Have a plan

If you are fortunate enough to have a sharp manager at your establishment, there will be an existing, written plan to handle inebriated guests. Be sure to go over that plan with the manager BEFORE it happens to you. 

Usually, such a plan includes a signal that alerts the manager or a key person, and the alert is spread to several other servers or staff. That group of people coalesces toward the problem guest because, in the presence of more than one or two people, even a drunken guest hesitates to initiate violence.

Then in a plan, one person such as you, their server, or the manager, is designated as the lead person to talk to the guest as that person, and the others slowly “herd” the guest away from, or shield the other guests from.

Check out the plan. Got it!