As long as I’m kept informed, and there’s a bar, I’ll wait all night. Or at least until Ive got a reasonable amount of time to eat before being expected to leave for closing time.
We have a Seinfeldian habit of going to dinner as early as possible to avoid the crowds. I generally go out to eat when I’m hungry, and the thought of waiting is unbearable.
I don’t mind waiting for a seat, regardless of the time.
However, once I’m seated, I have a 10-minute time limit for someone to come over and at least get my drink order. If I’ve sat for 10-minutes, and no one has even spoken to me, I very quietly make my exit. And that goes for any restaurant, whether it’s one I go to a lot, or someplace I’m going for the first time.
If there’s a bar, I’ll wait up to an hour. If I have to stand on the sidewalk, I’ll move on. At chain restaurants, I don’t like them well enough to willingly give them that much of my time.
It depends on where I’m eating - I won’t wait more than 5 minutes at TGIRubyAppleBennigan’s. If it’s a good restaurant that I know I like, I’ll wait an hour if they have a bar, and maybe 20-30 minutes if they don’t.
Oh, and at Dali in Cambridge, I’ll wait for up to 2 hours on a warm night when there is a good crowd. Otherwise we go at opening at 4:45pm.
Mr2U and I generally won’t wait. 15 minutes maybe, that would be it. Bar or not - I’m not going to bless the revenue gods by paying for $3.00 draft beers while being granted the option of cooling my heels. (Besides - when Mr2U takes me out to dinner, his idea of a big night is getting me fries with my happy meal, so it’s generally not a problem anyway. ;))
I’m the same way. I’m an early riser, so I’ve had breakfast and lunch earlier than most folks, and come 5PM, I’m ready for dinner. If we’re going out with others and I know it’ll be for a later meal, I’ll have something light before leaving, just to keep from getting a headache.
Waiting for breakfast out is the worst - I can wind up with a killer headache that drags thru much of the day if I have breakfast too late. But being an early riser, I can usually beat the crowds, if I don’t have to wait for the slug-a-beds in my family to get in gear.
One thing for sure, taking advantage of the Senior Citizen Early-Bird Specials will be right up my alley in a few years!
I can’t think of any chain restaurant that’s worth waiting more than 30 minutes for a table. Especially crap places like Friday’s or Applebee’s. I’ll opt every time for a place that takes reservations.
I can’t think of any chain restaurant that’s worth waiting more than five minutes. I’d wait half an hour or so at a nice restaurant if they have a place to sit and wait, preferrably with a drink. I will not get into a line at a fast food place if it’s more than two deep. Life’s not long enough to waste time waiting on mediocre food.
The above rules don’t apply when dining out with friends; then I’ll normally default to whatever there limitation is. I have one friend who is uniformly unhappy if he’s not eating in a chain restaurant somewhere, so we have to work some compromises at times.
Ironically I’ll drive an hour or so for a decent meal, if necessary, passing many less worthy places on the way there.
What, wait standing? 10 minutes, tops. That’s the longest I’ve waited in the past 6 years.
There’s just no need to wait in Vancouver. So many great restaurants, so close together, they all take reservations (except Vij’s-- and even then you can always sit in the bar section and get served, so it’s no hardship.
If I’m sitting in the bar, drinking and eating before moving to a table, that’s not really waiting, is it?
FairyChat, we’re early risers too. Sleeping in is like 6:00 for us. If I can beat the Christians to breakfast on a Sunday, it is a good day, indeed.
At BD’s Mongolian BBQ in Ann Arbor we’ve waited almost 3 hours. Mind you, it was on a Saturday night…good weather.
Makes for a fun time at the bar!
It’s worth it…I think that’s the longest I’ve waited.
Eating at 10 at night is not too fun.
My sister and I waited 90 minutes once at PF Chang’s, but only because we went in Target and Barnes & Noble next door while we waited.
(It was worth the wait, too)
Otherwise, 30 minutes is usually my limit. Although I’ve found restaurants usually overestimate how long you will wait (I guess so people don’t come back in 30 minutes exactly and demand a table).