Have you ever been asked to leave a restaurant?

[EveDallas]

I think an hour and 15 minutes is about the right amount of time to eat at a restaurant. People don't go out to eat with family to inhale their food. Those of you that said 40 minutes do you have the menu memorized. I figure 15 -20 minutes to order drinks read the menu and order food. What if you want an appetizer? It generally takes 20 minutes or more to get served your food, 20 minutes or so to eat. Dessert coffee...waiting on the bill 75 minutes sounds about right. I wouldn't go back. We rarely eat out, but if we do I want to be able to relax, talk and enjoy my meal. Not be rushed.

15 to 20 minutes to read the menu? Is is fifty pages long or something?

 

[NHdisneylover]

I think an hour and 15 minutes is about the right amount of time to eat at a restaurant. People don't go out to eat with family to inhale their food. Those of you that said 40 minutes do you have the menu memorized. I figure 15 -20 minutes to order drinks read the menu and order food. What if you want an appetizer? It generally takes 20 minutes or more to get served your food, 20 minutes or so to eat. Dessert coffee...waiting on the bill 75 minutes sounds about right. I wouldn't go back. We rarely eat out, but if we do I want to be able to relax, talk and enjoy my meal. Not be rushed.

I think you are missing that this was breakfast (who orders appetizers at breakfast?) and, more importantly, the OP and their party WERE finished eating---they even refused refills on coffee as well. At that point, their meal was over.
I see no issue with taking one's time to enjoy a meal, various courses, etc. But if you are finished with the meal, not ordering more, and people ware waiting? Then it is rude to hold the table---whether you spent 45 minutes or two hours actually having the meal is not part of that equation.

 

[maxiesmom]

I think you are missing that this was breakfast (who orders appetizers at breakfast?) and, more importantly, the OP and their party WERE finished eating---they even refused refills on coffee as well. At that point, their meal was over.
I see no issue with taking one's time to enjoy a meal, various courses, etc. But if you are finished with the meal, not ordering more, and people ware waiting? Then it is rude to hold the table---whether you spent 45 minutes or two hours actually having the meal is not part of that equation.

I totally agree with you. If the OP had wanted to sit and chat more, then at least keep ordering drinks. But if you are done eating and there is a mob of people still waiting to be seated, then it is time to leave. I wouldn't be offended. I would feel sheepish I didn't notice that myself.

 

[sunshinehighway]

I think an hour and 15 minutes is about the right amount of time to eat at a restaurant. People don't go out to eat with family to inhale their food. Those of you that said 40 minutes do you have the menu memorized. I figure 15 -20 minutes to order drinks read the menu and order food. What if you want an appetizer? It generally takes 20 minutes or more to get served your food, 20 minutes or so to eat. Dessert coffee...waiting on the bill 75 minutes sounds about right. I wouldn't go back. We rarely eat out, but if we do I want to be able to relax, talk and enjoy my meal. Not be rushed.

Not breakfast. If you're going out to dinner your timeline sounds right but this was a breakfast place.
I wouldn't go to a popular breakfast place on a Sunday and expect to relax and hang out to talk.

 

[ronandannette]

I'm with the OP here. It would be different if they had long been finished and were just hanging out at the table. After asking if they needed anything else, I would think they should have a small window to leave on their own before being asked.

I had a similar experience at a really trendy restaurant a couple of years ago. My BF at the time and two other couples and I were having dinner at a relatively new place in town. It's one of those places where you order a bunch of small plates and they all come out of the kitchen randomly. It took about an hour for the last one to make it to our table. One of the ladies sent a text to her babysitter as we were paying the bill (so we had a time stamp)- six minutes later we were asked to leave. We were all just about to leave, so it really left a bad taste that they didn't give us that opportunity on our own. Funny thing is, I didn't see any people waiting for tables. I haven't been back there- not just because of the server who asked us to leave. It was a bit pretentious and the food wasn't anything I had to have again. But anytime I hear it mentioned, I think, That's the place I was asked to leave.

They did. They sat for 10 minutes after the bill had been brought to them and they’d been asked if they wanted or needed anything else. It was after this 10 minutes and after again being offered and declining wanting anything else that they were asked to settle up. 10 minutes is actually quite a bit of time when you’re not really doing anything or not lost in conversation and the OP didn’t imply they were. It’s a very long time when you’re in line waiting for a table.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

More details, please. Drive-thru or inside?

