14 Foods And Drinks That Are Best Served Tableside

The tradition of food being served tableside dates all the way back to the Middle Ages. It most likely started as servants serving food to royalty in a ritualistic way. The meat would be carved or the fish would be deboned right at the table before it was delicately plated for eating. This tradition was primarly popular in France and was passed down over time to modern-day restaurants.

Today, many restaurants across the world offer dishes that are served tableside. Sometimes, the purpose of doing so is to add a theatrical element. Other times, it allows for the customer to choose exactly how they want the dish to be prepared. Plus, it allows customers to see what's going into their food or drink, which can showcase the freshness of ingredients. No matter the reason for why a food is served tableside, there are definitely certain dishes that are way more enjoyable when they're prepared and served right before your eyes. 

Steak tartare has a rich history dating back all the way to nomadic Tatars of Central Asia. Apparently, they would eat raw beef that was tenderized under their horses' saddles. Over time, the act of eating raw beef was refined through French cuisine — in which things like egg yolk, spices, and condiments were added — to create the delicious dish known today as steak tartare.

If you visit a French brasserie or even an American steakhouse, you will most likely find steak tartare on the menu. If it's an upscale restaurant, you may even get it served tableside. When steak tartare is served tableside, it allows the customer to truly appreciate everything that goes into the dish. There is something very appealing about watching all of the ingredients get mixed together before your eyes. Restaurants will all have their unique way of serving steak tartare; they will often use different spices and condiments. Being able to see what exactly is added to this raw steak and yolk mixture allows diners to appreciate a specific restaurant's take on the dish.

When people think of Baked Alaska, they usually think of a fluffy, white cake that is set on fire. The fire is what makes the dessert exciting, and without it, is it even worth it? Ultimately, Baked Alaska is a simple dessert made with ice cream, cake, and a meringue topping. The meringue is usually made with egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, vanilla extract, and alcohol. Once the cake is covered in the meringue, the last step is to set a flame to it to toast it. 

Most restaurants will opt to serve the Baked Alaska tableside because guests always love a wow factor. They have to light the dessert on fire anyway to be able to achieve the toasted meringue, so why not do it right at the table? When you see it with your own eyes, it somehow makes the idea of eating it even more enticing.

If you're an avid bloody mary drinker, you know that the possibility of getting a bad bloody mary at a restaurant is more common than you'd think. Many restaurants, especially chains, use a pre-made mix for their bloody marys. You know you're about to get a fresh and delicious bloody mary when the restaurant rolls up a cart and prepares the drink right in front of you.

Bloody marys are made with tomato juice and vodka. Each restaurant usually creates its own spin on the drink by adding different amounts of ingredients, like lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and black pepper. Then there are always fun toppings, like celery, bacon, olives, pickles, and more.

The great thing about having the bloody mary served tableside is getting to see exactly what ingredients the restaurant is using in the drink. Odds are they won't be pouring tomato juice out of a V8 bottle, but will instead have fresh juice. You can also ask for more or less of certain ingredients. If you love a spicy bloody mary, ask the staff to throw in some more hot sauce as they're making it. Love a bit more citrus? Ask for more lemon. You're bound to have a perfect bloody mary if you're able to witness it being made from start to finish.

Caesar salad is one of the most popular salad options that you can order in a restaurant. It was created back in 1924, when a man named Cesare (aka Ceasar) Cardini created the savory and tangy salad by throwing together the iconic ingredients on a whim. The salad is traditionally made with romaine lettuce, egg yolk, Italian olive oil, Parmesan cheese, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic.

Julia Child herself actually got to taste the original Caesar salad, and described the experience in her book, "Julia Child's Kitchen." She recounted how Ceasar tossed the lettuce, crack the eggs, and mix all the ingredients together right into the bowl. Child always thought that this tableside salad was meant to be served and eaten right away. 

If you visit a restaurant that serves its Caesar salad tableside, you will know that it's an authentic version of the recipe. It won't consist of any sort of pre-made, creamy, or sugary dressing. Instead, you can see the fresh cheese, oil, and egg mix together right before your eyes to create addicting salad that everyone knows and loves.

