Restaurant queues. Is it a Melbourne thing?

[i-need-a-martini]

Just got back from a couple of days in Melbourne for business and was taken to a couple of restaurants at night and some places for brekky. Both times the queues were ridiculous.

Whilst I see this phenomenom creaping into the Sydney 'cool' no-booking type restaurant scene, most Sydneysiders would just keep walking (to the next restaurant) if they saw a queue.

We had a 2 hour weight for a seat at ChinChin and then a one hour wait fro brekky at Hardware Society. Our Melbourne hosts thought it acceptable and seeing as I was pitching for a job I could exactly say "stuff this!".

Would you wait 2 hours for a meal?

[punch*drunk]

Cant remember ever having to wait that long for a seat, but they are probably not the knds of restaurants I'd go to. Melbourne has a bit of a reputation for good dining I think, people must think its worth the wait...was it?

[j*oono]

No, I wouldn't.  The only place we have had to wait was at Cocos for breakfast the morning after Australia Day.  It is a very popular waterside place and they really provide the most beautiful buffet and made to order brekkie on certain days.

In a way the queueing system would help the restaurants that take reservations and then the patrons don't show up.

[i-need-a-martini]

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@punch*drunk wrote:

Cant remember ever having to wait that long for a seat, but they are probably not the knds of restaurants I'd go to. Melbourne has a bit of a reputation for good dining I think, people must think its worth the wait...was it?

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That's the thing - there is any number of decent places to eat so it's not as if they are limited in choice.

And whilst the food was good enough, the wait makes it not worth it at all. I was so cranky and hungry by the time we got to dinner that the cardboard menu would have tasted like it could win a  3 Michelin star rating.

And breakfast? One hour? That is crazy.

[imastawka]

I live in Melbourne and no, I would not queue at all

let alone 2 hours!   Your Melbourne hosts are 'full of themselves'

Plenty of brilliant restaurants in Melbourne.  If you don't have a booking

there's one, just as good, up the road.  Especially in the CBD

[i-need-a-martini]

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@j*oono wrote:

No, I wouldn't.  The only place we have had to wait was at Cocos for breakfast the morning after Australia Day.  It is a very popular waterside place and they really provide the most beautiful buffet and made to order brekkie on certain days.

In a way the queueing system would help the restaurants that take reservations and then the patrons don't show up.

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And yes I understand that is a reason to do it. We have a great restaurant in Newtown that won't book for that reason. So people queue if they want to eat there. 

[j*oono]

Did those restaurants have a little bar or lounge where you could have a drink and a chat while you were waiting? I wouldn't mind that so much.

[lis351]

From what I've read, it's happening in Perth too, inner city expensive restaurants. I think the school of thought is "our food is so ridiculously good that you can either wait for it or do without and we don't really give a stuff either way". I see it as bound to be over priced ridiculous food with bad service by up themselves staff (not a new thing in Perth, apparently we're well known for poor service).
No, I wouldn't eat somewhere that I had to wait a stupid amount of time.

[imastawka]

Did you know that WA stands for Wait Awhile?

Mind you, NT is Not Today

[*crikey*mate*]

One of the good things about a system like that for the restauranteurs is that it gets people in early, so they may be able to turn their tables over 2 or three times in one night.

A 40 seater restaurant can now put 120 people through in one night

They just trippled their turnover

so a 6pm seating for show goers

7:30 for the regular diners

and if they want to stay open later

a 9:30 seating for after show/late diners

Often restaurants will have 2 dif menus for the above scenarios

an in/out quickie for the pre show diners and late night diners

and then a regular one for the 7:30 crowd