How long is too long to wait for a table you have reserved for a specific time ?

[Adillo303]

GB has it nailed.If the restaurant can't make the space available within reasonable time of the time of the reservation, then they should not take the reservation. Whomever mentioned a deposit, I never heard of that, but, it closes the loop. A restaurateur also cannot afford to have a table for ten either waiting for guests that are late, or guests that show up with only 6 and say, sorry the others backed out. It really is a two way street and local experience plays a big role.

Just out of curiosity, what would any of have done after your stated wait time. If seating for ten is hard to get, going someplace else would be difficult.Just curious.

AC

 

[Fisher's Mom]

15-20 minutes wouldn't bother me much but it would probably irk some members of my family.

 

[mikki]

I was a waitress for three years and if we had a big party to be sat at a certian time 20-30 minutes ahead of time we quit seating people where that party was going to be sat. Understanding someone might take a little longer I think 15-20 minute wait is long enough .

 

[MexicoKaren]

Larry, where are you??? We are all waiting to hear how it turned out.

I agree with others who have said 15-20 minutes...although I have often been directed to the bar to wait for a "reserved" table and waited a half hour or more. This seems rather standard to me - the restaurant makes some extra $$$ in the bar. The last place in the states that asked me to wait in the bar, I declined (really don't drink much). This restaurant gave all the waiting hopeful diners a pager so that they would know when their table was ready. Yes, we had a reservation. Got seated 45 minutes later.

 

[larry_stewart]

Sorry guys/ gals, had a busy past few days. I wanted to get a few opinions about the wait before posting the story so i wouldnt look like a jackass ( which I seem to do in some of my posts).

Anyway, so here it goes....

My wife and I were invited to go out with people who she works with ( 10 of us in total).
As mentioned, reservations were made at least a week in advance for 7:30pm. Friday night.

Sorry to disappoint everyone, not a Chinese restaurant. No soy chicken. So, how can I top this ?? Where does everyone decide to take 2 vegetarians to dinner ( and yes we were the only vegetarians in the group of 10, and yes they knew). Well, a STEAK HOUSE!!!

Tellers Restaurant | Islip | Long Island | New York

So, we arrived at 7:25pm. A few other couples were there already, just waiting for one more couple. We let them know we were there and they said they were getting our table ready. Surely, they hustled us over to the bar while we were waiting ( my wife and I dont drink, but everyone else does so no problem). 15 minutes passed, then 30, then 45. Finally, they were finished " getting our table ready". Now 8:16pm im sitting in my seat. Knowing I was going to post this here, I kept accurate records of things .

Not only do they take called in reservations, but on their website, they have an online reservation page

Tellers An American Chophouse Restaurant, Islip - Make a Reservation

The place was very classy, well decorated. Actually, used to be a Bank, hence the name " Tellers".

We get the menu, and about 15 minutes later our wine/ drink order is taken. There is a guy there whose only job is to bring your wine and refill your glass when it is empty ( this was new to me , as I usually dont go to such fancy places) The second the guy saw your glass was empty, he rushed to the table and refilled the glass.

Another 15 minutes goes by and now our order is taken. Knowing there is nothing on the menu for us to eat ( I had looked at the menu online a few days prior), we decided to order a salad and backed potato.

Tellers Restaurant Islip Long Island New York
(click on the dinner menu)

When we told the waiter that we were only getting a salad and potato, the look on his face was priceless. He said " so, your going to eat nothing ?? just sit here and watch everyone else eat ?? Are you vegetarians? "

we told him yes, and he said " oh, u should tell me. My job is to give u something to eat. Now that I know, I can have them make u up a pasta with mixed vegetables, and a plate of grilled vegetables...." we told him to tell the chef to have fun with our dish, be creative , surprise us, as long as it is vegetarian .

A very nice bread basket was brought to the table with biscuits, poppy seed rolls, sour dough rolls, raising - nut bread ....

Appetizers and salads came. Good, but a salad is just a salad to me . Most of the others got oysters and baked clams....



Then the food came. I dont eat meat, but I could see that everything looked impressive. The rib eye cam with a rib attached to it the size of my arm. The cuts of meat were like 3 inches thick. Oh yeah, and the baked potato was great ( joke).

They did accommodate us with the pasta, grilled vegetables and all that .

Desert was cheese cake for us.

Anyway, other than the long wait, which i agree with most people here. 15 or 20 minutes, sure , thats part of the game. But 45 minutes when we had a reservation. And also when u have an online reservation on your website.... I think things can be done much better, although I do understand that they have to keep their tables filled. I agree with the deposit for the the reservation, that makes sense to me . Other than this though, the service was great. There wasnt one busboy parading around, but they all worked as a team. There was never a dirty plate, crumbs or anything left on the table. Water was always filled ( so was the wine). The courses were spaced nicely so it never seamed as if we were waiting. The food was good ( not great) but good. But considering we were vegetarians in a steak house, I think they did a great job.