There is nothing quite like a cheesy pasta dish, and it's even better to watch your pasta come together in an actual cheese wheel. This is called Pasta alla Ruota. It became popular in Italy as a way to make the dining experience more interactive and enjoyable. Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano are the two cheeses that are commonly used for this dish. Besides the cheese wheel, all that's needed is pasta and perhaps a few spices.

Many restaurants that serve this dish will roll out the cheese wheel straight to your table. The middle of the wheel will get carved out, and the hot pasta gets placed inside. Then, the chef will toss the pasta until it's thickly coated with the cheese. Being able to watch the cheese mix into the noodles is incredibly satisfying, especially when you get to see the chef's handiwork. There is a huge difference between getting served a plate of cheesy spaghetti, where you didn't get to see how it was made, versus salivating over the cheese wheel directly in front of your eyes. Plus, you can dive right in after the final noodle toss.

Guacamole is a delicious appetizer that can be made in many different and mouthwatering ways. It dates back to the Aztec Empire, where avocados were a commonly eaten fruit. Today, guacamole is usually made with fresh avocados, lime, diced tomatoes, white onion, cilantro, garlic, salt, and paprika. Depending on the restaurant that you go to, however, it may be prepared with different ingredients.

If you're at a restaurant where they bring the guacamole cart to you and the chef makes it right in front of you, then you know that it's going to be a fresh and tasty batch. Some restaurants may pre-mix their guacamole, and over the day it will taste less and less fresh. When it's prepared tableside,  you get to witness the avocados getting peeled, pitted, and scooped right out. Each ingredient is sliced or diced up right in the moment before being poured into the avocado mixture.

The best part about having your guacamole served tableside, however, is getting to tell the chef if you'd like more or less of certain ingredients. If you love a spicy guacamole, you can most likely ask for some cayenne pepper to get thrown in. If you're not too interested in the onions, ask for a little bit less. It's not only entertaining to get to see the guacamole mixed in front of you, but you get to have an active role in how it's made.

Crème brûlée is a silky, decadent dessert that's been around for hundreds of years and is literally the French translation of "burnt cream." It's technically a custard that's made with eggs, milk, cream, and vanilla. What makes it a crème brûlée, however, is the caramelized sugar on top. This is usually done with a torch; it creates a hard shell on the top of the custard. 

Many restaurants will torch the top of the crème brûlée right in front of you so you can see the caramelization happen. Even though it's pretty simple, it's still exciting to get to see the final step of your dessert come together. Some people also prefer a deeper caramelization, and if that's the case, you can always ask the chef to torch it a bit longer. When crème brûlée isn't served tableside, it can honestly be a bit of a let down. Also, crème brûlée is best enjoyed right after it's torched, so having it done at your table is truly the right way to go.

Café Brûlot is an after-dinner drink that was first created at the legendary New Orleans restaurant, Arnaud's. The drink has always been served tableside, and remains so to this day. Café Brûlot means "burnt brandy," and the entire process of making the drink is an art in itself.

The process starts with the waiter peeling a lemon and an orange into a copper bowl. Then, the peel is studded precisely with cloves. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, cinnamon, cloves, brandy, and Curaçao are mixed before being lit on fire and dribbled down the peeled orange into the bowl. Last, black coffee and sugar are added to the liquid. The precise method of making this drink is definitely worthy of admiration, and you would miss out on that if you weren't able to see the entire process. Since this drink was created to be served tableside, it should always be served that way.

Bananas Foster, another New Orleans creation, was originally made in the '50s when the owner of Brennan's restaurant challenged one of his chefs to make a new, banana-centric dessert. This was because bananas were being imported from Central and South America, and the restaurant wanted to make use of this new, exciting fruit. The dessert is usually made with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, banana liqueur, dark rum, vanilla ice cream, and whole bananas. It's almost like a glorified banana split!

What really makes bananas Foster iconic, however, is that bananas are flambeed in the sauce before serving. This warms the sauce and crisps the bananas, all while adding visual appeal and a level of excitement to this iconic dessert. To this day, bananas Foster is still served tableside at Brennan's; the eatery uses 35,000 bananas annually just for this dish. 

