Pick the table where you can talk normally, not the one where you have to perform.

Some groups cost energy just to sit in. You watch your words, time your jokes, and leave more tired than you arrived, which is a strange price to pay for company. Other rooms let you talk at normal volume about ordinary things. That difference is worth more than status at the better table.

Think about where you sit most days and whether you actually relax there. Take a different seat once this week, somewhere the conversation does not need managing, and see how the hour feels.