The parts of a restaurant guests do not see and the staff who work there: kitchen, prep, dish and storage. Back of house cooks and plates what front of house orders, and its pace sets how fast tables can turn.
See also: Front of house, Kitchen, Expo
Back of house
The parts of a restaurant guests do not see and the staff who work there: kitchen, prep, dish and storage. Back of house cooks and plates what front of house orders, and its pace sets how fast tables can turn.
Nov 8, 2026
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Front of house
The guest-facing part of a restaurant and the staff who work there: host stand, dining room, bar, servers, bussers and managers on the floor. Front of house greets each party, quotes waits, seats tables and takes orders.
Two-top and four-top
Restaurant shorthand for a table by the number of seats it holds: a two-top seats two, a four-top seats four, and so on. Hosts match each party size to a table size so large tables are not given to small parties.
Bar seating
Seats at the bar or a counter, usually given first come, first served instead of from the reservation book. Restaurants often offer bar seating to small parties as a shorter alternative to waiting for a table.
Expo
Short for expediter: the person or station at the kitchen pass who checks each plate against the order, groups a table's dishes and sends them out together. Expo is the hand-off point between back of house and front of house.
Comp
Short for complimentary: an item or charge a business gives a party at no cost, such as a dessert after a long wait or a remade dish. A comp is recorded so the item still counts in inventory while the charge is zero.