Hosting a dinner party for a group in a restaurant is less tedious than having the party at your house. No need to cook meals, no need to clean up after the guests are gone, and no need to clean the house and make it presentable. Plus, you’ll be sure of the quality of the food (as chefs cook it), and you have servers at your service. But the thing about hosting a dinner party at the restaurant is that your options for entertaining guests are limited. Since you’re in a public space, you need to make sure that you’re not disrupting the dining experience of other people in the restaurant.
But don’t worry; there are still some fun party games you can play while at a restaurant. Try them as you wait for your meals to be served or after everyone has dined. Here are some dinner party game ideas to play at a restaurant:
Two Truths and a Lie
Two Truths and a Lie is a simple and fun party game that you can play while enjoying your meal. All you need is a drink and a bit of creativity. Here’s how it works: Sit around the table and take turns. The first person shares two true statements about themselves and one false statement. The next person must guess which one is the lie.
If they guess correctly, the first person drinks. If they guess wrong, they drink. Then it’s the next person’s turn to share their truths and a lie, and the game continues in this way. Keep going round and round, and enjoy getting to know the people at your dinner table!
Alternatively, a person may share them with the whole group, and each person must guess the lie. After everyone has shared and guessed, the person with the most correct guesses wins – perhaps they may be entitled to that last piece of dumpling, a pizza, or an extra dessert as a prize!
Word Association
Word Association is an engaging, fast-paced game that stimulates creativity and quick thinking. To begin, select a random word as the starting point. The first player must promptly say a word that is associated with the given word. The next person in line then needs to come up with a word that is connected to the word just mentioned. The goal is to continue the chain of associated words for as long as possible.
As the game progresses, participants must respond swiftly to keep the momentum going. If a player hesitates or fails to come up with a word within a few seconds, they are eliminated from the game. The remaining players continue playing until only one person is left standing, making them the victorious word association champion!
Never Have I Ever
Never Have I Ever is a super fun drinking game that doesn’t require any fancy equipment—just your memory and your favorite adult beverage. (We understand that sometimes the two don’t mix, but let’s roll with it.)
Here’s how it goes: Each player starts with five fingers up. Take turns saying, “Never have I ever…” followed by something you’ve never done. For example, “Never have I ever gone skydiving,” “Never have I ever cursed in front of my grandma,” or “Never have I ever faked being sick to skip work” (Yeah, right.)
After someone shares their “Never have I ever” statement, anyone who has actually done that thing will lower one finger and take a drink. The first player to put all five fingers down is the loser. (But honestly, we think they’re winning at life.)
If you don’t want to use your fingers to keep score, you can get creative. For example, you could play until the first player finishes their drink or everyone feels a bit tipsy. Just be cautious about playing this game at your next office party—you never know what secrets might come out!
The Famous Person Game
The Famous Person Game is an absolute blast and a surefire hit at any dinner party! It’s a lighthearted and entertaining activity that adds a touch of excitement and intrigue to the gathering. Here’s how it goes down:
First things first, you’ll need some blank white stickers or mailing labels, a marker, and a list of famous people. Ensure everyone has their dinner plates cleared, and prepare for some hilarious guessing!
Each person gets to wear a sticker on their forehead with the name of a famous person written on it. But here’s the catch—they can’t see the name! It’s all about playing detective and figuring out who they “are” by asking clever questions.
Once the stickers are in place, the fun begins! Take turns asking each other questions to uncover your hidden identities. It’s a bit like a game of 20 Questions but with famous folks as the mystery characters. You can ask about anything—movies, music, sports, historical events—and the answers will help guide you toward discovering your own famous alter ego.
The game gets everyone involved and sparks lively conversations as you try to unravel the clues and make your guesses. It’s hilarious to witness the mix of laughter, surprise, and “aha” moments when someone figures out who they are. And don’t worry if you get stuck or need hints along the way—there’s no shame in seeking a little help from your fellow players.
