What, in your opinion, is a reasonable time to wait for a standard meal in a restuarnt?

Question

ie not McDonalds but a decent resturant, nothing to fancy?

Answer 1

30 minutes max.  Sometimes a restaurant can get caught short of help because someone did not get to work on that particular day, however if it happens more than once I forget the restaurant and find another one.

You should be greeted by a wait staff member within 5 minutes of being seated.  Once they take your drink orderr they should arrive within 5 minutes.  Then once they take your meal orde it should not be any longer than 20-30 minutes.

Answer 2

10 to 15 minutes for first course then 10 to 15 for main course

Answer 3

15 to 30 min

Answer 4

15-30min

Answer 5

15-20 min

Answer 6

i think 15-20 minutes is a reasonable wait time for a good meal.  if you have to wait a little while that must mean the place is doing something right, there's people there.

Answer 7

30 mins max on a saturday, most places are glad to get out out quick to free up the table

Answer 8

I doubt I would wait 15 minutes for a table at a Chilis or Applebees type of restaurant.  If I'm out on a date to impress then I would have already made reservations (most restaurants have stopped this practice) but 30 minutes would be the most for me on a busy night excluding Mothers Day and Valantines Day.

Answer 9

30 minutes in if the dish itself takes that long but 30 minutes is still a very long time .

Answer 10

It depends on what you ordered. If you get some sort of salad it may only take 5 minutes if they are not busy. If you get a well done burger it is clearly going to take a little longer. There are definitely times that restaurants aim for, example where I work:

A table should be greeted within 30 sec of sitting down

You should be back with their drinks within 2 minutes

You should be back to make sure their food is ok within 2 minutes of them getting it.

You should process their payment in two minutes and get it back to them.

Obviously sometimes this is not possible. It may be busy, or people are being jerks, or whatever. But I would say your food should be ready in a standard restaurant in under 20 minutes. This has been my experience where I currently work which is a mid-level food and brewery kind of establishment.

Answer 11

If you are in a hurry you don't want to come to Hobart Tasmania as once you order you can wait up to an hour or more for your meal to appear.  That is because they only cook one table of food at a time.  Not like in the US where the chefs are talented and can multi task.  Here it is one table at a time.  I always bring something along to eat so that I won't pass out waiting.

Answer 12

wait time after you order your food. 15-20 min on a slow night at a restaurant and 30-45 for a busy.

as long as I have something to drink and my glass doesn't get empty I'm okay with a little wait. but the the food better not be COLD!