If you are managing or starting a restaurant business, knowing how much glassware you need is crucial for a seamless operation. Having too little will cause constant problems, but having too much will present complications of their own, too. Storage space is a premium necessity in a restaurant, that you wouldn’t want extra glassware occupying shelves that could be used by items you regularly use.
The kind of glassware your restaurant needs directly depends on what you serve in your resto. Every beverage item on your menu should be served in its appropriate glassware. Hot beverages like coffee and tea should be served in cups or mugs, while cold beverages like juice and cold brews are to be served in highball glasses, beverage glasses, and the like
Your Restaurant’s Bar: The Glasses You Really Need
If you plan to open a bar in your own restaurant, then this puts you in a special situation of planning out a separate glassware arsenal. Surely your restaurant’s bar will be serving the standard menu of alcoholic drinks like beer, cocktails, wine, and other liquor.
You could serve beer in a beer tankard using a beer tap for a truer beer drinking experience. Serve white and red wine in their matching glasses, martinis in martini glasses, and so forth.
To make things easier here is a basic list of what glasses your restaurant's bar will need:
- Shot glass – This little glass serves one to one and a half ounces of spirits that one can down in one “shot.” Tequila, gin, whiskey, and other liquors are served in a shot glass in one straight shot. A plethora of mixed cocktails like the Jaeger Bomb, Washington Apple, the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, and the Four Horsemen are also served in these squat glasses.
- Shooter glass – This glass is essentially a slightly taller shot glass that can hold a little more than its shorter cousin. The shooter glass can hold up to 3 ounces and is a sleeker vessel that is usually used to serve the Kamikaze Shot, Tequilla, or the Dreamsicle.
- Wine glass (red and white) – A red wine glass is more bulbous and squatter, while the white wine glass is the opposite, having a taller, narrower silhouette. Red wine glasses are shaped as such for swirling the red wine to release its rich aroma. White glass wine facilitates a more forward drinking experience with a much simpler shape.
There is also the option for your bar to use all-purpose wine glasses that are great for serving both red and white wine. These are also acceptable glasses to serve drinks that you would normally serve in highball glasses, rocks glasses, or Collins glasses.
- Rocks glass – Rocks means ice in the beverage business, and anything served in a rocks glass contains some ice. Whiskey, Martinis, and Manhattans are the usual alcoholic drinks served in rocks glasses.
The simplicity of the rocks glass is viewed by some to be old-fashioned, saying that these glasses are not very hip, but they have been around for a long time because of bar patrons and drinkers like the rocks glass for its simplicity. Keep a number of these in your arsenal because people will always order something in the rocks. Get the 5- to 6-ounce varieties of these.
- Highball glass and Collins glass – Get the 10- or 12-ounce types and use these kinds of glasses for anything ordered “tall.” The Tom Collins, Bloody Mary, or any alcoholic mixer look fabulous and go well with the highball and Collins glass.
- Beer glass – There are as many kinds of beer glasses as there are different kinds of beers, as each glass brings out the best in its designated beer.
Beer pints are the most versatile of the lot as it is best for most types of beers like lagers, India Pale Ales (IPA), American Ales, and Pilsners.
The big beer mug or stein holds the most volume of beer. Beer mugs come in many forms and variants like the beer stein, horn mug, wood mug, oak beer tankard, among many. They are heavily built and can take the abuse of a rowdy beer garden. These beer mugs are best for stout beers, traditional beers, ales, for slamming on the bar when you finish your beer, and toasting to life, love, and laughter!
Use tasting/sample beer glasses if you have several beers on tap, so patrons can sample the whole lot before deciding to order a pint or two of their favorite.
Pilsner beer glasses are best for pilsners, American lagers, blonde ales, and German ales. Their tall, slender shape aids the release of hop oils and aroma with every sip.
- Martini glass – As its name suggests, the martini glass is what is used for an order of a Martini cocktail.
- Coffee glass/mug – The shape and make of the coffee mug you get for your restaurant’s bar depends solely on your taste and is not tied down by convention like everything on this list. Purchase the coffee mug or glass that suits your bar’s character and style.
Know Exactly How Much Glassware You Need: 2 Tips
- 150% of Your Seating Capacity – This is the basic formula to compute your glass par stock for your restaurant's serving flow, but it could be more complicated than that. Different glasses have different demands and use frequency.
Wouldn’t it be great if there were something that could magically compute the number of glassware you need? Luckily there is the Glassware calculator that tells you how much you need by simply inputting the number of seats your restaurant has.
- Get a Dependable Supplier – You can rely on glassware to be the most replaced item in your restaurant. Have a supplier that can replace all broken glassware instantly to avoid the unneeded hassle. A beer mug set would cost less than buying several single mugs.
Having a supplier for all your glassware mill likely gets you discounts when buying in bulk.
The Right Glass for Every Drink
Don’t you just love it when your drink is served in delightful glassware? All your patrons feel the same way, so make sure every drink is served in its proper glassware. Take the time to get to know each or at least the ones you plan to use.
