested in knowing more about restaurants and first dates, make sure to keep an eye out for our blog in February. Get all the juicy tips right on time for Valentine's Day!