You've been using a restaurant napkin all wrong! Etiquette expert William Hanson explains the do's and don'ts for napkins (including why they should NEVER be folded into a swan)

You’ve been using your restaurant napkin all wrong – but help is at hand from etiquette expert William Hanson.

Mr Hanson has produced a TikTok video that’s gone viral, with over 670,000 views, in which he explains the do’s and don’ts of napkin wrangling.

In the video, also posted to Mr Hanson’s Instagram, the Merlin of manners explains that the napkin when you’re leaving the table and intend to return – say for a lavatory visit – is placed on your seat, or the arm of the chair if it has one.

Pro tip – ‘never place it on the back of the chair’.

Mr Hanson continues: ‘If you are leaving the table completely because you have finished the meal it gets placed in a neat heap to the left-hand-side of your setting. There’s no need to fold it into a neat shape.’

William Hanson has produced a TikTok video that’s gone viral, with over 670,000 views, in which he explains the do’s and don’ts of napkin wrangling

And Mr Hanson added in a caption: ‘And certainly don’t fold it into a swan – common!’

When placing the napkin on the table when finished, are there any spots on the table that are a no-no?

Mr Hanson told MailOnline Travel: ‘Yes, avoid anything like the plate or cutlery. An empty surface is all you need – usually, the space to the left of the setting where the bread plate was when you started eating, but that will have been cleared after the first or main course.’

Do the same rules apply to paper napkins?

Mr Hanson said: ‘Generally, yes. Paper napkins do tend to fly away, especially when eating in a draft or outdoors. It would be fine to tuck the napkin under your plate when finished to weigh it down.’

If one’s napkin has crumbs on it, what’s the etiquette for disposing of them?

Mr Hanson replied: ‘You could gently brush them onto the floor, but only if there are a few. If not, leave them there and be careful as to how you fold the napkin at the end to try and contain the crumbs inside.’

Is the napkin’s purpose not only to catch crumbs on the lap but to wipe both the hands and mouth?

Mr Hanson remarked: ‘Yes, the napkin is multi-purpose, although really, there should not be too much dirt on the napkin from dabbing the mouth clean. The food is meant to go in the mouth, not around it. If you have a filthy napkin at the end, something’s gone wrong.’

For more from Mr Hanson visit his TikTok and Instagram profiles. His new book, Just Good Manners (Penguin Random House), is out on September 12, 2024. It is billed as ‘a witty and authoritative guide to British etiquette’, with William sharing ‘his definitive guidance on how to charm and delight those around you in every situation with idiosyncratic authority’.

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