Restaurant server interview questions

What this hire must get done

Write the scorecard before you interview, then hire against it. Set the bracketed targets from your own numbers.

What to tell candidates before the interview

Say the hard parts plainly. People who wouldn't stay drop out early, and the ones who stay knew what they signed up for.

• Show the real schedule: which nights, weekends and holidays you need, how long shifts run, how early cuts are decided, and the side work before anyone leaves.
• Explain pay plainly: the hourly cash wage, whether you take a tip credit, who shares in the tip pool or tip-out, and when card tips are paid. Federal rules require that notice before any tip credit: tell servers the cash wage, the credit amount and how tips are handled.
• Tell them how much they must learn and by when: the menu, every allergen, the wine list and your steps of service, with a menu test before their first solo shift.
• Tell them what happens when a guest harasses anyone on staff: a manager steps in, takes the table or hands it to someone else, and backs the server. No one is expected to keep serving that guest.

How to run the interview

1. Same questions, same order. Ask every candidate the questions below and the same follow-ups. It is the only way to compare people fairly.
2. Two interviewers. An owner or manager and someone who does the work. Take notes on what the candidate says, not on how you feel about them.
3. Score right after each answer. 5 sounds like the strong answer, 3 like the mixed one, 1 like the weak one. Use 2 and 4 for answers in between.
4. Rate alone, then compare. Compare candidates question by question, and talk only after everyone has scored. Big gaps are worth a conversation.

1. Situational · Allergy safety

   A guest tells you about a severe sesame allergy and asks whether the house burger is safe. The bun has no seeds on top, but you don't know what's in the sauce or what else goes in the fryer. What do you do?

   It shows whether they guess to keep the table moving, or find out and carry the allergy all the way to the plate.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you ring, and what do you tell the kitchen out loud?
   • The guest says it's only a mild allergy and not to worry. What changes?
   • The plate arrives with a garnish you don't remember. What now?

   5Strong

   Won't guess. Looks at the allergen chart, asks the chef or manager about the bun, the sauce and the shared fryer oil, tells the guest plainly what the kitchen can and can't promise, rings it with the allergy flag on that seat, and checks the plate before it lands.

   3Mixed

   Asks the kitchen and flags the order, but doesn't think to ask about cross-contact like a shared fryer, or sends the plate without checking it.

   1Weak

   Says it's probably fine, or rings it without the flag and hopes the kitchen notices.

2. Behavioral · Allergy safety

   Think of the last time a guest or customer told you about a food allergy. Take me step by step through what you did, from the moment they told you to the moment they ate.

   Asking about the last real time, step by step, shows their habit, not the textbook answer.

   Follow-ups

   • Who else did you tell, and how?
   • How did you know the food that went out was right?
   • What would you do differently now?

   5Strong

   Gives a specific case. Asked what the allergy was and how serious, checked with the kitchen, flagged the order, told the chef or manager directly, and checked the plate or had it run by the right person. Can say how the guest knew it was handled.

   3Mixed

   Has a real example and passed the allergy on, but only as a note on the ticket, and didn't check what came out.

   1Weak

   Can't remember one, or treated it as a preference and let the kitchen sort it out.

3. Technical · Order accuracy

   A four-top orders. Seat one wants the steak medium-rare with no butter, two guests share an appetizer, and seat four wants the soup brought with the mains. Walk me through how you ring it so the kitchen and the runner get it right.

   Clean tickets are most of what keeps remakes down and food hot, and you can hear in a minute whether they think in seats and courses.

   Follow-ups

   • When do you send the mains to the kitchen?
   • How does a runner who has never seen this table know whose plate is whose?
   • What do you check before you hit send?

   5Strong

   Rings by seat number, uses the POS modifiers instead of loose notes where it can, marks the shared appetizer, holds the soup to come with the mains, fires the mains when the appetizer is nearly finished or as the house times it, and reads the screen back before sending.

   3Mixed

   Gets every item and modifier right, but rings without seat numbers or course timing, so the runner auctions plates and the soup comes out first.

   1Weak

   Rings everything at once from memory and plans to fix mistakes when the plates come up.

