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?

[cherry*135]

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@i-need-a-martini wrote:

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@am*3 wrote:
Messina gelato/ice cream is VERY good donna. Prices are reasonable too. The Surry Hills one has queues, but they move fairly fast

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I work around the corner from Messinas and even now, in winter, people are queueing to get ice-cream. Our office used to buy ice-cream every other day but we gave up in summer. Sometimes there could be a 100 person queue snaking all the way down the street.

Ridiculous.

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Yummy though, I tried Raspberry Gelato last time, it was delicious.

[crystal**flake]

There are queues at restaurants but people compain about the past budget , I dont get it.

[cherry*135]

The number of people queueing for restaraunts is quite low compared to the whole population of a city. There are many many more that don't eat out at restaraunts.

[j*oono]

Mostly they can't afford to even go to a restaurant. 

Many elderly people just go to the shopping centre to warm up a bit with the way electricity bills have soared.

[i-need-a-martini]

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@**what_would_bob_do** wrote:

THere're plenty of great restaurants in Melbourne. Your host is either an idiot of completely oblivious of the many options out there which do not require lining up. 

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Bob - I think they wanted to take us somewhere special and not your average Chinese.

But everytime someone suggests a restaurant in Melbourne CBD to me, I can never book and I always arrive to a queue - Cumulus, mamasita, pei modern, movida. Yes I know there are good restaurants in St Kilda or Colliingwood but in the CBD there isn't actually that much you can get into easily.

[the_bob_delusion]

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@i-need-a-martini wrote:

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@**what_would_bob_do** wrote:

THere're plenty of great restaurants in Melbourne. Your host is either an idiot of completely oblivious of the many options out there which do not require lining up. 

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Bob - I think they wanted to take us somewhere special and not your average Chinese.

But everytime someone suggests a restaurant in Melbourne CBD to me, I can never book and I always arrive to a queue - Cumulus, mamasita, pei modern, movida. Yes I know there are good restaurants in St Kilda or Colliingwood but in the CBD there isn't actually that much you can get into easily.

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Let me take them out to some decent places. These guys know very limited about Melbourne food. 

[i-need-a-martini]

So where would you take me if I wanted a decent feed in Melbourne CBD?

[fiestas*girl]

mmm nope, i wouldnt wait, my stomach would eat me alive!