Cheesecake!!!!! (longish)

[BookstoreEscapee]

They want to avoid two things:

1. Having, say, two people sitting at a table for four waiting for their friends, only to have their friends not show. Now the restaurant is wasting a large table when a small one would have been fine.

That's fine if you're talking about 2 people saving a table for a bunch more people, but if you have a big group and are missing 1 or 2 people, I don't think it's unreasonable to want to be seated. Besides, it's likely they will order appetizers and/or drinks while they waited for the stragglers (at least if it was my friends, we would).

[Catwoman2965]

That's fine if you're talking about 2 people saving a table for a bunch more people, but if you have a big group and are missing 1 or 2 people, I don't think it's unreasonable to want to be seated. Besides, it's likely they will order appetizers and/or drinks while they waited for the stragglers (at least if it was my friends, we would).

Exactly! I can see why they do it, but...this is the only restaurant i've ever encountered this..any other place i've gone, chains, local places, diners, have never made us wait for everyone...not a huge deal, its more about my friends who are NEVER on time. I guess i was just surprised, plus it was busy, so waiting for the other 2, we had to wait an additional 20-25 mins for a table.

My friends and i too would order stuff while waiting for the rest of the group.

[trunks2k]

Exactly! I can see why they do it, but...this is the only restaurant i've ever encountered this..

My favorite restaurant (Monk's Cafe in Philadelphia) tends to do it, and it's really annoying. It is impossible to get a table. No reservations, no call aheads, sometimes can't even put your name on the list until everyone is there (unless there's already a really long wait). Plus the place is really popular - you can go there at 5PM on a monday and there will be a 20 minute wait. You can't even really wander around while you wait. We tried to go there this past friday - there was at least a 45 minute wait.

*tangent*

Thankfully, the owners of that restaurant own at least two other places (Nodding Head and The Belgian Cafe) that are just as good, one of which is a couple block away, and there's less of a wait there, so we went there instead. The other two are very good places, but Monk's is still the best. Especially when it comes to the beer list. A couple hundred different types of beer from all over the world. It's pure heaven. mmmmm...... Nodding Head, on the other hand just has 6 beers, but they're brewed right on the premises.