4 easy ways to make takeout feel special, according to chefs and restaurateurs

Now is the time to support your favorite local restaurants, but if you're used to dining out regularly, eating takeout at home can feel uninspiring.
We interviewed four chefs and restaurateurs on taking at-home dining to the next level through small steps like adding some mood lighting to your dinner table, breaking out the cloth napkins, or enhancing that pizza delivery with a drink pairing.
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While some stay-at-home orders have lifted and restaurants have opened in select states, there are still many places where you can't yet dine in. You can probably order takeout from your favorite local spot, but we all know it's not exactly the same experience.

Don't get me wrong — some nights, I'm so tired and lazy that eating directly out of the container doesn't bother me at all. However, I also have plenty of moments when I miss the ambiance and excitement of an evening restaurant reservation.

As I've discovered during quarantine, much of my personality is based on going out to eat, and if yours is too, you're probably wondering how you can conjure a restaurant-like atmosphere when you're stuck at home.

For tips, I consulted people who turn food and drink into experiences for a living:

Ben Powell, co-owner of speakeasy and piano bar Fable Lounge
Maneet Chauhan, celebrity chef and co-founder of Morph Hospitality Group
Mee McCormick, chef and founder of farm-to-kitchen cafe Pinewood Kitchen & Mercantile
Jim Gerakaris, certified sommelier at Justin Vineyards & Winery

Below, they offer their best ideas for how to make mealtimes special again. None of them require massive effort or fancy equipment, and they prove that small tweaks can make quite the difference.

Set the mood with lighting, decorations, and music

Eliminate distractions by turning off the TV and putting phones away. Then, put an actual table cloth over your table. Lighting is also important. If you can dim your lights, do that.

Either way, candles are an easy addition to get sultry lighting. My best tip with candles is to not use candles that are overly scented to avoid taking away from the bouquet of scents from your meal. It also helps to get some that are in nice vessels, like one from Paddywax candles, for example, or you can pop your own candle into something simple like a mason jar.

You can also very easily add music to the background of your meal and put some flowers on the table. You ultimately want to re-enact what you hear and see when you walk into a nice restaurant. —BenPowell

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Pull out some of our simple white Christmas lights and string them outside on the patio. This creates the "outdoor cafe" vibe that we've all been missing. If it's raining, I hang some in my kitchen or dining room. —Mee McCormick

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Set the table as if you were sitting down at a restaurant

I would invest in cloth napkins. Not only do they look nicer but you can wash and reuse them. Crate & Barrel has nice options but you can also find cheaper, but still nice, options on Amazon. Anything other than paper towels will elevate the meal. You can take it a step further and pull the chair out for your partner when you sit down to eat and lay the napkin in their lap.

When sitting down to eat, remove all the elements of the place you got it from by taking all the food out of its original containers and plating it nicely. At Fable Lounge, we use cheeseboards as a presentation method for a lot of our dishes, like our burger.

You can also put the food in a bowl and then set it on the board for some depth. Another example is if you have a meat, a carb, and a vegetable, place them in a triangle pattern on a square plate. There's really no wrong answer here. Changing it up will help with the monotony of eating it out of the to-go containers like you're used to. —BenPowell

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Add an extra touch, like using aMexican bread basket to serve rolls. Put your bread in the oven to warm it while you whip up a simple flavored butter using herbs, garlic, and cheese. Serve it all together for a freshly baked roll that feels like you're in a restaurant. —Maneet Chauhan

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Don't forget a drink pairing

The wonderful thing about wine is that a good pairing can enhance a dining experience well beyond what the food alone can offer. In these times of ordering takeout, try pairing something like pizza and other Italian fare containing tomatoes, herbs, and garlic with a Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine's generous and dark fruit-driven palate, matched with nicely balanced textural elements and savory accents, adds complexity and freshness to these dishes' bold flavors, enhancing the overall experience. —Jim Gerakaris

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On a cool rainy night, I prefer warm sake, and on a steamy summer night, I like it chilled. Both of these sake sets [linked below] are gorgeous, and supporting independent artists like the ones on Etsy is so important during these times. —Mee McCormick

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In the South, people love their sweet tea. A tip I always use is to freeze flavored cubes of ice, so it isn't watered down. This is especially helpful at home, where there isn't a server to help refill your glass. You can freeze iced tea ice cubes and serve them with iced tea, seltzer water, lemonade, etc., for an elevated beverage experience. —Maneet Chauhan

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Before you dig in, finish the plating with a garnish

Garnishes go a really long way to make a dish feel special. If your takeout is something that comes with a side of sauce, then put a pool of it at the bottom of your plate and lay your dish on top. It is a great way to up the presentation of a simple dish.

If you picked up a dessert, serve it with fresh fruits and whipped cream at home to add freshness. With a strainer, you can dust cocoa powder and sugar over the dessert, too, to give it a "snowfall" effect. —Maneet Chauhan

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4 easy ways to make takeout feel special, according to chefs and restaurateurs

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