Assuming the waiter hasn’t advised you there’s a wait for food, how long would you be prepared to wait for a simple lunch like scrambled eggs on toast, soup of the day or a salad before you traipse up to the counter and apologise for your impatience?
14 comments
I would wait like 45 minutes to an hour and then ask depending on what type of thing it is, and the amount of people at the cafe I see before I go to the counter
I worked in hospitality from the ages of 16-21, our target was always a maximum of 20minutes from first ordering to food being taken to the table.
That being said anything over 40minutes is unacceptable in my opinion. By 50+ minutes i’d just stand up and leave.
My baseline time is 45 minutes, which is the length of the the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896 (it’s the top end of the estimated length – historians put it at 38-45 minutes long). Anything longer than the Anglo-Zanzibar War is too long.
Depends how busy the place is. If the staff are rushed off their feet I’d expect a bit of a wait as you can assume the kitchen is busier.
When I waitressed the guidelines were starters out within ten minutes, mains to follow within ten minutes of the starter finishing. But then, I saw someone complain when their starter came out within ten minutes it was that they felt they were being rushed 🤷🏻♀️
When I was a chef at Carluccio’s in a busy city centre restaurant our target times were 12 minutes on a starter, 15 on a main and seven on a dessert.
Obviously if you’re ordering a well done fillet steak (😫) or a whole seabass or something that will impact as will any unusually large tables dining at the same time as you.
One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of restaurants are running deliveries as well as the restaurant. If the restaurant is busy, it may be even busier behind the scenes with delivery orders. No matter how busy though a restaurant should be getting food out in 30 minutes. If it’s beyond that it’s probably gone a bit awry backstage.
A simple lunch would be a max 15-20 mins wait for me.
Twice the time it would take me to prepare it at home and I start to get annoyed internally. Three times as long and I will start to think about asking where it is.
30 Minutes then I get up and leave.
Most of my jobs have been in hospitality. Anything over 20mins without being told theres a wait and it’s totally acceptable to ask whats happening.
Half an hour I’d be asking where it is, forty minutes I’d walk out.
Scrambled egg on toast? 15 mins unless advised there’s a wait
30 minutes is my where the fuck is this food moods.
4 months