How does a restaurant figure out how long a party will take for dinner? I always see the little boxes, but can never figure out how they estimate a party of four will be vs a party of eight or whatever.
I am not here to hijack, just supplement the OP regarding dining and estimated times, etc. My Aunt celebrated her 70th with 24 of us. The fancy restaurant did not have a separate room for private parties. Instead, they grouped some tables together in a back corner (4 tables of 6 settings). The party started at 5pm, and the restaurant informed those making the arrangements that the tables would be needed at 7pm.
The guests didn’t know this. At 7:25pm, a waitress approached me (since I was most accessible) to have the fun task of spreading the word we had to leave. She felt it would be more tactful coming from me. So, I handled it by making a joke out of it - going table to table.
Still, along with the OP, is this the proper way for a nice restaurant to have handled this? For starters, I would have at least written 5-7pm if I had been doing the invitations…but, when people start enjoying themselves, they still need a reminder. How should this be handled?
In hindsight, if it were up to me, I would have started the party at 4pm.
- Jinx
I’m not sure how this would be handled for a large party, but on those occasions when I’ve been eating at upscale restaurants and we’ve taken a bit too long, a waiter will usually come over and quietly offer a complimentary drink at the bar. Whether we take the drink or not, the message that we need to wrap things up is clearly delivered in a totally nonconfrontational manner that doesn’t ruffle any feathers.
OTOH, I was at a semi-upscale restaurant, and I heard a lady next to us ask the waitress how they could stay at that table. The waitress informed her that it was theirs as long as they wanted it. So I suppose it varies from restaurant to restaurant.
Well, just how long should one stay at a table? In my case, let’s say two people?
We often to just a few restaurants where we know that we won’t be thrown out for taking too long. We also tip well, and order lots of beer. And we never get kicked out. Every once in a while I’ll kind of ask the waitress, “hey, we’re almost going to free up the table,” but have always been told not to worry about it – although if I see lines out the door, I feel self-conscious and leave.
One place, though, we go to when I feel cheap – two dinner plates and a pitcher of Labatt for $20 plus tip. But I always feel we’re being run out of there, even when the place is dead. “Anything else?” “Not just yet.” “Have a nice night [leaving the bill].” Yeah, $20 beats $45 and up, but it sucks being ushered out – and I mean rushed.
I’ve had the fortune to have lived in Germany and Mexico – the tranquility of casually dining in a restaurant and lingering is completely lost on too many people here. The whole point of going out is to be out. If I wanted to be at home, a case of Labatt and takeout’s a lot cheaper, plus there’s beer left over for the next day (and a snack, too).