Table settings: Memorable film scenes set in restaurants

This is a movie built entirely around a restaurant, and the two brothers that run it, so practically the whole movie could make the list. “Big Night” also features an extended sumptuous feast. However, it’s the quieter, simpler end to the story that makes the list. After a disastrous reveal and a massive fight, the next morning Stanley Tucci’s Secondo starts silently making an omelet. Eventually, he finishes it and serves it to the restaurants waiter as well as his brother, who he had been fighting with, Primo. It’s a great way to end the story.

One of Pixar’s best movies, “Ratatouille” is about a rat named Remy who wants to be a great chef. In a way, he achieves that through piloting a human chef by pulling his hair. The moment when the duo realize that this plan works makes for a delightful scene that sets up the rest of the movie.

“Good Burger” is based off of the breakout sketch from Nickelodeon’s “All That,” though they had to add a lot of story to make it work. The sketch was just about Kel Mitchell’s Ed being dumb. Also, saying, “Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger, can I take your order?” Early in the movie, they basically do a version of the sketch, which is frankly all we needed from it as kids in the ‘90s.

One of the most famous “just talking” movies, basically the entirety of “My Dinner with Andre” is Wallace Shawn’s character having a lengthy, deep conversation with the titular Andre. The whole thing is a memorable restaurant scene essentially. That means we’re going to include it, even though Andre would surely have some philosophical point to make about that.

Barry Levinson’s coming-of-age movie takes place in 1950s Baltimore. It’s about a group of friends at crossroads in their lives, but they always come back to hang at the local diner. “Diner” fittingly features a few scenes where the friends just hang out, eat food, and talk about life. They are all highlights of the movie.

Vincent Vega takes his boss’ wife Mia out to dinner. They go to a retro diner. They drink $5 milkshakes. They win a dance contest. They have a grand old time. Sure, the evening takes a turn when Vincent has to stab Mia in the heart with adrenaline after she snorts his heroin, but at least Vincent got to do the Batusi.

When Prince Akeem comes to America and tries to hide his wealth and status as royalty, he takes a job at a McDonald’s ripoff called “McDowell’s.” One day while working there, a man comes in to hold the place up. It’s a memorable scene, in part because of who plays the hold-up man. That would be a pre-fame Samuel L. Jackson.

We don’t have to go into any detail here. There’s nothing we really need to say save for one line that is one of the most iconic ever uttered in a movie, much less a romantic comedy. You know the words: “I’ll have what she’s having.”

This is a famous scene at a restaurant that has nothing to do with food. It has everything to do with this famous 1990s gross-out comedy. Ben Stiller’s character is on a date with Cameron Diaz’s Mary. Somehow, he has failed to notice a certain, um, substance clinging to his ear. Mary mistakes it for hair gel, and proceeds to use it to stick up her own hair. An indelible image of the era was carved into granite that day.

The best food scene in “Goodfellas” is when they make the dinner in prison. However, the best scene at a restaurant is when Henry takes Karen to the Copacabana for the first time. Scored to the pop classic “Then He Kissed Me,” Martin Scorsese treats us to a tracking shot that takes Henry and Karen from the back entrance to the Copa all the way to their table. It’s filmmaking at its finest.

For a bit there, everybody seems to be having a grand, cocaine-fueled time, at the Babylon Club. Tony Montana is on top of the world. Michelle Pfeiffer is dancing like music is the most boring thing in the world. Then, things take a bit of a turn when the night at the club turns into a shootout. It’s not the most notable shootout in the movie, but it definitely sticks with us.

Al Pacino is back, but this time things are a bit subtler. Everybody was waiting for Pacino and Robert De Niro to share a scene in “Heat.” These two legendary actors had shared films, but never the same scene. When it happens in “Heat,” it’s at an unremarkable diner. However, that doesn’t make the scene anything other than a riveting tete-a-tete between two acting legends.

Well, you base a movie on a Bret Easton Ellis book and you can anticipate something memorable happening. Pleasant? Maybe not, but certainly memorable. A lot happens in this film — A LOT — but somehow Richard “Dıck” Jared is still able to stand out. Russell Sams, who plays Dıck, doesn’t even have his own Wikipedia page. And yet, for one dinner scene, he steals the focus and upstages the film.

Phil Connors has quite a bit of time to spend at a greasy spoon in Punxsutawney. As in, several years (or more) of living the same day over and over. On one of those days, Phil reveals everything to his coworker Rita as he chows down on all the junk food he can find. Phil goes around the diner and reveals facts about every single person there, even though he ostensibly doesn’t know them. In reality, he knows them all too well.

Sending Michael Corleone to meet with Tattaglia and McCluskey was designed to keep the Corleone family’s enemies from being too suspicious. Michael? He’s the war hero. He’s not in the dirty parts of the family business. Then, Michael heads to the bathroom, finds the gun planted there for him, and carries out a hit on both men. It changes the course of the New York crime world, as well as Michael’s life.

Look, if you’re going to work at Chotchkie’s, they are going to want you to wear a lot of flair. Now, you aren’t required to wear flair, but they’d really appreciate it. Jennifer Aniston’s Joanna? Not really a flair gal. As such, she decides the best thing for her is to quit in a blaze of glory. Evidently, she had a flair for walking off a job.

It’s a sitcom trope writ large, and done about as well as it has ever been done. Daniel Hilliard doesn’t just have two dinners at the same restaurant at the same time, but at one of them he has to be his alter ego Mrs. Doubtfire. Hijinks ensues, but the story also hits a key plot point. As Mrs. Doubtfire, Daniel performs the Heimlich on his ex-wife’s new beau, and in the process his real identity is accidentally revealed.

It’s likely you haven’t seen “Five Easy Pieces.” It’s a bit of ‘70s cinema that was notable at the time, and an early lead role for Jack Nicholson, but it’s cultural cache has largely boiled down to one scene. Fortunately for us, it happens to involve a restaurant. Nicholson’s curmudgeonly character just wants wheat toast, but the diner won’t let him order it. As such, he decides to order a chicken salad sandwich, hold the chicken. However, he’s not exactly nice about it.

Who says dogs don’t enjoy a night out on the town? Well, people in the real world, but we’re talking about an animated Disney classic. Lady and Tramp may have to eat outside the Italian restaurant, as dogs, but they still get a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs to share. Plus, they get serenaded with a song as well. We should all be so lucky.

In “My Fair Lady,” when Eliza’s status as a fish out of water in spite of all her trappings is highlighted, it happens at a horse race. In “Pretty Woman,” it happens at a fancy dinner. Like all fancy dinners of the era, escargot is on the menu. Naturally, Vivian doesn’t have much experience with these “slippery little suckers,” leading to some awkwardness. Of course, it’s charming awkwardness, because this is Julia Roberts we’re talking about.