What Is a BANQUETTE—and Is It the Same as a Booth?
NYT Connections — September 27, 2026 spoilers
A banquette is a long bench-style seat, often upholstered and placed along a wall in a restaurant. In September 27 Connections, BANQUETTE joins BOOTH, CHAIR and STOOL as RESTAURANT SEATING OPTIONS.
Published
A banquette and a booth can look similar, but they are not exactly the same concept: banquette refers to the bench-style seating, while booth refers to the more defined seating arrangement around a table.
What is a banquette?
In restaurant use, a banquette is continuous bench-style seating, commonly placed along a wall with tables and chairs in front of it.
The puzzle is using this seating meaning. BANQUETTE is not being used as a variation of BANQUET, the word for a large meal.
How do all four Connections words fit?
| Puzzle word | Meaning in this group | Common alternate meaning to ignore |
|---|---|---|
| BANQUETTE | long bench-style restaurant seating | not “banquet” |
| BOOTH | a defined restaurant seating area around a table | not an exhibition booth or phone booth |
| CHAIR | a chair | not a chairperson |
| STOOL | a backless or simple seat | not its unrelated homonyms |
The category is literal: all four can describe places or pieces of furniture used for sitting in a restaurant.
Is a banquette the same as a booth?
Not exactly. In common restaurant-design usage, a banquette is the bench-style seating itself, often running continuously along a wall. A booth is a more defined seating unit or area arranged around a table.
A booth can use bench or banquette-style seats, which is why the two terms can overlap in real restaurants. The distinction is useful for understanding the word, but the Connections group only requires both to be restaurant seating options.
Why is BANQUETTE the likely unfamiliar word?
BOOTH, CHAIR and STOOL are everyday seating words. BANQUETTE is more specialized restaurant and interior-design vocabulary, so a player can identify the category without knowing exactly what the object is.
This page therefore answers both the word meaning and the full group relationship.
Evidence
Sources
- New York Times — Connections puzzle data for September 27, 2026
- WordCheats — Connections September 27, 2026
- Crow Works — Booth vs. Banquette