Steward Duties & Responsibilities

The role and function of a Steward includes the following duties and responsibilities:

  • Cleaning and setting tables and placing seasonal decorations, candles, and table cloths.
  • Welcoming customers, seating them, serving them water or refilling their glasses, and delivering beverages from the bartender.
  • Keeping menus clean and presenting them to customers.
  • Scraping food from dirty dishes, pots, pans, plates, flatware, and glasses, washing dirty dishes, and putting them away.
  • Assisting with sweeping, mopping, and polishing the restaurant, bar, kitchen, and equipment.
  • Transporting used linen to or from the laundry or housekeeping section.
  • Assisting with unloading and storing stock.
  • Stocking wait staff serving stations with napkins, utensils, trays, and condiments, and assisting the wait staff with all aspects of service.
  • Clearing tables and preparing them for the next customers.
  • Assisting in cleaning and opening or closing tasks.

Note that this is not an exhaustive list of Steward duties and responsibilities. Job functions for specific Steward roles may vary, depending on the industry and type of employer.