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.

Of course she meant Zizzi! She missed one z out - it hardly made it unrecognisable …

That's poor. I've booked a restaurant for 21 December. Their website makes it clear when you book that it's 90 minutes for up to 4 people, 2 hours for more.

Yes, I hate this development. It's not relaxing eating out anymore.

Something similar happened to our party in an independent restaurant. We knew about the fixed time but really wanted to try the place ....took order for drinks but no menus went away came back with menu ,came back did we want more drinks ,no but we'd like to order . 5 mins later sent waitress over were we ready yes, took the order.....waitress came back 15 mins no food but would we like more drinks ..by this time we were getting quite anxious . Food arrived ,ate it were asked if we wanted yet more drinks then eventually cleared table . Would we like anything else ? Yes dessert /coffee menu 10 mins later yes you've guessed did we need more drinks replied a couple but would like to order desserts and coffee......looked at us with dismay on her face but she took the order and a couple of drinks arrived and she said that everything else was being made but we only had 10 mins left as people were already bunching up near the table .
Totally pissed off by now and cancelled the remaining order as we would have been shovelling stuff down our faces ....told them that we weren't happy that we literally have to gulp down drinks that we wouldn't have otherwise ordered .....it cost them £70+ in food orders plus a better tip and tbh I wouldn't recommend them to anybody who wanted to enjoy a night out

I’d have asked to see the manager and complained there and then.

We had the opposite problem at at our work xmas lunch at a pub. Pre ordered and paid deposit and the service was so slow that some people had to leave before mains were served. So it depends.

That's really poor for a party when you'd want it to be longer to give time for relaxed chat and maybe a short 'thank you all for your hard work this year' speech from your bosses.

It might work for a general gathering if you'd pre ordered and service was speedy.

I know hospitality has its challenges at the moment but the reality is that if the experience isn't good then people are going to start eating out a lot less often especially as it's got a lot more expensive and the quality has reduced. People simply aren't going to continue spending their reduced disposable income on rushed or bad service and food that is comparable or worse than supermarket food. Especially chain Italians, you can often get better ready made food from supermarkets for a fraction of the price.

Thats very poor form, but its a chain serving largely food that needs reheating, so customer satisfaction isn’t a huge priority as they’re cheap enough for enough people to go and not be repeat customers. Plus if a handful of stores shut it doesn’t really matter, they’re still large enough to do well.

Yeah, that’s really bad.

But Zizzi isn't cheap, it's ridiculously priced for what you get, average pizza, ready meal quality pasta meals and overpriced drinks. If you have any sense you'd get all that from the supermarket for about a third of the price, if that and save eating out for something you can't make at home with no effort or skill.

Pretty much all the chains have been propped up by cheap debt for the last decade or so and now that's come to an end, there's likely to be a huge contraction. And that's before you consider the effect of increased costs of labour, ingredients and energy on prices leaving people facing paying higher prices for worse quality on a reduced disposable income.

are zizzi still going? I thought they went out of business

I can be a pedant but really this is stretching it a bit far

Yanbu
Either 2 hours or its a set menu chosen in advance

Yes but generally the idea of a meal is to get people together. I can't sit 12 people in my dining room and have pesky children in my house, regardless of whether the food is cheaper.

Don't you have eyes?

God that wouldn’t work here (France)! Maybe for lunch, but even then for a Christmas work lunch it would be longer.
We are having a family supper this coming week and we’ve booked the taxis 3 hours apart.

That is pretty crap. We went for a work Christmas lunch this week, a popular chain restaurant in a busy area. There were about 20 of us. We were there for nearly 4 hours before we moved on to the pub. No mention of time limits either. It was a Thursday afternoon though so maybe that's the solution!

They should have suggested pre ordering

You should have been told at the time of booking. I understand high demand around Christmas time, that does not excuse lack of warning.

Yes: At lunch time they don’t do 2 sittings, and you stayed into the quiet afternoon period.

It's not acceptable. Trying to force everyone into the American style of stuff your face and go .

It's definitely not one to not inform people before booking. I certainly wouldn't be booking with that kind of restriction either.

Zizzi is shit food anyway. Just never go again.

How rude. If you don't have one near you then you are unlikely to be setting on eyes on it on regular occasions.

We went to an independent Indian restaurant last night which we do every December for a group of friends catch up ( 10 of us ) . Fridays and Saturdays they have 2 sittings , 630 and 830 , so this is made clear .
This year we opted for the 830 sitting as the 630 is always rushed but last night our main courses arrived at 10.20pm which is far from ideal so next year we will back to 630.
the point I’m making though is that we are aware of the 2 hour time limit , but in my experience eating out in December always has issues in one way or another!

They should have told you.

But Pizza / Pasta places are likely to want a table turnover and most places want an early and late evening sitting for tables.