Sometimes, all you need to hit the spot is a perfectly balanced margarita. Although margaritas are a fairly simple drink to make, many restaurants get it completely wrong. They can end up too syrupy, lacking a citrus element, or just far too sweet. A lot of times, this can happen when a restaurant uses a pre-made mix, or if they batch-make margaritas for the entire day. The key to getting a really great margarita is to go to a place that serves them tableside.

Margaritas are made with tequila, freshly squeezed lime juice, agave, and orange liqueur. Embellishments can be added into a margarita as well, including Tajín, jalapeños, and salt. When the drink is served tableside, you can see if they are actually using freshly squeezed limes — which truly makes a difference in the overall taste. You can also customize your drink to make it exactly how you want it to taste — with more or less agave, more or less jalapeños, a sugar versus a salt rim, the list goes on. You'll know that your tableside margarita is completely fresh and has just the right amount of ingredients that you enjoy.

Teppanyaki is a Japanese cooking technique that is quite popular in America. The word translates to "grilling on a metal plate." Teppenyaki typically involves different types of protein — usually shrimp, chicken, or steak — as well as vegetables and rice. Teppanyaki restaurants began cropping up in Japan in 1945, where they were particularly popular with international customers. In the 1960s, the first of many teppanyaki restaurants opened in New York City.

If you've ever been to a teppanyaki restaurant, you know just how enjoyable it is to get to see the food get cooked in front of you. Many of the chefs create a performance out of cooking — like tossing the eggs high in the air and catching them in their chefs hat, starting a fire volcano with onions, or juggling pieces of meat with their spatulas. It's possible to order the same proteins, vegetables, and rice at Japanese restaurants that don't specialize in teppanyaki — but it's just not the same. If you're going to pay for that full plate of food, you might as well get a show to go along with it!

The Greeks really know what they're doing when it comes to food. If you've never had the tasty appetizer saganaki, then you better go pre-heat your skillet. It's a fried cheese dish that can be made in a variety of ways. It usually contains a block of Greek cheese (there are many varieties that can be used), extra virgin olive oil, flour, lemon, and pepper. If you order this dish from a quality Greek restaurant, odds are that it will come on a sizzling skillet. 

Once the sizzling skillet is brought to your table, the waitstaff pour alcohol on the cheese and use a torch to light it on fire. While this isn't something that all Greek restaurants do, there are many that do take this extra step. It adds more of a theatrical feel to the dish and the flames help the cheese taste a little more fried. Overall, we think it's always a fun experience to get served a skillet that is literally in flames. As the Greek say, yamas!

If you've ever been to an upscale restaurant that offers fresh seafood, especially in the Mediterranean, you've probably experienced your fish getting deboned or filleted right at your table. This is most commonly done with dover sole because of how easily the fish's flesh pulls away from the bone. 

The process of filleting a fish, especially with an audience of hungry customers watching, requires precision. Most of the time, it's done with two spoons. The waiters and chefs know the exact anatomy of the fish, and can make small cuts to lift the meat from the bone. The skeletal part of the fish can get easily lifted up, if done properly, and it's incredibly satisfying to watch. From there, the wait staff will reconstruct the fish on your plate and garnish it as needed. There's something special about watching how intricate the process is, and it adds to the experience of eating the fresh fish. Dover sole served tableside is definitely something you'll want to experience if you're a seafood lover.

If you've ever visited a Brazilian churrascaria, you know that watching the food be served is almost as exciting as eating it. Most restaurants serve meat right off of skewers, which lets you choose which proteins you'd like to add to your plate. One of the most popular meats sold in a Brazilian churrascaria is picanha; it's considered to be one of the best cuts of steak in Brazil. The meat has almost an even split between fat and meat and is traditionally cooked right on a large skewer.

Traditionally, the picanha will be delivered to your table on the large skewer that it was cooked on. The waiter will place however many pieces you'd like on your plate. Other restaurants may also serve picanha tableside in a different way. The meat is still cooked in the kitchen, but then it's brought to the table on a cart so that it can be sliced right in front of the guests. Either way, cuts like picanha are usually served in a way that goes above and beyond just handing the customer a plate of food. Since it's such a delicious cut of meat, and should be served tableside to honor its roots.