Inching forward, popping up on your toes to look over their heads, rarg! How much longer?! Waiting in line to get into a restaurant can be excruciating. Or a time to catch up with friends and engage in some delightful people-watching. Depends on what kind of person you are. So, how patient are you? Or busy? Or hungry? What’s your upper max for how long you will stand in line at a restaurant? Sound off in the comments!
How long would you wait in line? [Fat City] (Thanks to Kyle!)
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The first rule of skipping lines is to never go out to eat at a mall restaurant or one of those crazy popular chains on a weekend night. Not only does it take forever, but the food quality really goes down the busier the place. Usually a non-chain restaurant that isn’t immediately adjacent to some sort of mall or stadium or what not is never that busy if you get there earlier in the day. But I’ll never wait more than the time it takes to drive somewhere else.
Otherwise, make a reservation.
it would have to be a DARN fine eatery for me to wait longer than 15 minutes.
and nothing comes to mind at this minute.
Usually no more than 20 minutes, but there have been a few times I’ve waited longer. Usually that happens only if I’m not very hungry and there are empty seats at the bar; then I might wait longer and nurse one drink through the entire wait. I generally won’t wait more than 5 minutes at a cheaper chain restaurant.
10-15 minutes, maybe. It really depends on how far over or how much of a drive it is to the next restaurant we’d go to. Even if it’s a 5- 10 minute drive, but they may be just as full, is it worth it? Sometimes waiting the little bit extra isn’t bad. All depends on what else is happening.
We waited about an hour for breakfast at Lynn’s Paradise Cafe in Louisville 2 weeks ago and it was worth it! Anyplace else about 20 min.
For me it really depends, but not on what type of restaurant it is, but on what mood I’m in and how hungry I am and what the people I’m with want to do. There are restaurants that I will wait an hour and a half for, and there are ones that I will walk out of, and sometimes those are the same place.
30 minutes, and only if I’m really craving something in particular. Usually, we go elsewhere if the wait is longer than 15-20 minutes.
So many factors…
If I’m at home (Denver Metro area), I will wait up to 30 minutes for most restaurants, 45 for one I really want to eat at.
When I’m away from home (so I won’t have the opportunity to return soon), I will wait up to 45 minutes for a regular restaurant, or up to an hour for one of my favorites (like the W in Gunnison! Best French Toast on the planet).
I will not wait a long time for a restaurant simply because it is the “hip” restaurant of the moment. I have to know it’s good to justify a wait. Also, if the host didn’t give accurate wait times (don’t tell me 10 minutes if it’s really 30) or is letting in their buddies or regulars first, I’ll just go find another place to dine. It’s not worth being treated badly in order to get a meal.
Lump me in with those with times based upon a kid in tow and without. In the old days or when it’s a kid-free evening, I’d wait 30-45 minutes for a place I’m in the mood for. If it’s an area with lots of options and I’m not feeling picky, that time drops. With my son along, I’m going to give five or 10 minutes max. No one will be happy towards the end of my meal if we have a long wait first.
I’ve also done the thing where you put in your name at one restaurant, then walk down the street to another and check the time there. I don’t do it often, but I’ve got nothing against checking out my options.
5-10 minutes for lunch, up to 30 minutes dinner. If it’s a peak time for restaurants (Friday-Saturday night, Sunday brunch), I only eat where I can make reservations.
With little kids, I avoid places where there is a chance of a wait. If there’s another restaurant a quick walk away, I won’t wait more than 10 minutes. If it’s a car trip, 20 minutes.
20 minutes, unless I’m starving.
20 minutes. No more. Good restaurant or chain.
If we do go out, we usually go early (doesn’t matter what day of the week) so we miss the big dinner crowd (which seems to start around 6:30 and go till 9pm.) So as long as we’re somewhere by 6pm we normally get seated within 5 minutes or less.
15 to 20 minutes, unless it’s a super special occasion and/or place, then I might wait up to 45. I’m not really that much of a foodie… and in NYC, there’s generally another decent place within a five minute wallk. Waiting is too much of a bore.
