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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think it's rude for restaurants to give you a time limit

110 replies

msrisotto · 11/03/2017 13:07

I hate it! I've just had a restaurant call to confirm my booking and remind me that they need the table back after 2 hours. If the service is prompt then that shouldn't be a problem but don't like feeling like i'm being pushed out the door and this is a naice restaurant you know?

OP posts:
fallenempires · 11/03/2017 13:37

OP did they tell you this at the time of the initial booking or only today?

CherryChasingDotMuncher · 11/03/2017 13:38

YABU, it's very common. If they don't do it they'd likely have people coming in for a meal at 6 pm and occupying the table until midnight rather than moving to the bar.

However it pisses me off when they do this and are not prompt. I end up in a drunken argument with a restaurant manager once. Was my work's Christmas party, we booked for 2pm and were told to be out by 4pm. The last person arrived at 2.10pm, but as he wasn't having a starter we told them at 2pm just to get he food out as if we were all there. It was the slowest service ever. 30 minutes before we even got starters, then another 30 minutes for the mains. They brought desserts out at 3.55pm and told us we had to eat them quick as they needed he table in 5 minutes Hmm I was a bit drunk pissed off so said no, we'll be taking our time thank you very much and I suggest they're quicker next time if they want the table!

InsiderOut · 11/03/2017 13:38

It's not rude at all. Some restaurants don't do it so you can always choose somewhere else.

derxa · 11/03/2017 13:39

This happened to me last week. New restaurant in town. I phoned on Tues for Fri and they only had 6pm slot. Told we had to be finished by 8pm. No problem. We just made a joke of it amongst ourselves.

saladsmoothie · 11/03/2017 13:39

We went to a restaurant recently. Good food but very slow service. Annoyingly slow, we waited ages for our food, couldn't get eye contact to ask for another glass of wine. Eventually food came (no starter) and when we finished we were told we had to pay and leave because they needed the table for the next people. We said we'd like desert. The waitress gave us the desert menu, we chose as quickly as we could, couldn't get her eye to order... ended up walking across the restaurant to find a waiter to order. Then the manager came over and told us there was no time and we had to leave. Very disappointed children who had been looking forward to their ice creams. And THEN they took ages with the bill.

We had not been told on booking we only had a limited time allowance. And we would have been in and out if it weren't for their slow service!

It was a place in Covent Garden... a man's name - Jim's or James or something like that.

GloGirl · 11/03/2017 13:39

Yanbu, I'd rather eat elsewhere unless it's 9pm you've booked table for, or an ocassion like Mother's Day.

Babbaganush · 11/03/2017 13:40

What time have you booked for? As long as they have told you then you can make an informed decision of whether or not to eat there, it's not rude and very standard practice especially at the weekend which is the time they actually make their money.
Booking a later time often means you can have the table for the rest of the night.

AgentProvocateur · 11/03/2017 13:42

I don't eat in restaurants with a time limit. I like to take my time over a meal and continue to sit there drinking wine with my friends or partner. I spend a lot on eating out and I tip well, and I refuse to be given a "slot".

Butterymuffin · 11/03/2017 13:43

I don't like this, but the only way to deal with it is not to go to restaurants that work this way. Give your custom to other places.

limitedperiodonly · 11/03/2017 13:44

It's not rude, it's their business model. That said, I don't go to places that do it and I won't go to places that don't take bookings either.

I agree with you that as most people are done within two hours, there's no point pushing it.

It's possible to turn tables without these rules by using your experience. And with restaurant prices for alcohol being what they are, I don't understand the problem with people who want to linger at tables drinking as long as they are behaving themselves.

pringlecat · 11/03/2017 13:45

YABU. Most naice restaurants are only naice because they're run efficiently and that involves turning tables. Most people can quite happily eat a three-course meal in two hours if the service is prompt. Some people can make a starter and tap water last two hours because they are the world's slowest eaters and/or trying to eke out the experience. They are not particularly profitable customers.

In London, being turned is very common. Sometimes it's 90 minutes rather than two hours!

Corialanusburt · 11/03/2017 13:47

If you're told in advance, you can choose whether or not you'd like to go ahead.

Oblomov17 · 11/03/2017 13:50

I hate this. Hate feeling rushed. If the service is good, it's not often a problem. But as this thread shows, most places don't have that good a service and thus it is a problem. I would prefer not to eat in a place with a time slot. Sometimes it is booked by someone else for me, but it wouldn't be my choice. I like to relax, chat, sip wine. I don't want someone looking at their watch trying to get me to leave.

smileygrapefruit · 11/03/2017 13:52

If you book for 8pm onwards they wouldn't be needing to turn the table after so you'd have it for the rest of the evening. Between 5-7pm they may already have later bookings made, meaning they should make you aware...e.g. yes I have a table available at 5.30pm but I'll need it back at 7.30pm, is that ok? Ywnbu to be pissed off if they didn't tell you at the time of booking.

lljkk · 11/03/2017 13:53

Book on a Tuesday night & I bet they won't mention when they need the table back by. You chose the busy night.

Original poster
msrisotto · 11/03/2017 13:54

Yes, 90 minutes is especially offensive.
I'm not a snail when it comes to eating dinner.

OP posts:
Mathena · 11/03/2017 13:54

OP, I agree, of course it's rude. I go out with my kids sometimes, so an early booking and they show you to your table telling you when they want you gone. Very rude. I smile and say of course.

EatsShitAndLeaves · 11/03/2017 13:55

I don't have a problem with this assuming:

  1. You are informed when you book, so it's your choice to accept this time limit or not
  2. The quality of service when you are there means you aren't delayed by long wait times

Where this has been asked of me I haven't encountered any problems as the front of house staff are aware service should be prompt.

I would be fuming though if I'd had the experience a pp did in Covent Garden. My guess there is it's such a tourist trap they don't rely on repeat business enough to care.

TheOnlyLivingToyInNewYork · 11/03/2017 13:56

Do people complaining not realise that this is someones livelihood, and if they don't get enough punters in they will close down?
You might want to linger for hours sipping your wine and chatting, they would like to not go out of business and go bankrupt. That isn't "rude".

Original poster
msrisotto · 11/03/2017 14:00

Seeing as plenty of restaurants manage to stay in business without doing this, I can't imagine it is real a problem for their livelihood.
And I already said, it's not about staying for hours on end, it's about having a nice, relaxed evening.

OP posts:
TheNaze73 · 11/03/2017 14:04

YABU. They're a business, not a registered charity

ComputerUserNumptyTwit · 11/03/2017 14:05

But if the table is already booked, what would you prefer them to do? Not take your booking, or warn you that they needed the table back at x o'clock?

Original poster
msrisotto · 11/03/2017 14:05

Grin Charity! Snort. Yeah, I always go to my local charity for a sit down meal that I pay excessively for.

OP posts:
fallenempires · 11/03/2017 14:06

OP what were you told at the time of the actual booking this really makes a difference to your AIBU!

TheOnlyLivingToyInNewYork · 11/03/2017 14:07

Seeing as plenty of restaurants manage to stay in business without doing this, I can't imagine it is real a problem for their livelihood

60% of restaurants close before they have been open a year.

If you want to eat at soulless chains that are taking over every high street for your "nice, relaxed evening" you do that, but don't complain about independent, quality restaurants who are just trying to make a living.