Did you get any explanation and apology for the delay?

Inside - that was 11 minutes in line (behind 2 people) and 36 minutes to get my food. No special order. They were just THAT slow.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

How desperate were you that you were willing to wait 47 minutes for McDonald’s food? You had just spent three weeks lost and starving in the wilderness and it was the first sign of civilization you stumbled upon?

It’s what the kids wanted

 

[Gumbo4x4]

That's what I want to know. Also, free coffee? Free supersize fries?

Please tell me they made it right Gumbo.

Nope. They would have had to do that for everyone. The people who ordered after me were still waiting when I left.

I did make a minor scene when they handed me my food by loudly announcing the time.

 

[RedAngie]

Inside - that was 11 minutes in line (behind 2 people) and 36 minutes to get my food. No special order. They were just THAT slow.

It’s what the kids wanted

Your kids must be very patient. Mine would have been whining after five minutes, especially if we didn't even order yet.

And you obviously exceeded the 30 minute time limit for indoor seating. Did they tell you to scram once you finally received your food?

 

[cabanafrau]

Yes. <sigh!> Those were the good old [younger] days.

Bars here close at 4am. There were many times that we'd close a bar, but weren't ready to go home yet. That's what 24 hour diners are for. We'd go there and start on breakfast.

Wait. . . that was your party over at the other table?

Not limited to my younger days. It's happened several times the past few years out to dinner with family and friends that we've had to reluctantly break it up because the restaurant is closing. So hard to end some of the most amazing evenings and conversations.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

It’s what the kids wanted

There is a 0% chance I would wait 47 minutes for McDonalds regardless of what my kids wanted!

 

[GreatLakes]

Brunch is probably the slowest meal we have. An hour and a half isn't all that unusual especially if we are meeting up with friends and catching up. We usually have some coffee, chat a bit, order food, chat a bit more, someone goes up to the crape or Bloddy Mary station, chat some more, someone might get some espresso, chat a bit more. You get the picture. We usually don't sit around that often after we are all done but it is a slow meal for sure.

We did have brunch during a few World Cup games this summer and stuck around until the game was done even if we weren't ordering anything any longer.

 

[gotomu212]

I think an hour and 15 minutes is about the right amount of time to eat at a restaurant. People don't go out to eat with family to inhale their food. Those of you that said 40 minutes do you have the menu memorized. I figure 15 -20 minutes to order drinks read the menu and order food. What if you want an appetizer? It generally takes 20 minutes or more to get served your food, 20 minutes or so to eat. Dessert coffee...waiting on the bill 75 minutes sounds about right. I wouldn't go back. We rarely eat out, but if we do I want to be able to relax, talk and enjoy my meal. Not be rushed.

I think you missed the later details that they had their food and were eating for 50 minutes. They weren’t spending time reading the menu and waiting for food- although one member of their party showed up and ordered 30 or 40 minutes late.

50 minutes of chewing and enjoying their meal is hardly rushed. They also weren’t asked to release the table u til after it was obvious they were done eating and drinking.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

Wow...I was gone for a few days and this is still going strong lol

OK, first of all, thanks for all of the opinions. 50 min doesn't seem very long when you are in the moment sitting there, but I see how it does on paper.

To answer a few of the questions:

1. Owner's son/DD's friend - nothing to do with the incident at all. I was going to say something more about my thoughts on introducing myself to the owner as a fellow 9th grade mother who has had her son over to my house, and was glad afterward I didn't if I was going to contact her to discuss the incident, but never really finished typing out that thought, so it really isn't relevant at all and I just didn't take it out of the post.

2. Someone asked how long we were planning on staying - We weren't planning on staying all day, or even much longer. FIL was talking to DS18 and telling him a story while MIL finished her coffee. I had my purse in my lap, DS12 was getting bored. I'm pretty sure we would have gotten up once FIL was done with his talk, which probably would have been just a few minutes.

