A serving table is a long, narrow side table placed against the wall of a dining room, from which food is served and dishes are set out during a meal. Unlike a sideboard, it usually has few or no cupboards, consisting of a top on a frieze, sometimes with shallow drawers, supported on four or six legs.
Side and serving tables became an important part of the English dining room in the eighteenth century, with Palladian examples in giltwood or mahogany topped with marble, and later neoclassical designs by Robert Adam and his contemporaries flanked by pedestals and urns. Georgian serving tables in mahogany, often with serpentine or bowed fronts, reeded or square tapering legs and brass rails at the back, are a classic form, and Regency and Victorian examples became larger and more heavily carved. Country versions in oak were used as hunt tables for refreshments. When buying, check the top for splits and stains, the frieze for replaced drawers, and the legs for repairs, since long tables carry considerable stress. Serving tables are versatile in modern homes, used behind sofas, in halls or as consoles.