4. Situational · Responsible alcohol service

   A guest at a table of eight is getting loud, slurring a little, and orders another round for everyone. They're a regular, and the table is celebrating. What do you do?

   This is where a server chooses between the tip and the law, and you need to know which they choose before it happens.

   Follow-ups

   • What signs tell you this is more than having fun?
   • What do you say, and to whom?
   • Later, a friend at the table orders an extra drink that you think is for that guest. What then?

   5Strong

   Names signs like slurred speech, clumsy movement or a sudden change in mood. Tells the manager before the round goes out, doesn't serve that guest, offers food and water, speaks privately and without blame, and watches for drinks passed along. Follows state law and house policy.

   3Mixed

   Won't serve that guest and gets the manager, but handles it out loud at the table, embarrassing the guest, or doesn't watch for drinks passed along.

   1Weak

   Serves the round to keep the table happy, or quietly makes the drinks weaker without telling anyone.

5. Situational · Handling hard guests

   A guest has eaten half the steak, then says it was overcooked and asks you to take it off the check. What do you do?

   Comps and voids are where money leaks, and how the server talks to this guest decides whether they come back.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you say first?
   • What can you offer, and what needs a manager?
   • The guest is still unhappy after the manager leaves. What do you do?

   5Strong

   Apologizes without debating the half that's gone, offers a fresh steak or another dish, and gets the manager, since only a manager approves a comp or void here. Checks back afterward and tells the kitchen what happened.

   3Mixed

   Offers to replace it and calls the manager, but argues about the half-eaten steak first, or hands the guest off without staying involved.

   1Weak

   Argues with the guest, takes it off the bill alone, or pays for it out of pocket to avoid the manager.

6. Situational · Handling hard guests

   A guest at the next table keeps commenting on a coworker's body and grabs at the coworker's arm each time they pass. Your coworker looks rattled but keeps working. What do you do, and when do you bring in a manager?

   Employers can be held responsible for guest harassment they know about and don't stop, so you need staff who bring a manager in right away. It asks what they'd do here, never about anything that has happened to them.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you tell the manager, and what do you say to your coworker?
   • Your manager says to let it go because it's a big table. What do you do?
   • If the guest turned the comments on you, what would you expect to happen next?

   5Strong

   Gets a manager right away, before anyone serves that table again, and says exactly what happened. Checks on the coworker and offers to cover their tables. Leaves the guest to the manager. If brushed off, goes to the next person the policy names, and expects the same help for themself.

   3Mixed

   Knows it's wrong and backs the coworker up, but waits for the coworker to report it, or tells a manager only at the end of the night.

   1Weak

   Treats it as part of the job and does nothing, or confronts the guest and starts a scene in the dining room.

7. Behavioral · Selling with care

   Tell me about a time you suggested something to a guest or customer, at any job, that they were glad they bought. What did you notice about them first?

   Good suggestions start with reading the person. This shows whether they listen first or recite a pitch.

   Follow-ups

   • What were the exact words you used?
   • What do you do when a guest says no?
   • Tell me about a suggestion that didn't land. What did you learn?

   5Strong

   Gives a specific case. Noticed what the person liked or what they were having, made one fitting suggestion in plain words, took a no gracefully, and can say how they knew the guest was glad.

   3Mixed

   Made a sale with a suggestion that worked, but says the same thing to everyone and can't say why it fit that guest.

   1Weak

   Pushes the most expensive item at every table, or doesn't suggest anything at all.

8. Situational · Running the section

   You're slammed. One table is waiting to order, one wants the check, your food is up in the window, and the host just sat a new table. What do you do, and in what order?

   Every server gets buried. You want the one who makes sure no table feels forgotten and asks for help early.

   Follow-ups

   • Which of these can wait a minute, and how do those guests know you've seen them?
   • Who could you ask for help, and how?
   • What would you change about the next half hour?

   5Strong

   Gets the hot food out first, or asks a runner to take it, greets the new table on the way and sets a time, drops the check, then takes the order. Asks a teammate or manager for help early.