Telephone
The telephone game is a classic that never fails to bring a barrel of laughs to any dinner party. Prepare for some seriously hilarious moments as words get twisted and tangled along the way.
Here’s how it works: One person kicks things off by whispering a short phrase into the ear of the person next to them. The catch? They can only say it once, so everyone needs to pay close attention!
Then, like a whispering relay race, the message travels from one person to the next, going around the table. Each participant whispers what they heard to their neighbor, and so on. When the message reaches the last person at the table, they announce it out loud to everyone. But here’s the twist—the final message might be completely different from the original one!
The fun thing about this game is that as the whispered phrase travels from ear to ear, it undergoes its own wild transformation. Misheard words, hilarious interpretations, and accidental slips of the tongue add a whole new layer of entertainment to the game.
And let’s be real here—sometimes, people intentionally spice things up by changing the message on purpose. It’s all part of the fun! Just be mindful not to go overboard and make it impossible for others to guess the original phrase.
Whether it’s a simple sentence or a silly tongue twister, the Telephone Game is sure to have everyone in stitches. It’s a fantastic icebreaker that gets people talking, laughing, and bonding over the sheer absurdity of it all.
Great Minds Think Alike
Great Minds Think Alike is a fun, thought-provoking game. It’s a total blast, especially when you’re bringing together a bunch of people who might not know each other that well. Get ready for some friendly rivalry and a whole lot of laughter!
Here’s the scoop: You’ll need notecards and pens for each guest. To kick things off, come up with ten excellent categories or questions. It could be anything from a designer brand to a famous chef, something you’d find in a city, the weirdest invention, something you eat with chopsticks or even a dish with pasta! If you’re having a themed party, you can tailor the categories to match the theme.
Now, divide your guests into two teams and let the game begin. Call out the categories one at a time, and each player has to write down the first two or three things that come to their mind on their notecard. Let those creative juices flow!
Once everyone has their answers, it’s time for the big reveal. Each team compares their notecards and sees how many players wrote down the same word or phrase. It’s all about thinking alike! Give one point for every word that three people had in common, two points if four or more had it in common, and three points for every five, and so on. You can adjust the point system depending on how many people are playing.
At the end of the game, the team with the most points — the ones who thought alike the most — emerged victorious! It’s a great way to discover shared interests, unique perspectives, and hilarious overlaps in thinking.
Guess Who
Guess Who is perfect for playing with your extended family or a close group of friends who know each other well. Get ready to have a blast!
In this game, each person gets a notecard or a small piece of paper, and a pen. During dinner, you ask everyone to describe themselves in just three words. It’s up to them whether they want to write their words in a list format, like “happy, sad, mad,” or in a phrase format, like “lover of all.”
Once everyone has written their descriptions, collect the cards and mix them up. Then, it’s time for the fun part! You read the descriptions out loud over dessert or after the meal, and the players have to guess who wrote each description. It’s like a mini detective game where you match the words with the person who wrote them.
Imagine the excitement and laughter as people try to figure out who wrote what! It’s a fantastic way to test your knowledge of each other and see if you can guess based on the descriptions. Plus, it sparks conversations and discussions as you discover surprising insights about your family or friends.
The Memory Game
The Memory Game is a fantastic choice for smaller groups when dining at a restaurant. It’s a simple yet engaging game that challenges players’ ability to remember and recall items in a sequence. Here’s how it works:
To begin, one person starts by saying a phrase like, “I went to a party, and I brought a basket of muffins.” The next person in line repeats the phrase and adds an item of their own, such as “I went to a party, and I brought a basket of muffins and a stuffed animal.” Each player continues the pattern, repeating the previous items and adding something new to the list.
The game progresses as each person takes their turn, reciting the growing list of items in the correct order. It requires concentration and a good memory to recall all the items mentioned by previous players.
The challenge lies in remembering the entire sequence as the list becomes longer and more items are added. The game continues until someone forgets an item or makes a mistake in the sequence. That person is then eliminated from the game.