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AIBU?

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Original poster

Restaurant demanding table back?

149 replies

Wildflower123 · 03/01/2020 16:28

Came over and (we’d only just finished our food and were still enjoying the rest of our bottle of wine) and said we need this table back in 5 minutes.

There was no prior warning given at any point. Sing to think this is bad service?

OP posts:
CassidyStone · 03/01/2020 17:54

I once booked a table for a Chinese banquet, for 12 of us, for a 6.30pm meal (children were included) and I was advised at the time of booking they would need the table clear by 9pm. I thought that was perfectly reasonable.

Chochito · 03/01/2020 17:56

They should have told you when you were seated, if not when you reserved (if a reservation was made).

And if they really needed the table back suddenly, then they still should also not have asked for it with only 5 minutes' notice when you hadn't finished the things you'd ordered, e.g. wine.

IHaveBrilloHair · 03/01/2020 17:56

Anything is reasonable so long as they let you know before you choose to eat there.

cstaff · 03/01/2020 17:58

Definitely should have been given prior notice. I wouldn't be rushing back tbh.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 03/01/2020 18:01

I don’t mind when I’ve been given prior notice but to spring it on you is cheeky.

MaddieElla · 03/01/2020 18:04

This happened to us in a very expensive, famous chef's restaurant at St Pancras, mentioning no names. Grin

Asked for the table back after 1 hour and 15 minutes. No mention of it on booking. Even Wetherspoons warn you they need the table back.

iklboo · 03/01/2020 18:06

If they were getting a lot of walk ins like you and your party eventually they're going to run out of tables and will need to ask for them back rather than turn money away.

Did they do it politely (I'm sorry but we need the table back please, you're welcome to take your drinks into the bar area) or more demanding (we need your table back now, will you leave)?

Newmetoday · 03/01/2020 18:08

Did they not have a bar area where you could finish your wine? I always ask if they want me to move there in case they need the table.

Marriedtoapenguin · 03/01/2020 18:09

If they tell you prior to seating then it's absolutely fine especially over Christmas or busy restaurants (ie London).

If they don't tell you until just after you've finished your last course it's poor service.

If you're really taking your time then they should mention it politely mid courses.

Saved you the tip I suppose.

SawingForTeens · 03/01/2020 18:10

They may well have had a reason, but not informing you when you were seated is unprofessional cheeky-fuckery. I expect they were surprised by another walk in and wanted their custom, and after all they already had yours...if only they could shoo you away...

Part of the meal out is the quiet enjoyment of your wine after your meal, surely? Part of the package of what you are paying for.

Vinosaurus · 03/01/2020 18:13

They absolutely should have told you when you arrived/sat down - but around a 2.5 hr turnaround on a table is pretty standard.

Runnerduck34 · 03/01/2020 18:20

Yanbu, if there is a time limit on the table this should be made clear at time of booking. The only exception might be if you'd been nursing a glass of wine for an hour after finishing food , but it doesn't sound like it was the case in your situation.

C8H10N4O2 · 03/01/2020 18:23

I know quite a few restaurants which ask for 90min/two hour turnarounds but they tell you this at booking or seating and service tends to be very quick.

If they haven't told you when seating that they have a 90 minute turnaround time then its very bad service to demand it back.

IceCreamAndCandyfloss · 03/01/2020 18:27

I’d have naturally assumed they would need the table back so would have eaten and left. A late evening booking where no one coming in afterwards is different and many will stay chatting then.

Jaxhog · 03/01/2020 18:36

if they needed the table back by certain time should have said when you ordered

Quite, although if you were still drinking wine more than half an hour later or you'd ordered off the lunch menu, I would kind of see their point. But it's bad form, and usually warrants a zero tip and an honest review on Tripadvisor.

It's not unusual for dining to be limited to an hour and a half on a Friday or Saturday evening round our way (posh London suburb). But they always tell you in advance. And I still wouldn't leave if the speed of service wasn't commensurate with a quick exit.

