It's more or less common sense that the restaurants that are full or have people waiting to enter are very good ones, meaning, the quality of the food is good or the prices are good. So the question I place is, are you usually willing to wait for a table at a restaurant or you just go to the next one?
Yeah, I'm willing to wait. I frequent cheap places that serve good food and I noticed that those places tend to have people waiting in line all the time. And if you're not willing to wait, no prob, phone in advance and make a reservation. Who knows, you'll maybe make a friend or tw0 while waiting, if you're so inclined
Im am usually a pretty bussy person and I wouldn't have the time to just wait around for a table, even if Im out with friends or such, it just feels like wasting time. I would usually just phone ahead and reserve a table if its a date or something. If not I'll just go to a different restaurant, I can't afford to just wait there.
I would only wait if there looked like a chance we could be seated soon and realistically. Depending on how hungry we are and whether we really enjoy the food, if it's longer than 15-20 minutes I would look elsewhere. If a host/hostess is good they will tell you the maximum time you need to wait and if they are efficient and organized I will believe them. A good host won't lie to keep you waiting and knows which tables can be turned.
It depends. If I really want that specific restaurant, whether it's because I already know it's really good or I just want to try that one, then sometimes I don't mind waiting. It also depends on how hungry I am. If I want to be able to eat within the next half hour or 45 minutes, then I definitely don't want to tack on an additional half hour of waiting before ever being seated.
Excellent topic and question! I have often pondered the need to wait for a table at restaurants, even if the food is superb and the service is great. I am not particularly a fan of having to wait when it comes to my food, so I usually move on to another restaurant option if it is that the wait will take beyond half an hour or so, but this is not always the case. There are instances in which my family and I have been out to dine for a special occasion, at a specifically chosen restaurant, and we have managed to bear the long wait, all with the hope that we will get the satisfaction we are looking for with the quality of the food, as well as the continued fellowship and lively discussions that having good company around inspires. However, even in such exceptional circumstances, we usually analyse what we enjoyed about the restaurant that we had visited that night, and weigh those considerations against what we definitely did not enjoy, along with the reasons behind which we held these views. Prime amongst the reasons why we choose to no longer visit a particular restaurant, is the long wait that we know we can inevitably expect when we go there for food. If we feel that it's truly not worth the wait, then that restaurant basically gets "checked off" of our list of "favorite restaurants", and we choose to either not visit it again, or to visit it with very little frequency. On the other hand, though, there are those restaurants that, based on the warmth of the customer service and the scrumptious quality of their food, we just refuse to leave out of our options!
I don't like waiting in line when dining out. To avoid this I call in advance to make a reservation, especially if it is a planned dinner or lunch date. I make sure that no one gets inconvenienced. If it is just a quick fastfood meal, I scan the place first to see if there are available seats and if the queue at the counter is long. If not, then I just find another restaurant. We don't really encounter this problem often because we dine out during off peak hours and almost never during holidays.
I'm a very patient person when it comes to dining out. I will usually wait unless I'm with someone that's in a huge hurry. It takes time to sit, order food, eat then pay and leave. I hate rushing so why would I rush someone else just so I can sit and eat? Now, there are some places that have ridiculous waiting times in like the hours. If I approach them, I usually do leave and find another restaraunt.
It really depends on the situation. I would not mind waiting for the table if I have no other work to do. Good food is something worth waiting for once in a while. I do think that eating good food makes a person very happy. On most of the occasions I would prefer not to wait for a table and go to any other restaurant that is available in the area. My aim in most situations is to eat a healthy diet and fill my tummy.
Yes, I have waited for a table at a restaurant. At several restaurants. The food is always good, but sometimes it's just a hassle to go somewhere else. Most restaurants have these nifty devices that let you know when the table is ready. You don't have to stand outside the restaurant. My date and I waited 45 minutes last weekend. It was a well known Brazilian restaurant in the city. The place is always busy on the weekends. It even stay open to 3 am. The food was delicious.
If the food is good I don't mind waiting. I live in a city so if there's a wait I'll walk somewhere else to have a drink or look around a store. I have a lot of patience. I wouldn't wait more than an hour though...but who knows. It just depends on my mood and the restaurant.
We are usually willing to wait for a table at our favorite restaurants. If the food is good and you like the atmosphere why go somewhere else, especially if the prices are reasonable. The issue we sometimes have is keeping the kids happy and busy while were waiting. That can be a chore in itself. We do what we have to and it always works out for the best. The way I also think about it is, if you don't want to wait and decide to go somewhere else, by the time you pack everyone back into the car and find another restaurant you've wasted the same amount of time the wait was at you favorite!
A busy restaurant doesn't indicate quality food, though. Most people look for a restaurant that's close by and seems decent enough, but plenty of packed restaurants put out disappointing food. I'm never in a rush, so I'm willing to wait somewhere that I know there's good food. Too many people expect to be seated immediately at restaurants, and it's like they don't understand at all that no open seats means that there are no open seats. People are just too impatient with these kinds of things, and it's pretty amusing to watch while you're waiting, especially when people get upset over stupid things. Good food is worth the wait.
Even if the restaurant is really that good, I'd rarely want to stand in line just to eat there unless they have some signature dish that I'm really seeking. Most of the time, I'd just go to some other restaurant instead and maybe just reschedule my visit to some other day. If the wait isn't too long, though, or if I'm really in the mood for that restaurant's dishes, then it would definitely wait, because I'm not really entirely against waiting in line either.
In my case it really depends on the circumstance. If I am in my lunchtime and I have a limited time to eat I need to look for a place with no line, but if I do have the time I just might wait, whether because I want that restaurant for it's quality, price or location, the three main factors for me when picking a restaurant.
It really depends on the length of the wait. I won't wait for an hour at a restaurant, but a reasonable time of 10-15 minutes isn't a problem. As others say, it's the good restaurants that are busy and require a wait, so they're usually worth it.
I'm usually willing to wait but only up to a certain point. If it seems like absolute chaos (one restaurant we went to was taking peoples' names but then not keeping track of who came in in what order to any extent! It was an absolute joke.) or if the wait is longer than half an hour, though, I probably won't wait.
I will always wait for a table in my favourite restaurants. As a matter of fact, I will go for a walk and do something else for a while and return later, as long as I know that there will be a table reserved for me. I have no problems at all waiting for an hour or two. After all, it's always a great treat for me to eat in those places, and it doesn't happen every day.
When my family and I eat out especially during the weekends, we often have to wait to be seated. We spend a few minutes waiting especially if the food is really good. However, if we have to wait hours before we can eat, we just move to another restaurant. It's really pointless to wait for such a long time especially if you are already hungry.
I try to avoid going out to restaurants if they are so busy that there is a long wait. It's mainly because I know the kitchen is getting slammed as are the servers, and they are going to be in a rush to get us out of there too because there are still others waiting to be seated. If I am going to pay a premium for good food at a restaurant, I would like to get it when the kitchen is not in a hurry and churning out sub standard food, and when the server can give us their best service. Certainly it's a good sign if a place is regularly busy, but I will instead make note of that and come back at a less popular time, such as 2:30pm - between lunch and dinner.
