To think 1.5 hours in a restaurant for 12 people is not long enough

[Darkdarknightinthedarkdarkstaircase]

We went to Zizi last night four our Christmas work meal. When we arrived at 7pm we were told we only had the table until 8.30pm as they were booked back to back. We were NOT told this on booking and it also was not mentioned on the confirmation email.

By the time everyone had greeted each other and sat down, it was 7.10pm. When the waitress came to take our orders she kept looking at her watch and we were reminded and rushed through the whole meal. We didn't have time for puddings and at 8.30pm we were literally asked to leave as people were waiting outside for the table!

I couldn't believe it. It felt like a rushed school canteen, not a relaxing evening meal.

AIBU that it is not acceptable to think 1.5 hours is enough time for 12 people to order, eat and chat and enjoy a relaxing meal out?

Such a let down.

Did you mean Zizzi? Leave them a review saying what you said here.

That's really poor. They should have warned you.

I agree, OP, unreasonably short for 12 people.

They definitely should have made this clear when you booked.

Definitely not long enough! Complain

Sorry yes, I mean Zizzi

No, not mentioned at all, and nothing on the confirmation email at all. We wouldn't have gone there had we known

Definitely complain. You’d think they’d give such a large group a longer time slot because you’re bound to order more sides, drinks, and desserts, and give a bigger tip.

90 min bookings are fairly standard these days unfortunately. I'd never assume I had a table longer than that anymore, especially at this time of year. I live in a very popular tourist area though so it's become normal.

You should have been made aware on booking though if they absolutely had no leeway on the table being required back dead on 8.30

At this time of year you have to expect tighter timeframes but for 12 people I thought they would have been more accommodating, at the very least they should have given you a heads up when booking. YANBU.

90 minutes is standard on a table at busy times, but it should have been stated on the booking form. Did the booking take you to 'design my night' and take a deposit?

During "works Christmas party" season, it isn't surprising BUT that should have been clear when you were making the booking.

What is also normal during December / work party season, is that people order when they book, so the kitchen knows that at 7pm they are sending out 3x dish A, 2x the veggie option, 2x Dish B, 1 x C and 4x dish D.
Then is is manageable.

The issue here is a) their time limits weren't explained
b) the orders weren't submitted in advance.

Any large group is always going to take a long time, and restaurants of any kind don't have the ability to cope with long drawn out meals when they are trying to maximise their profits in the busiest month of the year.

Should have stated the time limit when you booked.I was out today,confirmation email clearly said it was a booking for 90minutes.

It was like this last time we went to an independent restaurant. We only got to order one drink and one course because

1. They took forever to come and take our order. Then we had to wait on drinks before they’d take our food orders.
2. Nobody checked the meal was OK, no asking if we wanted more drinks, they took ages to clear the plates so no time for dessert. By that point we were fed up and ready to leave. It wasn’t even busy so no excuses expect poor service.

Shame because they could have had alot more money out of us with drinks and pudding but now we won’t go back there.

1 1/2 is generally enough time provided all diners arrive promptly on time and the service is quick once order is placed. You say several of your diners did not arrive until 10 minutes late so then you only had 1 hour and 20 mins.

Deleted as wrong thread

Argh sorry no idea how that has gone on wrong thread, MN has gone very glitchy for me.

That’s a real shame. I’ve had very mixed experiences with zizzi over the years.
I hope you went on and had fun somewhere else afterwards.
Just home from my work do and we had such a lovely time, we were left to our own devices and could stay as long as we wanted and the food wasn’t anything special but we spent a lot and staying so long meant loads of drinks, so they certainly didn’t lose out by not having another booking for our table 1.5 hours after we arrived

They must be microwaving a lot of the food.

No worries. Asked in case there might be a good restaurant called Zizi that might lose custom by an autocorrect.

id complain about that they must have taken ages to give you mains if there was no time for dessert

Booking Christmas parties with a 90 minute time limit seems wrong. I would definitely complain.

It’s usually standard to have longer when it’s more than 4 guests.

90 minutes is usually only for small tables with it rising to 2 and a half hours for larger parties

Very unreasonable of them. It takes longer to serve a bigger group and no time limit imposed by a restaurant should mean a customers are rushed through a meal. It should only mean you don't sit around on the table when you've finished eating. If their service is slow it's on them.

Absolutely not, you need another restaurant.

And then people wonder why places close down and hospitality is doing so badly. Because when people do make the effort to go out and spend a load of money they are treated like cattle. It would have been more relaxing to get food and drink delivered to the office boardroom and then carry on to the pub.