IHateBlueLights · 03/01/2020 18:40

A year or so ago a group of 6 of us went out for dinner, table booked for 7.

The service was dire, slow to take drinks order, slow to take food order and food took a very long time to arrive. We asked to see the dessert menu and were told the table was needed. The chap who booked it said if the service had been better we would have finished and gone. But nonetheless we wanted desserts and he expected them to be served. The menus arrived and we ordered. Suddenly the service was rapid. We didn't gobble it down and then agreed to have coffee in the lounge area, rather than at the table.

I was a bit embarrassed but rather pleased that the "host" insisted.

PyongyangKipperbang · 03/01/2020 18:41

I often have to do this but I always tell people in advance. If a walk in wants a table then I say "Its booked out at X time, is that ok with you?" and they usually (but not always) leave in time. If someone has booked then I usually try to make sure that the table isnt needed later, but it is a big place and rarely do we need to do that. I never turf off a pre booker for a walk in.

Oh and word to the wise..... dont walk in somewhere very popular on a Friday night with 9 of your friends and get stroppy with me when I cant seat you. Book in advance!

McCanne · 03/01/2020 18:42

Doesn’t matter how long you were there imo. If they need the table back by a certain time, they should tell you, it’s not really for you to guess if they want to turn your table or if they want you to stay and buy more drinks. If you’d only just finished your meal then I don’t see how you’re being unreasonable in any way. I don’t think they are either tbh - they should have just let you know in advance.

adaline · 03/01/2020 18:44

Not relevant if they hadn’t said from the start ‘We need the table back by X time’. It’s not the customer’s role to organise the restaurant’s schedule.

Of course it's relevant. You can't just turn up at a restaurant and expect to sit at the same table for hours on end. Two and a half ages seems like ages to me unless there's a really big group of people, anyway.

A 90 minute turn-around is pretty standard - most restaurants have two or even three sittings in the evening - one for early birds at 5.30pm, one at 7pm, and a final one at 8.30pm or so. It means they can get the most profit possible out of the evening.

Jux · 03/01/2020 18:57

adaline, in my 20s/early 30s we would appear at a restaurant, be given a table there and then, maybe about 7 or 8pm, and be there until closing time. That was normal service.

I guess I'm out of touch - not had dinner out since I married in '97. Sad

1Morewineplease · 03/01/2020 19:04

A restaurant near me has instigated an hour and a half rule which they tell you about on booking.
Needless to say, so many of my friends are boycotting this place.

Straycatstrut · 03/01/2020 19:04

This put me right off restaurants. That and being seated practically touching the people at the next table when there were tons of spare tables about - and then said people scowling at us like we'd asked to be put there!

I think 2.5 hours should be standard & ONE "everything okay for you?" suffices. Not 4 like we once had... very obvious they wanted us to shove off.

Leflic · 03/01/2020 19:04

I was in Barcelona at a very cool restaurant for lunch. Pretty busy. We had ordered the “menu del dia “ with three courses. I was struggling with the main. The waitress came overto see if we were ready for dessert and and insisted with a cheery grin that I must take my time over lunch, enjoy the view and not to miss the pudding.
I thought at the time how this conversation would never happen in the U.K.

PyongyangKipperbang · 03/01/2020 19:04

'Jux

It depends on the type of place. A small independent that has a HUGE mark up on its alcohol but a tiny margin on its food would far rather you had your dinner and then sat all night drinking. But a chain place (even the up market ones) will have a much bigger margin on food and will try and get as many people in and out as possible.

Location is key too. In my place we are a destination venue, so its not a drinking pub, its a food pub. Most people will have 2 drinks (alcoholic or not) max and leave, so we can turn around 3 times. We rarely have to, but we can. To have a table at 7 still there are 10 is a rarity that causes comment!

Brimful · 03/01/2020 19:06

You should have been told 'yes we can seat you but we need the table back by X, is that okay for you?'

To just TELL you when you've barely finished food and you still have wine is really shit service.