3. There were empty tables around us as we finished. We were seated where we couldn't see the waiting area, and we weren't keeping tabs on who was waiting. Maybe next time I'll send DS12 out there every 10 minutes or so to check the wait times and party sizes, and while he's at it, get a breakdown of the configuration of the restaurant's seating arrangements so that we know that they will need our exact table before they have to tell our inconsiderate selves that we are holding another party up?

4. The lady wasn't "polite" about telling us at all. She didn't say it nicely. It was abrupt and cold. I may have taken it wrong though as I was busy "chewing" my eggs as slowly as possible lol

5. Yes, I agree with those who say find another place to go if we want to eat with someone who takes a long time to finish their meal. This was an "upscale" breakfast place - $14 for DS12's "gourmet doughnut pancakes", $19 for DH's skirt steak and eggs plate. Our bill was over $80. I get that different parts of the country may or may not think this is pricey for breakfast, but where we live, and we live in a pretty high cost of living area, it's on the high side. I guess I just expected more than that from a place where I was spending that much money on eggs and pancakes.

6. We already pay the servers their living wage through our tips, and now according to some on this thread we have to act as the front-room managers and pay attention to table turnover times and guest flow. I didn't realize that by going out to eat, I was taking on a part-time job

7. Maybe next time we will take the inlaws to that McDonalds everyone is talking about lol where it's OK for them to make their customers wait 45 minutes for their food. That way we will have plenty of time to visit while we wait and can scarf or eggs down in 20 min and then hightail it out of there like some of the PP's on this thread!

I am joking about most of this, so relax....I get where everyone is coming from. I probably won't go back there - it was a "treat" kind of place anyway since it is on the expensive side, and I just don't think that I want to spend that much money for breakfast there. But as one poster suggested that I was being ungrateful, I may call and praise them for seating 5 out of the 6 of us before DS18 got there...that is really going above and beyond in the customer service department!

Thanks for all of the opinions...this was very enlightening!

 

[Julylady]

I have been on the other side of this situation. Recently we went to a local Chinese restaurant to celebrate a family birthday with 7 of us. We were told the wait would be 20-25 minutes for a table, which was fine. At 30 minutes we checked and were told that the table was just settling their bill and should be leaving shortly. After another 15 minutes, we asked if we could be set at another table as the group had still not left. The hostess said she would check. About 10 minutes later we were squeezed into a booth for 6 with a chair on the end. Not ideal. We had our food served before the people at the original table got up and left. So yes, I think its rude if you don't leave once you are finished eating and have settled your bill. I wish other restaurants would take the lead and ask customers to leave.

 

[smiths02]

Your information that you were still physically eating and your MIL was still drinking coffee AND that the waitress wasn't extremely nice in her way of saying it does make it out of line

ETA: I hadn't commented before because I have a 12 year old and twin 5 year olds...so basically I have rushed to eat in every place for the last 12 years. I can't remember lingering in a restaurant

 

[Lilacs4Me]

They did. They sat for 10 minutes after the bill had been brought to them and they’d been asked if they wanted or needed anything else. It was after this 10 minutes and after again being offered and declining wanting anything else that they were asked to settle up. 10 minutes is actually quite a bit of time when you’re not really doing anything or not lost in conversation and the OP didn’t imply they were. It’s a very long time when you’re in line waiting for a table.

Just FYI - It took about 10 minutes from the time the bill was placed down for MIL to finish her final cup of coffee. I think the lady poured the coffee, asked if we wanted anything else and we said no and she brought the bill. MIL still had a full cup of coffee at that point.

it was about 10 seconds after MIL finished her coffee that the server asked us to leave. She interrupted FIL talking to DS18 (us) in the middle of a story. I think that's why we were so startled. The coffee wasn't free, so at that point, we were about 10 seconds over being "paying customers".

I guess our egregious mistake was taking too long to "chew" our food, like the one PP said. And DS18 being late.

But oh well....it's done and over now.

 

[paisleys]

Wow...I was gone for a few days and this is still going strong lol



5. Yes, I agree with those who say find another place to go if we want to eat with someone who takes a long time to finish their meal. This was an "upscale" breakfast place - $14 for DS12's "gourmet doughnut pancakes", $19 for DH's skirt steak and eggs plate. Our bill was over $80. I get that different parts of the country may or may not think this is pricey for breakfast, but where we live, and we live in a pretty high cost of living area, it's on the high side. I guess I just expected more than that from a place where I was spending that much money on eggs and pancakes.!

