The Reason You Might Get A Black Napkin Instead Of White At A Fine Dining Restaurant

Have you ever noticed that some upscale restaurants typically offer black napkins to certain guests? A seemingly small detail — but one that actually reveals a fascinating story about how hospitality and practicality play such an important role in the fine dining industry. While most diners wouldn't give their napkin color a second thought, for restaurateurs and regular fine dining patrons, the black napkin goes far beyond being a simple piece of fabric.

The tradition of offering a black napkin dates back all the way to 1985, when Danny Meyer — Shake Shack founder and author of "Setting the Table" — opened up Union Square Café in New York City. Meyer faced a dilemma with his napkin options: white cotton napkins left lint on dark clothing, white polyester napkins didn't lint but felt unpleasant to use, and high-quality, lint-free cotton napkins were too expensive for a new restaurant. Out of options and needing a solution, the black napkin quickly emerged as a practical compromise that both solved the lint problem and didn't break the bank. Beyond preventing lint, black napkins also offered another practical advantage: they concealed any food stains and makeup smudges. This meant that diners could continue to use theirs throughout the entire meal without feeling embarrassed about any visible stains.

By the late-'90s, the black napkin had become a status symbol across fine dining establishments. At upscale restaurants, staff would quickly identify guests in dark clothing and immediately replace their white napkins with black — ensuring that no diner would leave with lint-speckled attire. This commitment to detail ultimately became a vital element of dining etiquette that people in the know would keep an eye out for when trying to find the best restaurants out there.

Around the 2000s, lint-free white napkins became more affordable. This meant that restaurants no longer needed black napkins for purely practical purposes. That said, from top Michelin-starred restaurants across the world to trendy upscale bistros, many continued to stock and use black napkins, transforming the iconic "black napkin" into a "secret handshake" that fine dining enthusiasts in the know could recognize as a mark of quality service.

After all, what had originally started as a functional solution had taken on a new life and become a subtle sign of restaurant quality and attention to detail. Nowadays, the presence of black napkins indicates that an establishment is dedicated to personalized service, and that its staff can quickly notice and appreciate the finer points of the entire dining experience. For regular fine dining patrons, receiving a black napkin without having to ask for it demonstrates that the restaurant is fully aware of the customs and etiquette of upscale dining.

Nonetheless, things aren't always so straightforward. In certain dining circles, the idea of the "black napkin" often comes with a twinge of self-consciousness. As Chef Suzanne Goin, a prominent name in the Los Angeles dining scene, admitted to The New Yorker in 2018: "We do the black-napkin thing. I hope it's not pretentious". As a justification, she noted that even modern cotton napkins can still produce some lint — which reinforces the practical value of still using the traditional napkin's darker (and more resilient) alternative. Next time you're thinking of dining at a fancy restaurant during your travels, keep an eye out for any black napkins being passed around — it might just tell you more about the place than what's on the menu.