But , my final comment is about the price . Im a practical person. sure it was a fancy place. Sure the menu had top quality items on it. But every appetizer was $10 +, the salads $10 +, the entre $35 - $65, the side dishes $10 + each , the desserts $10 +, So for me and my wife to go out for a pasta meal, was in the $150 - $200 range. Im sorry, but no one here will be able to rationalize this for me. Thats my weekly grocery budget, and I blew it in one meal The cheese cake was a cheese cake, the potato was , hmmm, a potato ( a $10 potato no less)

Good thing was ,that my wifes boss treated everyone,so didnt cost me a cent. Oh yeah, and we didnt leave until 11:30pm

I rarely go out to fancy places like this, let alone with a large group of people. Is it normal for dinner to take 4 hours ???

 

[larry_stewart]

One more thing, I figured im going to a nice classy place, so i showed up in a nice shirt and tie. I noticed many people there in t shirts and jeans. Is this how people go out to fancy places now ?? Just curious, im kind of a hermit crab, so this shocked me a little .

 

[babetoo]

larry i think you need to do one of two things. quit going out for dinner. or open your own place.

pretty much going out is a hassle for me, because of too few workers in the restaurants.

 

[larry_stewart]

personally, if i had the choice, i prefer to take in over dine out.

 

[MexicoKaren]

Larry, thanks for the detailed report. I'm not sure what you do for a living (maybe you've said and I missed it) but you are a great observer and a good writer. My husband and I also avoid expensive eateries -we did go to the nicest restaurant in town a few weeks ago to celebrate DH's first Social Security check (yippee!), but our bill was still less than $100. There is too much obvious poverty around us to enjoy such extravagence. If we have extra money, it goes to needs in the community.

So I guess I am not the best person to comment on the price. Just know that I am with you 100%.

 

[Dave Hutchins]

Having been in the business most of my adult life and also being a restaurant owner.
99% of the places I worked were old school if a reservation was for a certain time we would wait 15 minutes and if it was a no show we were not out all that much. By the same token we seated all of our reservations on time. I ran the back of the house and my wife ran the front. rarely did we ever get jammed up, but I may add it takes years of doing the job to be really good at it to keep things moving along like they are supposed too

 

[GrillingFool]

If I understand correctly, there was a deposit required for the reservation?

Then I would have raised some hell after 20 minutes.

They make me PAY to reserve a table, it **** well better be ready when I
PAID for it.

I don't have much patience with the "you don't understand" excuse. In a service
or retail business, where I am shelling out money... don't ask me to "understand"
why I don't get good service. I am paying money..... hello! MONEY! must I explain more?

OK, off my soapbox. (and I have been on both sides of service and retail and
restaurant.)

 

[Barbara L]

So, yes, I went out to eat again which means I have another " Oh no, larrry went out to eat story" ...

We have actually considered starting an "Oh no, larry went out to eat again" forum! LOL Just teasing of course--I enjoy reading about your restaurant adventures. And I think 45 minutes was definitely way too long to wait, when you had reservations.

Barbara

 

[quicksilver]

One more thing, I figured im going to a nice classy place, so i showed up in a nice shirt and tie. I noticed many people there in t shirts and jeans. Is this how people go out to fancy places now ?? Just curious, im kind of a hermit crab, so this shocked me a little .

Down here in "snowbird land" most nice, nice places expect pants and closed shoes and a shirt with short sleeves. Otherwise anything along the order of Carrabba's or Red Lobster type chains, shorts, sandals, tank tops and jeans are allowed.
I always feel that if I'm going to pay for a decent meal, I want to look decent. So I usually have on khaki pants or a skirt and a golf type shirt. Crocks have been my footwear for going on 4 years, long before the cheap knock-offs you see everywhere now.
As for your wait time, with a week's notice and deposit - nope. I think this was unacceptable and some type of bone should have been throughen your (the payer's) way. Maybe it was, but it wasn't mentioned by the payer.
Prices did seem high for the meal you and your wife had.
But not for a meat entree. $10 for a salad of no chicken or fish or cheese in it sounds crazy to me. Along with a $10 potato and $10 cheesecake slice. If your entree cost as much as an entree of meat, I would have ordered a meat entree and asked the meat be put in a doggie bag, ate the rest and given the doggie a very expense feast, on the house! LOL! But I would have forgone the potato once I knew I was getting a pasta dish.
It sounds like they were very accomodating to you and your wife's need. I liked hearing that.
As for your tales of adventure in the eating out world, keep 'em coming! I enjoy them and you spin.
Thanks for sharing. Until next time.....................
(as they do have a website, I would go on it and put down what you told us there. I think it wasn't harsh, but that they have room for improvement.)