Depends on the place, and how hungry I am. Usually I’m never confronted with a wait that’s longer than 30-45 mins, and that’s rare because I intentionally don’t go out to restaurants at peak times very often. If I’m told that it’s going to be longer than 30-45 mins, I’ll probably go elsewhere.
We go on a weeknight, early, or late on weekends and avoid lines. I won’t wait more than about 30 minutes.
About 15 -20 minutes but we usually go earlier in the day to avoid waiting.
Into? Forget it. To be seated, I’ll wait 15 minutes on a normal night, about twice that on the so called busy nights (friday, saturday, holidays, thursday/sunday on a three day weekend, you catch my drift)
Has no one mentioned Shake Shack in NYC?? I have waited 2 hours there before. It’s the experience though. It’s in Madison Square Park, so while you’re waiting you are under trees with a cool breeze and sometimes they bring out samples of frozen custard. mmmmmmm
10 minutes period. Don’t care if it’s a chain or some fancy restaurant. If it’s THAT good of a place, they should be taking reservations.
Depends on the restaurant. I won’t wait any longer than 5-10 mins at a chain place like TGIF or BWW’s. If we’re talking a unique place on a friday or saturday night, I’m willing to allow for some more time, 45 at the most.
Otherwise, it’s at the bar, a reservation, or elsewhere.
I don’t eat at fancy enough restaurants that this is often a problem. If the wait is more than 15 minutes or so, I’m going somewhere else. (I might even wait less depending on my mood)
When the hostess says 10 minutes or less. Because I know they always underestimate the time, so 10 minutes for them is really 20 minutes.
I’ve decided after reading all the posts that people waiting for insane amounts of time at The Cheesecake factory and P.F. Chang’s basically sums up what is wrong with this nation.
So what’s wrong with this nation is that people don’t agree with you about where they should eat or what they enjoy?
20 minutes. If the hostess says anything longer, we’ll leave and go to any of the other 58,012,300,482 restaurants in the area which are slower.
When I first met my wife (my girlfriend at the time) we waited close to 4 hours to have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory on Valentines day (we had only known each other for about 3 weeks at the time). When we arrived, we were told it would be about 1.5 hours, then another 30min, then another 45min etc etc. We tried other restaurants in the area and they were no better, so we decided to stick it out and just talk to one another while waiting. It pushed our relationship forward by many many weeks as we got to see the good, the bad and the ugly as we moved from aggrevated to annoyed, to pissed to “Are we nuts?”. I highly recommend doing this to all new couples.
After that year, we agreed to avoid Valentines day eat outs and stay at home, instead celebrating Valentines day at some other time of the year when we want a special “date night”
That’s a cute story!
I’ll usually wait up to 20 min with or w/o the kids but if it’s a super long wait there are lots of other places I can go that serve the same food.
I can also go home and cook something too.
Wait? No more than 10 minutes. I live in an area with so many fantastic options, I won’t waste the time…
Usually I schedule dinner between 5-6, so that way I avoid crowds and get happy hour/early bird specials. Man, I sound old! LOL!
5 minutes, if that. i tend to wait too long to leave the house and feel like i’m going to die of hunger just driving to the restaurant. i eat at random hours though so it’s usually never a problem.
If I know it’s going to be phenomenal (i.e. Xoco in Chicago, Momofuku Noodle Bar in NYC), I’ll wait just about forever – but wouldn’t wait 5 minutes for T.G.I. McFunsters or other such establishments.
I’ve waited 45 minutes for Pink’s, but the wait can be much longer on a busy night. Why are they so damn slow slapping hot dogs together?
I’ll only wait longer than 15 minutes for any restaurant if I’m in a group and can’t convince the others to try somewhere else, which seems to be disappointingly often.
30 mins if I really like the place & it’s just me and my wife. The time I wait will change depending on how much I like the place and how hungry I am.
Add 15 mins if they have a well stocked bar.
Subtract 15 mins if the place is a national chain.
Subtract 10 mins if the restaurant is loud.
Fast food my wait threshold is about 3 mins.
