Just Desserts? - At fancy places

[Spiceupyourlife]

Currently in a very fancy little harbour town. Think huge super yachts...etc
(None belonging to us ofc 😂 but we wanted to see it as famous for being beautiful and really is)

Having dinner yesterday we overheard a chap getting shitty with the waiting staff at ‘the most expensive restaurant- with the best view’ as he’d taken his family elsewhere for dinner (somewhere more affordable) but now wanted to sit and have dessert at one of their sought after water front tables.

It was the middle of the dinner rush and most tables were taken, with a steady steam of dinners filling up the rest. The waiting staff said no, it was a restaurant and if they wanted to simply take in the view and eat dessert they could go to one of the other bars or find a bench. (I got the impression this happens a lot as it’s somewhere EVERYONE wants to go but very few can actually afford to- DH and I avoided due to prices)

This is not the first time we’ve seen this in Europe- one VERY famous Austrian cafe had the EXACT same problem - queues down the street (of hot and angry people annoyed it’s taking so long) but people sat for hours ‘enjoying the ambience’ whilst only ordering a slice of cake (and complaining about waiters ‘rushing’ them) 🤔

I found myself siding with the restaurant. I’m all for ‘just dessert’ ordering but surely you don’t expect a prime view table- a leisurely few hours enjoying your tiny cake or to take up a table during peak dining times lunch/dinner?

I also noticed that none of the restaurants here openly display their dessert menu. It’s only given to you at the end of your meal- I assume this might be why.

As a business 🤔 it must be annoying when people go out of their way to spend the least amount of money to take up the most prime dinning spots. Yes the prices are high but I’m guessing that’s because of all the overheads operating in SUCH a desirable location. I never really thought about this until now but is this a ‘thing’ most people would do? Or are those who do this CF’s?

I think it’s a CF thing to do. I’d never consider having “just dessert” in a restaurant. Informal cafe setting - yes (and have done before as we’d been walking over an hour in the sun and fancied some ice creams but had already eaten lunch) , but definitely not an actual restaurant!

I’m not saying I wouldn’t do it - but certainly not at core meal times or when it’s busy. A quick google shows that this restaurant has received 1 star trip advisor reviews too from people who weren’t allowed to just get dessert there 😂 I find that ULTIMATE CF’ery

I’ve often gone to nicer restaurants just for a dessert or a coffee but would never, ever go during their busiest meal times. YANBU

There’s a part of me that struggles not to be judgmental of people who try to have ‘expensive’ experiences ‘on the cheap’ I mean there are wonderful (not crazily priced) restaurants around the bay - the ONLY reason to go to THAT place is to take pictures and say you’ve been - no doubt failing to mention it was just for cake and ice cream so your friends back home think you’ve spent £XXX’s on a family dinner.

What’s the point?

I often think it back home, we have a VERY fancy cafe/restaurant in our city and every time you go it’s full of people just having a tiny piece of cake but taking AGES to eat it and sip their coffee. Whilst there’s a queue down the street 🤔 I don’t get it!

It's a commercial decision. The potential customers are entitled to ask, the restaurant is entitled to say no.

There's nothing wrong with reflecting dissatisfaction in a review, as long as it is factually accurate. I thought TA would remove reviews if the reviewer hadn't actually gone into the place. However, warning others not to bother asking for pudding only seems fair enough.

I think it's fine to ask, and have done so. If they've got empty tables later in the evening, why not? But I'd never be upset if the restaurant said no.

I seem to recall restaurants having a minimum spend per person of the cheapest main course, certainly when we were kids as my mum used to just have a starter (couldn't eat a lot for medical reasons) but would be charged for a main course.

But yeah YANBU, its pretty cheeky, makes me think of Cafe Del Mar in 2003.