 

[larry_stewart]

Just to clear things up, they didnt require money upfront to keep the reservations, but it was mentioned by someone earlier, and I can understand a restaurant doing that ( assuming they keep there half of the bargain).

As for the night itself, overall it was very nice. Just the wait was annoying, but the truth is, ive been to places like this before, and i expected it. On a typical night out for me , i prefer to go a littler earlier and get better service and less of a crowd, then going prime time.

The service and staff were ideal, and they accomdated us %100, considering we were two people totally out of place there.

As for the prices, I would never pay that much for a meal. Maybe im too practical or maybe because i like to cook, I know what things cost and for me , cooking and preparing it is fun ( sure its a job for the chef and i can understand that a restaurant of chef with a certain reputation and degree of skill should be rewarded, I can think of a whole lot of things I can do with $200 then spend it on one meal)

Typically when we and my wife go out, the bill comes to somewhere between $40 - $60, with the kids maybe $60 - $80.

So, overall experience this time, was good. Only problem, the wait. Id still give this place the good old larry 2 thumbs up, as long as you have deep pockets or a boss willing to foot the bill

 

[GB]

The thing that bothered me the most about your story was that they told you they were just getting your table ready. That was an obvious lie to not let you know how far behind they were. If I were the patron then I would be a lot more willing to not be upset if they just told me the truth. "I am sorry. I know you have a reservation for 7pm, but we are running late unexpectedly. We hope to have you in by 7:45. We are very sorry for the inconvenience." While I would still not be thrilled with the situation I do understand that sometimes these things happen. But to lie and make it seem like you will be seated any minute because they are getting the table ready is just plain wrong IMO.

As for the prices, those prices are not uncommon for a good steakhouse. Yes it is a lot of money. It is not something that I would want to pay for more than maybe once a year if that. If I were a vegetarian then I certainly would never go to a place like that unless it was in a situation like yours. It sounds like the restaurant took pretty decent care of you once you were seated though so that is good. It is great that they found out that you and your wife do not eat meat and made a point to find something other than salad that you could enjoy.

 

[larry_stewart]

I agree about the " we are getting your table ready" thing, the dining area was one room, about 25 tables in clear view of where we were standing, so unless we were visually impaired, it was quite obvious that there was no table of 10 being set up, but more like a ' lets see which cluster of tables finish first so we can get these people in'. Since we were with a group, the time went quickly ( at least for my wife , since she knew everyone. Me being Mr antisocial, I just looked around the restaurant and took in what details a nice classy restaurant has, since i rarely go to such places). But I agree, honesty is the best policy.

 

[DramaQueen]

Sorry guys/ gals, had a busy past few days. I wanted to get a few opinions about the wait before posting the story so i wouldnt look like a jackass ( which I seem to do in some of my posts).

Anyway, so here it goes....

My wife and I were invited to go out with people who she works with ( 10 of us in total).
As mentioned, reservations were made at least a week in advance for 7:30pm. Friday night.

Sorry to disappoint everyone, not a Chinese restaurant. No soy chicken. So, how can I top this ?? Where does everyone decide to take 2 vegetarians to dinner ( and yes we were the only vegetarians in the group of 10, and yes they knew). Well, a STEAK HOUSE!!!

Tellers Restaurant | Islip | Long Island | New York

So, we arrived at 7:25pm. A few other couples were there already, just waiting for one more couple. We let them know we were there and they said they were getting our table ready. Surely, they hustled us over to the bar while we were waiting ( my wife and I dont drink, but everyone else does so no problem). 15 minutes passed, then 30, then 45. Finally, they were finished " getting our table ready". Now 8:16pm im sitting in my seat. Knowing I was going to post this here, I kept accurate records of things .

Not only do they take called in reservations, but on their website, they have an online reservation page

Tellers An American Chophouse Restaurant, Islip - Make a Reservation

The place was very classy, well decorated. Actually, used to be a Bank, hence the name " Tellers".

We get the menu, and about 15 minutes later our wine/ drink order is taken. There is a guy there whose only job is to bring your wine and refill your glass when it is empty ( this was new to me , as I usually dont go to such fancy places) The second the guy saw your glass was empty, he rushed to the table and refilled the glass.

Another 15 minutes goes by and now our order is taken. Knowing there is nothing on the menu for us to eat ( I had looked at the menu online a few days prior), we decided to order a salad and backed potato.