Only $80 for 6 people to eat at brunch?
I hostessed at an upscale restaurant and we used to (kindly) offer people free drinks at the bar when they paid and lingered during busy times. This is probably out of line, but how much did you tip on the $80 (which I still must be missing something if some of the entrees were $19?). It sounds like they may have had enough of your party being late, lingering and getting up and down to walk around combined with a less than adequate tip. It's rude to be rushed (90 minutes is not rushed) but servers are there to pay their bills based on as many checks and tips they can get in during a shift. Once a check is paid it's time to leave and let someone else enjoy it.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Wow...I was gone for a few days and this is still going strong lol

OK, first of all, thanks for all of the opinions. 50 min doesn't seem very long when you are in the moment sitting there, but I see how it does on paper.

To answer a few of the questions:

1. Owner's son/DD's friend - nothing to do with the incident at all. I was going to say something more about my thoughts on introducing myself to the owner as a fellow 9th grade mother who has had her son over to my house, and was glad afterward I didn't if I was going to contact her to discuss the incident, but never really finished typing out that thought, so it really isn't relevant at all and I just didn't take it out of the post.

2. Someone asked how long we were planning on staying - We weren't planning on staying all day, or even much longer. FIL was talking to DS18 and telling him a story while MIL finished her coffee. I had my purse in my lap, DS12 was getting bored. I'm pretty sure we would have gotten up once FIL was done with his talk, which probably would have been just a few minutes.

3. There were empty tables around us as we finished. We were seated where we couldn't see the waiting area, and we weren't keeping tabs on who was waiting. Maybe next time I'll send DS12 out there every 10 minutes or so to check the wait times and party sizes, and while he's at it, get a breakdown of the configuration of the restaurant's seating arrangements so that we know that they will need our exact table before they have to tell our inconsiderate selves that we are holding another party up?

4. The lady wasn't "polite" about telling us at all. She didn't say it nicely. It was abrupt and cold. I may have taken it wrong though as I was busy "chewing" my eggs as slowly as possible lol

5. Yes, I agree with those who say find another place to go if we want to eat with someone who takes a long time to finish their meal. This was an "upscale" breakfast place - $14 for DS12's "gourmet doughnut pancakes", $19 for DH's skirt steak and eggs plate. Our bill was over $80. I get that different parts of the country may or may not think this is pricey for breakfast, but where we live, and we live in a pretty high cost of living area, it's on the high side. I guess I just expected more than that from a place where I was spending that much money on eggs and pancakes.

6. We already pay the servers their living wage through our tips, and now according to some on this thread we have to act as the front-room managers and pay attention to table turnover times and guest flow. I didn't realize that by going out to eat, I was taking on a part-time job

7. Maybe next time we will take the inlaws to that McDonalds everyone is talking about lol where it's OK for them to make their customers wait 45 minutes for their food. That way we will have plenty of time to visit while we wait and can scarf or eggs down in 20 min and then hightail it out of there like some of the PP's on this thread!

I am joking about most of this, so relax....I get where everyone is coming from. I probably won't go back there - it was a "treat" kind of place anyway since it is on the expensive side, and I just don't think that I want to spend that much money for breakfast there. But as one poster suggested that I was being ungrateful, I may call and praise them for seating 5 out of the 6 of us before DS18 got there...that is really going above and beyond in the customer service department!

Thanks for all of the opinions...this was very enlightening!

Why even ask if you just want people to agree with you?
You post the situation and don't like the responses so you exaggerate them to make them seem ridiculous and then pull the "relax, I'm only joking". It comes off rude.

 

[BrianL]

I'll be honest, none of the details provided even matter - not how long they were there, not how much they ordered, not that one of the group arrived late, not any of it. The server should not have asked them to leave. This is poor service and goes against the expectations of restaurant etiquette. Unless the party was being somehow disruptive, it simply wasn't proper or professional for the server to make that comment. This is the deal with sit-down restaurants. In the OPs case we're not even talking about an egregious amount of time here, just a little over an hour. There was just no call for it.