50s Prime Time Cafe

[BeckWhy]

I heard somewhere that the waitresses are like "nagging mothers." Is that true?

 

[kpm76]

Yes, it is true but it's part of the charm of 50's. All of the waiters and waitresses are referred to as members of the family...i.e aunt Claire (we had her in Sept and she was great). If you don't finish your meal they usually make a big deal of it and encourage other guests to "shame" you....if you have your elbows on the table they might reprimand you....it's a really fun place (one of my favorites) and the food is quite good too....

 

[SeaSpray]

When we were there, it was May and our server asked DSs if they were missing school to be at Disney World. When they said they were missing school, she had them turn over their placemats and gave them some fun "math problems" to do. All 4 of us had fun working on them. She also gave us our silverware and had us set the table ourselves. This was all done in fun, and our server didn't embarrass us in any way at all. I think that most of the servers can tell who would like and who wouldn't like the degree of "kidding around" and ribbing that they do to the guests. For example, we would not have liked to be asked to stand up and be the center of attention for something, but we did like the few things she did do (setting the table, math problems, etc).

We're looking forward to going back to the 50's Primetime Cafe in July! In fact, we're celebrating our anniversary by having dinner there!

 

[hezreck]

We had cousin Brenda, She was great. The table next to us finished all their food and she brought over their plates and said, "This is how your plates should look if you want desert!" Well, we finished ours too and cleaned the plates better and she took our plates to the first table and said, "Now this is how it's done!" We had them take our picture with her for our "Family Album". You will have a great time there.

 

[Kaycee]

I wasn't sure I would like this kind of theming, I guess I was afraid that it would be mean-spirited, so I avoided the restaurant for several visits. I finally ate there last month with a friend, and we had a blast! We had Cousing Jan, and she was hilarious. So were the servers at all the other tables around us. And all of the guests seemed to be having as much fun as we were. No one seemed at all uncomfortable with the attention. Some people were teased more than others, but the servers seem to have a knack for knowing who to pick on and who to be more subtle with.

 

[jody]

Our waiter was a man, I don't remember his name. DD (15 at the time) had fried chicken with green beans. She didn't want to eat the beans but knew the waiter would probably giver her a hard time if she ordered dessert. DH offered to hide her beans in a napkin and put them on his plate with other scraps, silverware and napkins. When DD orderd her hot fudge sundae, the waiter gave her a funny look and started picking through my husbands plate and found the hidden beans. It was hilarious. He had us take a picture of him trying to feed the beans to DD. He asked her to open wide just for the picture but she was taking no chances. She kept her mouth shut tight. It was a great picture. He then brought her dessert. It was a lot of fun.

 

[KAC2005]

Can't remember the names of the servers but we had a great time. My brother is a really fussy eater and ordered fried chicken. He didn't really like it but ate most, he hates vegetables so he didn't eat any. Our server went and got 'mum' who gave him a lecture and then began crying saying "I cooked you a great meal and you didn't eat anything!" I was laughing for ages and he has never forgotten it yet!!

We are planning on taking our brother (8) there and we have been warning him about putting his elbows on the table. We were in a restaurant a few weeks ago and he was saying to me "You better get your elbows off the table or the florida lady will shout at you!!" It took me a while to work out what he was talking about!!

KAC

 

[Nik's Mom]

O.k. I'm sold on this place now! Dh and I are sitting here cracking up at your stories! Gotta go here now!

 

[scrump]

It can also depend on your CM. The first time we went, we had a fairly quiet CM who just made us set the table and gave us a line about finishing our meals. It was fun, and we didn't know any better. The second time we went was the polar opposite, so we were quite surprised at how involved the experience got to be. Our "cousin" had a whole section of the restaurant going, shaming people into eating their veggies and then scolding others by making them face the wall until they were told they could sit back down. It was a riot. It's fun, and I haven't seen anything mean-spirited, but if you're not in the mood it could get on your nerves. I have seen some families, who were perhaps unprepared and uninformed about the theming, look very uncomfortable and clearly not wanting too much interaction. We love it, though! Have fun!!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

My favorite server has been "cousin Mark". When we (me, my son, my sister, and my 81yo mom) went last month we didn't tell our mom what the place was all about. She was in the restroom when we were seated and when she got to the table Mark gave her a bad time about how long she'd been in the restroom. The look on my mother's face was priceless! He said something else to her, too, and she quickely figured out what the place was all about. He gave her an especially hard time, which was so funny. They don't give break with the meal and she wanted some so she asked Mark about it. But my mother didn't exactly ask right. She said, "hey, do we get bread with the meal?". She didn't even realize that she'd said "hey", but he got all over her case about how his name is Mark, not hey, and for that he wouldn't even talk to her. He passed by the table a couple of times before bringing bread. He first brought her a single piece of white bread, which she started to take, before he pulled out some dinner rolls. None of us wanted the plain bread, but he told her she had to eat it. Of course we tried hiding it, but he found it and kept tossing it back to her. We never did eat it, and yes, we did get dessert.

