Time allowed in restaurants these days

[Toots22]

AIBU

Went to a fairly nice cafe / restaurant for lunch today - 4 of us. The booking was for 90 minutes so I knew that up front. Place is busy, it’s a Saturday, I get it. But after paying £45 for my 13 year old and I for lunch, for a main and a drink each and then get pretty much kicked out the door before we’ve even finished our drinks, when we get the bill without asking and the server appears with the card machine immediately (there were empty tables). I know the cost of living etc is through the roof but is it unreasonable to be hacked off these days at the cost of things and the little time you’re allowed in a place for that price to just to enjoy your food and have a little bit of chat over lunch?

Maximum of an hour, quite often less. In that time to eat your meal. In this case 1 course, but it is normal to order at least 2 courses, maybe a coffee. You eat, drink and talk. This takes time. It would be normal to visit the toilet at some point during this as well.
I mean I can eat in this time, but its more a fast food experience. Theatre menus used to allow 90 minutes for 2 courses and it was accepted courses would be served very quickly to allow this. But an ordinary going out for a meal should be a more relaxing experience.
As I said I have once gone out for a 90 minute meal and would not do it again. It is far too little time.

Because it doesn’t matter - there should be time for things to go wrong (as they inevitably do in real life) but it shouldn’t make for a stressful and rushed experience for the customer no matter what.

i was at an all you can eat the other day with the time limits and ill admit im glad they did, as i had over eaten and hurled a bit afterwards, but if we was there longer then id have made a pickle in the restaurant

@Toots22 Go for a tasting menu. You get the table all evening: sometimes 4 hours. We avoid rushed meals at all costs.

I can see some all you can eat might limit time to reduce the number of people eating massive amounts. But buffets like this are a bit more on a par with a fast food place and there is zero waiting for menus, orders, and food to be cooked and brought. You can have a full plate within 5 minutes of sitting down.

ill admit thats very true

The idea you need to pay massive amounts for a tasting menu to avoid being rushed, is simply insane.
I am increasingly only eating at independent family run restaurants. Freshly cooked tasty food, no rushing, and good value.

It does matter. If restaurants are going to set a time limit then they need to do their part to make sure patrons can comfortably eat within that time frame and when they make mistakes that waste time they need to show appropriate flexibility to make up for it.

If they took an hour to take your order then they’re unreasonable. If you had alerted them to your order being wrong and they didn’t fix it and toss out the 90 minute limit to compensate then that’s unreasonable. And if they had brought you a bill at 80 minutes and you looked around at empty tables and said “actually, we’d love to order dessert/another drink if no one is waiting for our table” and they said no we don’t want more of your money get out, that would also be unreasonable.

But it’s unreasonable for you to make negative assumptions about how they would handle a problem you didn’t bother to tell them about or to book a table for 90 minutes and then expect to nurse a drink and chat past that window.

Nurse a drink!
You think someone should finish eating and within a minute of putting down their fork should pay and leave?
It is totally normal to sit and finish a drink after you have eaten. I don't leave the table at home as soon as I have put my fork down either. Doing so is a fast food experience.

I think the clock should start once food is served, not what time you arrive because I've ordered quickly but had to wait for my starter, then wait again for my main. I don't really eat dessert but my DH likes a dessert and we both like coffee afterwards.

You meet in a restaurant to share a meal and catch up, though. Not to rush through.

You’re inventing things I didn’t say. There is a difference between a patron wanting to sit and nurse a drink and chat well after their food has been promptly served and one who wasn’t served well within the pre-booked window, and my point was that whether the OP or the restaurant were being unreasonable depends on which scenario this was.

We have no idea how long OP actually had with her food, but her initial post only mentioned not getting to finish their drinks. They also weren’t frog marched out or asked to leave immediately - it’s entirely possible to pay the bill then sit for another 10 minutes finishing a drink.

I hate this about the British view of dining out. I'm not there to shovel the food as quickly as I can down my throat. The French, Spanish, Italians have it right. Eat, chat, have a drink, relax between courses.

if your under a time limit then yes thats whats expected

then by that logic, you dont go to restaurant that have time limits,

I sadly don't get to dine out as often as I like and I must be fortunate where we choose, but time limits is a fairly rare thing in my experience. But you must confess us Brits really don't savour food like the Europeans I quoted.

My biggest problem is finding places that do care about the quality of food they serve. Too few chefs seem to have pride in their trade.

that i can agree and understand your points

I don't book at places with a time limit unless I know their food is exceptional and I have somewhere else to be. Eating out is expensive and if I meet friends for lunch or dinner we want to chat a lot and eat and drink, that can take hours. I don't want to be rushed out in 2 hours, let alone 90mins! It's not a production line, it's meant to be a nice experience, not wolf your food, don't talk and get out!

For those saying 90 mins is more than enough for a main, it totally depends in the service! We waited 55 mins for 3 if us to receive our main (no starter) recently. On another occasion, it was obvious they didn't want us to have pudding,or more drinks. Worse for me, is that all our local restaurants are shutting at 10 pm. Years ago, that's when we rolled in, after a few pubs! It's just nit relaxing or enjoyable any more.
Edited for typos

I find it off putting to have a time limit. That said, I've never actually had a problem with anyone rushing us along in places which impose a limit, other than perhaps asking if we'd like to have coffee in a more comfortable seat which is fine.

But it can sometimes cause unneccessary anxiety in places where service is slow or understaffed. You don't want to be rushing your food when it arrives. Or feeling rushed or not a priority to the place generally when you are spending £££. I understand that the place may need the table back but it's a balance with looking after current customers and not making them feel like they are on a conveyor belt v not pissing off people waiting for their reserved table.

In short, don't be greedy and overbook and make sure you have enough trained staff for efficient but not hurried service.

We had this a few weekends back - went to Bill's, shown to our table, to be told at the table that we had the table for 60 minutes. Children with us who were excited about pancakes etc so too late to change our minds. Ended up ordering their food but just having coffee as adults.

I appreciate that Bill's is the opposite of independent dining etc etc but if you want customers coming back you need to treat them decently. We won't be back.

At the other end of the scale, I mentioned in my review about a restaurant in London where the food is delicious, but took so long to bring the bill when we were done that we missed three trains home. Some places don't seem to want you to actually pay them.

What!

So they bought you the bill after 80 mins. How long did it take you to order and receive your one course and drink? Service seems incredibly slow here.

Urhh I hate this. I often choose places where you pay by qr code now so I can just be done

I am usually happy with the 2 hour time slot which is the norm where I live, I will only do 90 minutes if I know the service is good. I don’t begrudge restaurants doing this as I know it is a tough industry but they do need to be able to give you a good experience in that time which means efficient service and a switched on kitchen.