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?

I didn’t actually make the booking, so it was out of my control but I won’t be going back

Somebody else booked you and your teenager for lunch at a cafe but you paid for it? This gets weirder and weirder.

??? I quite often used to go out with a friend and her child and we took turns to book it, and paid our part of the bill - what's odd about that?

No, there’s nothing weird about it. Two mothers and two daughters went, the other mother made the booking and each mother paid half i.e. each mother paid for themselves and their own daughter. Bill was almost £100 for one course each and a a drink and we paid half each. Any other questions?

I think time restrictions at lunch are slightly more understandable, but limitations in the evening are harder to stomach. I was particularly furious a couple of years ago when we were upsold a second bottle of wine, only to be told five minutes after they served it they needed the table back. They refused to take the wine off the bill, suggesting we drink it out of plastic cups! I actually stood firm and refused to leave until we'd finished it.

That’s outrageous - well done for standing firm!

It is the chattering between each sip and mouthful which consumes the time. In the OP's case it sounds like the venue was being unreasonable as they were well within the time limit. It clearly doesn't take 90 minutes to eat one course with a drink, I can eat a three course meal with a glass of wine in no more than an hour assuming brisk serving speed.

Where service is very delayed I'd ask to speak to the manager especially if there were empty tables. Most people are reasonable when you put a situation to them

It very much depends on the place whether 90 minutes is reasonable

Also on whether they tell you about it when you book
I avoid these places like the plague, but got caught once when they pulled a sudden limit out of the air - only after I'd ordered, naturally - and of course I queried it

"But it's all on our website and menus"
"I'm afraid not" (Show website and menu)
"Well everyone knows about it anyway"
"Could I ask how they know?"
"Errrrr ...."

Needless to say it's gone out of business now

@Toots22

I would have LOVED to have had the time to buy a second cup of coffee (in the same place, +/- cake) but there wasn’t time. I didn’t actually book the restaurant, but as I said, I knew the Ts&Cs but it doesn’t stop being annoying at paying all that money for a 90 minute ‘experience’
All that money? What? All £22.50 each for food and a drink. And you think that should keep a business running?

You can tell the people on here in hospitality -because they display none of it - I appreciate it's a business and 90 minutes seems fair- but in a lot of cases you don't get your order taken for 20 minutes , another20 to25 for food in many cases and before you know it you've got half an hour for your meal - maybe if food was on the table in 35minutes from going in the door then 90minutes is ok - if it isn't then rushing people out isn't great for ongoing business-

We had this. There were empty tables so the party after us were seated in an identity empty table but the waitress said "you were meant to sit there.. " which made us really unclear. The delay had been we'd ordered the beef roast but they hadn't mentioned it was rare beef, literally completey bloody, pink, rare meat. So my sis sent hers back as who the hell serves rare beef on a Sunday roast without advising so, so she asked for the chicken instead.

Imo, very bloody rare is the only way to eat roast beef.

The solution is to not eat in places with time limits. Sometimes it works in your favour if you've only an hour for lunch. Ninety minutes for lunch or two hours for dinner is usually about right in terms of eating at a relaxed pace.

I don’t want the UK to become like the USA in this respect. It’s not a good indicator that places are doing this despite empty chairs.

We were given a 60 minute slot for dinner as there was a Christmas party at the restaurant. We had time for a drink and main course. 90 minutes is plenty.

Recently went for lunch - a group of 8. We had to chase up ordering drinks followed by chasing up ordering main meals. Same with desserts. Didn't even bother with further drinks so made do with water which also had to request when we arrived. Table booked for midday. I had to leave at 3pm as had to pick up children. I had about 3mins to eat my small dessert with a coffee. Others eventually left nearer to 4 than 3. So saying 90mins OK for lunch depends on efficiently of service.

Sorry but YABU. Time limits are there for a reason and as long as the guest is informed at the time of booking there is no issue with this. Your server will have come over 10 minutes earlier because guests always try to milk this despite being aware.

From your post it doesn’t sound like you were the victim of any screw ups. Kitchen delays, slow service. So adhering to the time limit again seems acceptable.

Empty tables may be for a number of reasons. Given there is a 90min sit at a table, those could have been booked anytime in the next hour and a half therefore requiring them to be empty at the time of your leaving.

Where I work if a table are enjoying their time and spending money (a restaurant is a business after all) we are more than happy for them to exceed the time limit. But if we’re fully booked and the table is rebooked there’s very little that can be done.

It’s not actually that much fun asking a table to leave. We are only going to do that if we absolutely have to.

Sixty minutes! Was it a fast food place?
I can't stand people who guzzle up their food quickly.

What's the point in eating out if you have to gobble your food?

If this became commonplace, I would never eat out again.

I think there's a vast difference between places that just reheat your food (Weatherspoons!) in the microwave or quickly deep fry it and those that cook your meal for you once you've ordered it. The second type don't tend to have a limit on the time that you stay

You are making assumptions there. It was a Vietnamese restaurant, not McDonald's. Service was efficient. I don't guzzle my food, but I probably wouldn't think much of you either lol.

I'm not a turkey. We chose to eat there without reservations.

There are some strange situations sometimes in restaurants.

We went to one where nearly the whole place was empty, but they wouldn’t seat at all on a walk in basis, even on a time limited basis.

1r and 20m would be enough for me for lunch, but I hate slow drawn out service more than anything, and prefer things to move a bit quicker.

Totally disagree. The first type do not tend to have a limit on how long you stay. Weatherspoons in particular give you free refills in hot drinks and let you sit there for hours just refilling your cup of coffee for free.