He knew that we'd wanted a lot of interaction and would not have acted this way if we didn't. It was my birthday and I'll have to say it was one of the most memorable birthdays that I've ever had. lol

We went back later that week (this time with my stone-face brother-in-law) and had a waiter that my sister and I had had in February. Geez, he remembered having us before. I guess we are trouble makers. He was good, but Mark was even better.

When I go back in a couple weeks I'm going to request Mark or Claire.

T&B

 

[eeyore0062]

We had cousin Brenda, She was great. The table next to us finished all their food and she brought over their plates and said, "This is how your plates should look if you want desert!" Well, we finished ours too and cleaned the plates better and she took our plates to the first table and said, "Now this is how it's done!" We had them take our picture with her for our "Family Album". You will have a great time there.

LOVE Brenda... she is the BEST!!!!

 

[NMAmy]

I have to say that this restaurant brings out DD's very best table manners. Last March, Uncle Dave took to calling her his "perfect little angel girl." In December, Uncle Patrick had DH take a picture of him feeding me my green beans. It's a hoot but if someone is uncomfortable, they sense it and...well, pick on someone else like me!

 

[cyndibelle]

auntie clare is the best!!! we have had her both times.. asked for her second time...want a good eating experience ask for her....she will sit down with you...act like she has known you for ages..if your lucky she will even sing....oh my god she is hilarious!!!!

 

[cobbler]

I have eaten there 3 times and have never had a good person. Everytime I just get a regular old server

 

[mariethecat]

We went for the first time 2 weeks ago and I loved it. We had Uncle Tommy for a waiter and he was lots of fun. I had the pot roast and it was the best I have ever had. My DD didn't eat her green beans either. He brought them back for "dessert" with whipped cream and sang A Spoonful of Sugar Makes the Beans go down(from Mary Poppins). I laughed so hard tears were running down my face. My DD said she would rather have had the shame thing done instead. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the food.

 

[jpmom97]

I have eaten there 3 times and have never had a good person. Everytime I just get a regular old server

Me too! I have never had a wait person do anything. It just becomes an overpriced diner then. I would request a server you know will play.

 

[bubbles rockenbocker]

I don't remember the name of our server, but she was "into character"! We went with friends and the wife was unable to finish her dinner. Her husband finished it so that she didn't "get in trouble". When the server came to the table she praised my friend for cleaning her plate. My husband grumbled that she didn't do it alone. My husband got in trouble for tattling and had to sing I'm a Little Tea Pot for the entire room complete with motions! Fortunately, he is a good sport and we all thought it was hilarious!!

 

[JRLINK3]

We were there about a month ago and we had Uncle Tim. He was too funny! He asked us what color the soap was in the bathroom to prove whether or not we washed our hands before we sat down for lunch. Of couse we were all sent back to the restroom because no one could remember. He ribbed us about not calling or writing and only coming around when we were hungry. He had a slight accent that made us think that he might be from up north and when we asked him where he was from he said that he was born in the attic and lives in the basement. And he lives in the basement because he can't get a job and he has to live with Mom. He was ribbing my father-in-law about keeping his elbows off the table during the whole meal. Well, a guy at the next table besides us got in trouble for having his elbows on the table and when he was caught he pointed to my father-in-law and said "Well, he has his elbows on the table!" Well, Uncle Tim said "Both of you up! You for tatteling and you for having your elbows on the table." He put both of them in the corner! They had to face opposite walls and not talk to each other! He caught my mother-in-law with her elbows on the table and he gave her that stern look. Well, she goes "And you wonder why we don't write or call." She got him really good! We have a picture of the family (Uncle Tim included) for our photo album.

 

[Linxzy]

I went last July and I had Aunt Susan. She interacted more with me than with mom, since my mom does not speak english. But I know that Aunt Susan made me eat my veggies so that my mom had a little magic. It was fun, but I didn't like the food very much. I remember Aunt Claire, she was next to me.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Me too! I have never had a wait person do anything. It just becomes an overpriced diner then. I would request a server you know will play.

I've requested certain servers, but they always seem to be off on the day I'm there. In that case I ask for someone with lots of personality.

T&B