Reply to Restaurant asked us to leave after 2 1/2 hours. Should this bother me?

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Reply to "Restaurant asked us to leave after 2 1/2 hours. Should this bother me?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I eat out a lot in Europe.  There, they expect you to use the table all evening.  They don't assume people come to eat and leave, they assume that you are out for socializing over nice food. I [b]have to admit that I like it better there, even though the food is more expensive, and so one eats out less often.[/b]

In the United States, we just have to make everything feel like a factory.  Stand here.  Don't stand there.  Rush Rush Rush.  No clogging the machine.  Restaurants in the US actually play music designed to make conversation impossible and to drive people out of the restaurant as quickly as possible.  I guess it is okay if you think the purpose of a restaurant is to avoid cooking, as just a way to refuel, but not if you think if it as entertainment.[/quote]

And did it occur to you that the socializing time is incurred in the cost of the food?

Also, it's very different in Europe (which is a very board statement, as it encompasses a lot of countries and cultures). Most Europeans aren't out for dinner at 6pm. They certainly wouldn't be sitting at an empty table with nothing to "top up" the house, be it more mezze, a glass of grappa.. Something. Even if you're lingering, there is something that the restaurant is offering you other than a roof, because Europeans also aren't rude about hospitality.

Also, most American restaurants aren't haunted by regulars, as are European restaurants. They are not beholden to people that only show up once a year. If we're comparing, most European restaurants are very different. The regulars set the tone, the finances, etc. They would never inconvenience the owner, because they are familiar. Here, people could care less, as long as they look trendy going somewhere or get what they want.

Most American restaurants have a lounge area to, well, lounge, in. This is the place to hang out if you don't want to see a restaurant as a place to refuel. It costs the establishment less to run this area. THe dining area is for those who want to refuel. Americans have a very different style of working than many areas of Europe, so needing to stagger eating times makes a lot of sense.

OP, your party spanned valuable tables at a key time of night. You came at the earliest slot, and were keeping tables that could have been used for at least 2 parities (a 2 and a 4) past the best times. Three courses should have been able to be served in1.5 hours,a which tells me aside from lingering after the bill was paid, each course was extended. To some degree, it's your prerogative, but you also eliminated this restaurant from seating at very valuable times: 730' (even a few minutes late to bus) 8, 830, and they were looking at another lost seating at 9 if they didn't move you along.

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