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By Donna Curran

Known for its talented chef and innovative menu, the restaurant you have selected now must meet and exceed your expectation of fine service — the make-or-break dimension that turns your evening into a special celebration or a fumbled fiasco.

As the maître d’ takes you to your table, absorb the ambiance of the room and let the excitement begin. Avoid being intimidated by fine restaurants you visit for the first time. Establish a rapport with your server and ask smart questions about the menu and the wine list, and you will exude epicurean sophistication while allowing the server to help you refine your dining decisions. Your professional server, after all, wants to create a pleasant experience. Ask questions and he or she will gladly describe specific dishes or suggest wines.

We have asked some of the desert’s longtime servers — who have established reputations for attentive service and a loyal clientele — about their approach to the art of pleasing both first-time and savvy patrons.

At Ristorante Mamma Gina on El Paseo, server Anthony Cascio-Mariana has been with owner Piero Pierattoni for 18 years and treats all his guests the same. “I go over our menu with them and explain the preparation,” he says. “We do not want anyone to be afraid to ask questions. The chef has been here since the restaurant opened and is very easy to work with, so I just try to keep the flow going and get the food to my clients quickly.

“If guests are having an intimate dinner, I try not to intrude but just watch out for their needs,” he adds.

Cuistot owner Bernard Dervieux has known Claude Sauviat for more than 20 years as a friend, a patron of his first El Paseo restaurant, and now as a member of his staff for four years. Sauviat, who worked in another desert restaurant for 14 years, tries to make his customers feel as comfortable as possible when serving them. He believes restaurants must cultivate customers.

“You want to give them that one-on-one relationship, because they will come back and you know who they are, what their preferences are, and what wine they like,” Sauviat says. “There isn’t a waiter in here that doesn’t have request parties, because we have such a good staff.” Sauviat is a bit of a wine connoisseur and likes to discuss the wines with his guests, although he calls on sommelier Fred Gerber when necessary.

With a new season, there are changes in the menu. Servers are well informed about the ingredients and preparation of dishes and gladly explain them to diners.

With Jillian’s owners Jay and June Trubee since they opened in 1986, Chuck Carrol approaches new clients with a sense of whether they are feeling awkward about asking questions and puts them at ease with his welcoming manner. Jillian’s menu is very explicit, but he is happy to explain specific ingredients and the chef’s specials of the evening. Although the restaurant has a sommelier, he may suggest appropriate wines to accompany guests’ selections.

The restaurant is composed of charming small rooms, and each waiter has his own room to service. Carrol has acquired a long list of loyal diners, whose preferences he makes a point to remember. But he continually makes new friends. Most of the staff has been with Jillian’s from the beginning, and the atmosphere is very amiable. 

Joe Miller, one of the longtime employees of LG’s Prime Steakhouse who works at the La Quinta restaurant, also strives to make guests feel welcome. If they have never been there before, he answers any questions about the à la carte menu and the various prime steaks. As for the wine list, Miller tries get a sense of his customers’ price points and which wines they recognize. With bottles ranging from $30 to $3,200, he never tries to urge customers toward a more expensive wine. “Wines are so sophisticated now that you can get good bottles in all [price] ranges,” he says. Guests may also taste some of the wines to aid their selection.

Miller says he appreciates his roster of loyal patrons; and when he sees their names on the reservation list, he is ready for them. He keeps a book of their preferences and has their favorite wine and bottled water already on the table. When training new waiters, he suggests that they begin such a record when acquiring a steady clientele.

One of his regular customers is tennis star Andy Roddick, who comes to the desert often and may dine at LG’s five times during one visit. At one sitting, he told Miller that he was enjoying his filet mignon so much that he was going to have a petite filet for dessert. Miller wants all his customers to have that much fun.

Owners Leon and Gail Greenberg visit each of their three local restaurants regularly to mingle with guests.

Although the new Beefsteak Fine Food & Wine at The Atrium in Rancho Mirage is not a long-established valley restaurant, both its owner/chef Eric Wadlund and server Thomas Renteria are well known by patrons of their former establishments. Renteria has been in the desert for 20 years. He makes customers feel comfortable by smiling, making eye contact, and maintaining a composed demeanor.

Renteria thinks diners should consider the chef’s expertise in creating fine cuisine before ordering without a menu. Requesting béarnaise sauce on the side, for instance, can alter the integrity of the dish. Most chefs, however, will make a special order with advance notice.

While attentive, Renteria never hovers or brings the check too soon, but keeps an eye on the table at all times.

We also spoke to a couple that dines out frequently to find out what they expect from a restaurant. Nicolette and John Bianchi of Rancho Mirage enjoy eating out even though Nicolette is an excellent cook. John admits he is a bit spoiled by his wife’s culinary talents and therefore expects great food and service from a restaurant.

Uppermost in his view are attention to detail and a comfortable atmosphere. John’s thought about the service is “Don’t forget I’m here,” and he appreciates servers who frequent their table.

Nicolette’s family founded the Italian Swiss Colony Winery in the 1800s, and she was raised on a grape-producing ranch, so wine is special to the Bianchis. They do not want to ex-periment with the wine list. They expect the sommelier to give them a good wine. The Bianchis say they have enjoyed dining out in the desert with very few glitches. 

Tips for tasty relationships

• Accept the friendly greeting offered and feel at ease to ask any questions you may have about the restaurant, the menu, or the wine list. You will find that your server is happy to answer your questions.

• Tell your server in advance if you require separate checks. It is time-consuming to break down a large bill into separate checks after it has been computed and to re-input the orders into the computer. This will delay your departure after a pleasant evening.

• Explain any food allergies you may have before you order so the server can check with the chef that the special sauce you may get with your salmon does not contain an ingredient that may be a problem. A substitution can be made if the chef has time to do it.

• Speak up soon! Don’t wait until dessert arrives before you say that your salad was too salty. Any good restaurant will replace a dish that is unsatisfactory. They want you to be happy and come back, but you must communicate.

• Keep children or grandchildren with you; avoid allowing them to run around or speak loudly. It is good training for young people to observe how to behave in a restaurant, and it makes your evening more pleasant as well.