Restaurant étique

[OKCretro]

Whats the longest you would wait for a table after being told of a time.

Hostess says "30 minutes" when do you leave?

[BBatesokc]

Whats the longest you would wait for a table after being told of a time.

Hostess says "30 minutes" when do you leave?

Me: "When the hostess says 30 minutes"

Unless they have a bar.... then, 30-minutes is my max.

The smart hostess says 15-20 minutes - knowing most anyone will hang around that long, even though she knows it's going to be more like 30-40 minutes. But, once I've invested the 20 or so minutes, I'll probably stick around another 10-15.

In all honestly, 20 minutes is my max at lunch most places. Dinner? Probably 30-35 minutes. If I even think there's a chance of waiting that long or longer at a place then I call and get reservations.

I did wait the 30 minutes though earlier this week to have a burger at Sid's in El Reno. Definitely worth the wait.

[Dr Beard Face]

check with them after 35 minutes, after an hour I'm out. Letting the host know you are leaving is important too, cause it can mess up more if people dip out before being called and not informing the restaurant.
However, if it is a crazy awesome experience/ restaurant then I'm fine with a long wait.

[Bullbear]

Depends on the situation. if there is a bar and with friends we will have a drink. and if it runs over 30 minutes so be it as long as it doesn't become excessive. if the restaurant is busy and I am with a large group I will give them a bit more slack. There are a lot of factors to consider for me in that simple question.

[stile99]

Not sure it's really a matter of etiquette. I think there's a bit of a difference between "Don't blow one's nose at the table" and "Don't wait 45 minutes if the time quoted was 30". If you use the wrong fork, certain people may have a heart attack. If you have to leave because you have other engagements and the wait was longer than expected, I don't think anyone will even notice.

If you have reservations and show up on time, the 'correct' response would be "I'm sorry, we have additional engagements this evening and putting them off will not be possible, that's why we reserved a table for this time, what can you do for us?".

[TheTravellers]

Whats the longest you would wait for a table after being told of a time.

Hostess says "30 minutes" when do you leave?

About 5 seconds after she says that. Seriously, unless it's some place we've *really* been wanting to try, we leave - there are enough good restaurants around that don't have 30+ minute waits (usually within a 5-10 minute drive) that we can go to instead. Caveat - we rarely, if ever, eat out on a Friday/Saturday night (or most nights, actually), we tend to go on Saturday lunch/afternoons, so that helps.

If we do decide to stay with a 30-minute wait, we wait 30 and see what they say, but usually we're seated by the time 30 minutes rolls around.

[Uptowner]

I often find myself saying "what!? _____ is good but it's not 1 hour wait good!" Anything that's serious dining will take a reservation. I get the hipster thing is to string a line around the block but cutting edge brunch, sandwich or taco that you made out of that unconventional yet familiar bread stuff (a donut, crepe, etc) just isn't worth 2 hours of my life. And I'm not just picking on hipsters. I don't know WHAT you people are doing outside kacao all day on Sunday...you know that place is open all week right? You know Antigua is right down the street right? And Nic is a great guy, great burger, but I've never waited an hour(s) for a hamburger, ate it, then felt like it was worth it. Not at hodad's, not at hopdoddy's, not at au cheval. Maybe at au cheval, but only because we were brown bagging it in line and the locals loved it & bought us shots inside.

[emtefury]

I would leave at 15. This is why wife and I get to a restaurant in OKC no later than 5pm. There is never a wait. When I moved here we went at 6pm places were packed. People in OKC love to eat out.

[tfvc.org]

I often find myself saying "what!? _____ is good but it's not 1 hour wait good!" Anything that's serious dining will take a reservation. I get the hipster thing is to string a line around the block but cutting edge brunch, sandwich or taco that you made out of that unconventional yet familiar bread stuff (a donut, crepe, etc) just isn't worth 2 hours of my life. And I'm not just picking on hipsters. I don't know WHAT you people are doing outside kacao all day on Sunday...you know that place is open all week right? You know Antigua is right down the street right? And Nic is a great guy, great burger, but I've never waited an hour(s) for a hamburger, ate it, then felt like it was worth it. Not at hodad's, not at hopdoddy's, not at au cheval. Maybe at au cheval, but only because we were brown bagging it in line and the locals loved it & bought us shots inside.

Reminds me of the Krispy Kreme openings in OKC.