Breakfast Napkin Etiquette

Although many modern Americans are raised without formal training in etiquette, they may find themselves in parts of the country or the world in which good manners contribute significantly to the impression they make. Whether attending a business breakfast in London or a classy pre-wedding brunch in Charleston, diners in formal settings may be measured according to their table etiquette, so it is important that they know the appropriate uses of a napkin. Does this Spark an idea?

Breakfast Napkin Basics

Diners should place their napkins in their laps upon sitting.

A breakfast napkin is square, with each side measuring 10 to 12 inches. It should match the color and texture of the table cloth at a formal breakfast, but it may be more colorful or patterned at an informal breakfast, acting as a design accessory. Diners should unobtrusively unfold their napkins and lay them in their laps as soon as they sit down to breakfast. The napkin is then considered to be their property until they complete the meal and leave the table.

Uses at Table

Diners should blot, not wipe, their mouths.

Diners should not tuck their breakfast napkins into their clothes, either at their waists or beneath their chins. They should gently blot or dab their mouths with their napkins frequently during breakfast, but they should not wipe their mouths with them. If a diner needs to take something out of his mouth, such as a fruit pit or piece of egg shell, he should not spit it into his napkin; rather, he should remove it surreptitiously with his fork or spoon.

Leaving the Table

Etiquette experts disagree on what a diner should do with her napkin if she must leave the table during the meal. Some say to leave it on her chair, folded so the dirty parts are on the inside, but others fear offending the host by dirtying his chair. They advocate setting the napkin down on the left side of a diner's plate, with the dirty side folded inward. A breakfast is unlikely to be sufficiently formal for either solution to be a major faux pas.

Completing the Meal

When the meal is finished and it is time to leave the table, diners should lay their napkins neatly beside their plates, on the left side. If servers have removed the plates, diners may place their napkins in the now-empty spaces their plates had occupied. Refolding the napkin is bad etiquette, because someone may believe it to be unused and clean. Crumpling or wadding it into a ball is also bad etiquette, because it looks messy.