Tellers Restaurant Islip Long Island New York
(click on the dinner menu)

When we told the waiter that we were only getting a salad and potato, the look on his face was priceless. He said " so, your going to eat nothing ?? just sit here and watch everyone else eat ?? Are you vegetarians? "

we told him yes, and he said " oh, u should tell me. My job is to give u something to eat. Now that I know, I can have them make u up a pasta with mixed vegetables, and a plate of grilled vegetables...." we told him to tell the chef to have fun with our dish, be creative , surprise us, as long as it is vegetarian .

A very nice bread basket was brought to the table with biscuits, poppy seed rolls, sour dough rolls, raising - nut bread ....

Appetizers and salads came. Good, but a salad is just a salad to me . Most of the others got oysters and baked clams....



Then the food came. I dont eat meat, but I could see that everything looked impressive. The rib eye cam with a rib attached to it the size of my arm. The cuts of meat were like 3 inches thick. Oh yeah, and the baked potato was great ( joke).

They did accommodate us with the pasta, grilled vegetables and all that .

Desert was cheese cake for us.

Anyway, other than the long wait, which i agree with most people here. 15 or 20 minutes, sure , thats part of the game. But 45 minutes when we had a reservation. And also when u have an online reservation on your website.... I think things can be done much better, although I do understand that they have to keep their tables filled. I agree with the deposit for the the reservation, that makes sense to me . Other than this though, the service was great. There wasnt one busboy parading around, but they all worked as a team. There was never a dirty plate, crumbs or anything left on the table. Water was always filled ( so was the wine). The courses were spaced nicely so it never seamed as if we were waiting. The food was good ( not great) but good. But considering we were vegetarians in a steak house, I think they did a great job.

But , my final comment is about the price . Im a practical person. sure it was a fancy place. Sure the menu had top quality items on it. But every appetizer was $10 +, the salads $10 +, the entre $35 - $65, the side dishes $10 + each , the desserts $10 +, So for me and my wife to go out for a pasta meal, was in the $150 - $200 range. Im sorry, but no one here will be able to rationalize this for me. Thats my weekly grocery budget, and I blew it in one meal The cheese cake was a cheese cake, the potato was , hmmm, a potato ( a $10 potato no less)

Good thing was ,that my wifes boss treated everyone,so didnt cost me a cent. Oh yeah, and we didnt leave until 11:30pm

I rarely go out to fancy places like this, let alone with a large group of people. Is it normal for dinner to take 4 hours ???

Larry, had you told us this story in the first post I think most of us would have agreed with you that 45 minutes is indeed too long to wait for a reservation. I'm assuming that since you could see the dining room you might have been able to see that there weren't enough empty tables to set up for a party of 10. Am I right?

As for the price of the meal, aren't the prices posted on the dinner menu you got online? Were your drinks included in the $150 to $200 range? And 4 hours is waaayyyy too long for any dinner I don't care how many courses they serve. Did you stay past the restuarant's closing time? I hope not.


As for being "out of place" I don't think so. Just because you don't eat meat doesn't make you odd. A meal is a meal even if it's pasta. That would have been my first choice too. Sounds like you had a great meal and a great time.

 

[miniman]

Actually, I think it is very good that they were able to accomadate vergetarians so easily - it would have been better to have the options on the menu but you can't have everything.

 

[larry_stewart]

Yes, we saw that there was no availability when we arrived. Since I knew I was being treated, I just kinda laid back and dealt with the situation, since I didnt think it was my place to say anything, and the truth is, the guy who was treating already felt upset about it so I didnt want to add fuel to the fire. But, since it was my wife's work and not mine, and i really didnt want to be there in the first place, I was mentally keeping track of this and storing it in the back of my mind, for when she complains that she doesnt want to go to my work christmas part .

Yes, the $150 - $200 included drinks, although my wife and I only had diet coke and ginger ale which were about $6 for a real small , i mean really small bottle of it.

We did not stay past closing time. We entered about 7:30, seated at 8:16 (yes I checked my watch, remember I need this for when my wife complains about my party) and left about 11:20, so the actual dinner part was about 3+ hours. The courses were kinda spread out nicely, so it didnt feel as long as it was, and i really never felt like i was waiting for the next course, it all kinda flowed nicely ( surprisingly to me).

The reason I posted the story after I heard everyones opinion, is because I didnt want to look like an *** if i complained how long I waited, then the general consensus was that 45 minutes was normal. Not that I would have cared, and I still would have posted anyway, but after getting beaten up a bit from the soy chicken incident, I wanted to see where it was going before I put myself out there.

And yes, It would have been nice for there to be a few vegetarian choices on the menu itself, especially since the waiter made it seem that they are always accommodating for vegetarians. On the other hand, it was kinda nice being treated a little special, sounds strange, but it seemed that when his being able to help us made his night .

 

[elaine l]

We went to dinner last night with a 7 reservation. We were seated after about 15 minutes. I had this thread in my head and kept checking my watch!