   3Mixed

   Gets everything done in the order it came, but without a word to the waiting tables, and doesn't ask anyone for help.

   1Weak

   Freezes, lets the food die in the window, or ignores the new table until the old ones are done.

9. Behavioral · Running the section

   Think of a busy shift, at any job, when a coworker was falling behind and you had a little room. What did you do?

   Servers who help without being asked keep the whole floor moving, and the team notices who does.

   Follow-ups

   • How did you know they needed help?
   • What did you do for them, exactly?
   • Has it gone the other way? What did you ask for?

   5Strong

   Gives a specific case. Noticed early, asked what would help most, did it without taking over, and was back on their own tables quickly. Has also asked for help when buried.

   3Mixed

   Helped when asked, but didn't notice on their own.

   1Weak

   Can't think of a time, or says helping others isn't their job.

10. Behavioral · Order accuracy

    Walk me through a mistake you made at work with an order, a check or a cash count, and what happened once you noticed it.

    Wrong tickets and checkout errors happen. You want the server who tells the manager the same shift and fixes the habit.

    Follow-ups

    • How soon did your manager hear about it, and from whom?
    • What did you do to put it right?
    • What do you do now that you didn't before?

    5Strong

    Describes a real error, raised it with the manager that shift, helped put it right for the guest, and now does something different, like reading the screen back before sending.

    3Mixed

    Quietly fixed it alone, so the manager never learned what went wrong.

    1Weak

    Says they don't make mistakes like that, or puts it on the kitchen, the POS or another server.

Work exercise: serve a mock table

Hand finalists a made-up dinner menu with an allergen chart and give them [10] minutes with it. Then interviewers play a four-top for [10] minutes. One guest has a shellfish allergy and asks about a dish whose sauce has shrimp paste. Two order mains with changes. One wants a wine to go with fish, then slurs while ordering another drink. The candidate writes the ticket by seat on paper. No real food or drinks.

Use made-up materials, never real customer work, and keep it to the time shown. Follow your own safety rules for anything hands-on.

Reference check questions

Tell finalists you'll call a former manager, and get their permission first. Ask about what they did, not whether they were nice.

• What's an allergy or ordering problem they stopped before it reached a guest?
• When a guest needed to be cut off, or a guest wanted a comp, how did they bring you in, and how soon?
• When their tickets or checkout were wrong, what did they do about it?
• Would you give them your busiest Saturday section again? What would make you hesitate?

Questions to skip, and what to ask instead

Ask only what the job needs. Questions that touch age, health, family or pay history can break federal, state or local law, even when you mean well.

• SkipWill your kids be OK with you working every weekend night?

  AskThis job needs [Friday and Saturday nights and two holidays a year]. Can you work that schedule?

• SkipYou'll carry heavy trays on your feet all night. Are you physically up for that?

  AskAsk every candidate the same way: the job includes [carrying trays up to twenty-five pounds and walking the floor and stairs for a full shift]. Can you do those tasks, with or without reasonable accommodation?

• SkipHow much did you make in tips at your last restaurant?

  AskExplain how pay works here, [the cash wage, the tip pool and the tip-out], and ask how that fits what they need. Many states and cities ban questions about past pay.

• SkipHas a customer ever harassed you? How did you handle it?

  AskDon't ask about anything that has happened to them: it invites personal disclosures and grades how someone coped with being targeted. Use the situational question about a coworker instead, and tell every candidate that a manager steps in.

Common mistakes when hiring a restaurant server

• Hiring the best talker at the table

  Most server interviews are a friendly chat, and charm wins. The mock table shows in ten minutes who checks the sauce and who guesses.

• Treating alcohol as the bartender's job

  Servers take drink orders and carry the drinks to the table. In California, anyone who takes drink orders or delivers drinks counts as an alcohol server and must finish approved training and pass the state exam within sixty days of starting. Test every server's judgment on alcohol, not just the bartender's.

• Assuming any serving job is the same

  A server from a fast casual spot may never have coursed a dinner, opened a bottle at the table or worked a private party. Ask about the kind of service they've done, and let the mock table show the rest.

Restaurant server interview FAQ