Burns Steakhouse in Tampa, I’ll wait 45 mins.
For a great restaurant I will wait up to an hour (though I will usually leave and come back in 30 minutes). Some progressive places will call your cell phone 10 minutes before hand.
For run of the mill, ten is my max.
Maximum wait (no bar) is 45 minutes
I will wait longer for a non-chain restaurant than for a chain restaurant, fast food no more than 5 minutes.
Usually I forget and go out to restaurants on the weekends that there are high school sports tournaments in town, when I realize my mistake I turn around and get takeout
For the Newcombe family, the generic 15-20 minutes is the maximum wait we’ll tough out for dining out. Mrs. Newcombe is fond of places that allow for reservations (you can keep your damned “call-ahead” seating shell game, BJ’s!!)
Exception: Almost any Brazilian BBQ/Churrascaria place–we’ll wait until the end of time (Texas de Brazil, we’re looking at you…hungrily…)!
Nothing sadder than to see an hour wait at Chilis/TGI Fridays/Bennigans, while there are empty tables at the great locally owned and operated restaurant right down the street with better quality food. People are such sheep when it comes to eating out, afraid to try something or someplace new .
I hate restaurants, so I wouldn’t wait. Unless I was trying to sweet-talk someone, which is easier to do when I’m not shoveling food into my mouth.
If I actually got dressed up and there was a drive, I’ll wait. I might wait an hour for the simple fact that, if more effort went into it than my usual jeans and t-shirt, I’m not letting that go to waste! If I’m in a dress, dammit, I WILL eat there!
However, you can pretty much guess when there’s going to be a wait and avoid those times. I rarely bother going anywhere on the weekends anymore. If I do, I go early (4pm or so) and avoid the rush. At that time, it’s just me, my party, a few blue hairs, and…that’s about it.
2.5 hours under the right conditions. The right conditions are jacque imo’s on a friday night so you can hang out at the maple leaf drinking abitas and listening to amazing live music until your table is ready.
For a place like Chili’s or whatever I’d say 10 minutes.
5 minutes, tops. I do have a life.
I pretty much always end up waiting, regardless. When you ask the hostess how long the wait they almost always say 15 minutes (If they say anything else that’s code for ‘you have no chance of actually eating here tonight’ and I will leave)… well it will take at least 15 minutes to drive to another restaurant so I stay. Once my 15 minutes is up and I haven’t been seated yet that 15 minutes is a sunk cost, I’m not getting it back by leaving. So I continue to wait.
I hate eating in restaurants so much.
I’m not really the type of person who eats out, especially when it comes to the price. I also don’t like waiting around for food, especially when I am hungry.
15 minutes max when waiting in line, 15 minutes max once sat down. I wouldn’t mind hanging out at the house with a bunch of guys and making sandwiches, but somehow I get dragged along to these places when I was hungry 2 hours ago.
I have 2 kids, so it’s 15 minutes tops before things get ugly.
If you find yourself waiting AT ALL for a chain restaurant (Applebee’s, Red Lobster, Chilis, etc.) I suggest branching out and looking for local restaurants in your area that are actually worth waiting for. Nothing makes me cringe more than seeing a line full of tourists outside the Waikiki Red Lobster. I mean really.
If you find yourself waiting AT ALL for a chain restaurant (Applebee’s, Red Lobster, Chilis, etc.) I suggest branching out and looking for local restaurants in your area that are actually worth waiting for. Nothing makes me cringe more than seeing a line full of tourists outside the Waikiki Red Lobster. I mean really.
Depends if they have a bar to hang out at. No bar I’d say 20 minutes tops in most cases. With a bar maybe 45 to an hour.
20 minutes.
If the place is obviously crowded, then 20 – 30 minutes. Recently, at a Denny’s in Long Beach, CA. at 10am, the place was not busy. However, the manager told the hostess to make us wait for 10 minutes since the kitchen was ‘backed up’. Wouldn’t even let us sit and have coffee while we waited. Needless to say, we split and went to a local diner down the street.
I’ll wait on line for Shake Shack, because we’re all sheep, and everyone else is on line.