Is it normal waiting for hours in a line to eat?

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Suppafly@reddit

I don't know anyone personally who would wait for more than 10 minutes before leaving to eat someplace else.

That's silly, it takes more than 10 minutes to drive some place else and then you're probably going to have to wait there as well.

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travelinmatt76@reddit

It's not normal. Nobody makes a video of themselves just walking into a restaurant. They are making the video specifically because there is a line

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Low_Attention9891@reddit

I don’t remember the last time I waited more than 50 minutes for a restaurant. Even that I would consider high.

I’m sure restaurants where you have to wait that long exist, but I would hope that they would’ve moved to a reservation system.

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Weightmonster@reddit

No. Not normal. Only a few popular places will even have a line. If it’s more than about 20-30 minutes, we go somewhere else. We would only wait if we REALLY wanted to go.

If it’s known to be a busy restaurant, they almost always take reservations.

It might be an hour from arriving at the restaurant to getting your entree, if it’s a busy restaurant though.

I honestly don’t think restaurants will let you wait that long. They don’t want to seat people close to closing.

Maybe these places have a long line to just get in and have your name on the list or be seated? Or maybe it’s a night club?

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I personally wouldn't wait more than 15-20 minutes to get a table. Anything longer than that and I wander off to find somewhere else to eat. Waiting around for an hour seems nuts to me unless it's the only restaurant around.

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MrLongWalk@reddit

This is not at all normal, could you give us an example?

We really need to shit off YouTube for Europe, it’s more confusion for them than it’s worth.

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Trick_Photograph9758@reddit

Have you seen the lines outside a Shake Shack in NYC?

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MyUsername2459@reddit

I went to once once.

It was somewhat crowded, definitely but no lines outside.

It was an overpriced, overhyped mess of a place that offered pretty typical and unremarkable fast food, but with small portions at high prices.

It was like eating at a Steak & Shake if the prices were doubled and the portion sizes were reduced to 2/3 what they were before.

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ruggerbear@reddit

Or Goldies BBQ in Ft. Worth Texas. Hours long wait every day they are open, starting well before they open every morning.

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SGDFish@reddit

Yea, BBQ places are probably the only place I consistently see this, and even then it's still unusual

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ruggerbear@reddit

Check out the north Dallas suburbs. Where the population is rapidly growing, there aren't enough restaurants to go around. The average wait list on Friday/Saturday between 5 & 8 pm is over an hour and most places do not take reservations. Weeknights is typically at least 30 minutes to get a seat. And that's just for two people.

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devilbunny@reddit

They don’t have a bar? That’s usually my go-to if I need to eat and didn’t make a reservation. You don’t have to drink to eat at the bar.

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ruggerbear@reddit

Some do, many don't. But bar seating is usually taken as well, especially on the weekends. Part of that is due to local bar vs restaurant classification rules. The result is that the bar section usually has a very small footprint and not a lot of seating so it often fills up faster than the actual dining area.

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SGDFish@reddit

I believe it, we tried to get a reservation at Mr Max Izakaya recently, and they were booked up for 2 weeks

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MrLongWalk@reddit

You think this represents the norm?

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Trick_Photograph9758@reddit

No, definitely not the norm. But I think all major cities have some trendy places that people feel like they have to wait on line to get into.

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hawffield@reddit

Don’t worry. I’m writing up a digital literacy exam for Europeans as we speak.

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Carrotcake1988@reddit

Those viral restaurants are not exclusive to the US.

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HairyDadBear@reddit

Only for trendy or extremely popular places. If I'm waiting longer than 30 minutes, I'm simply going somewhere else.

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hokiegirl759397@reddit

Virginia. It's CRAZY to wait for hours. I can understand 30-35 minutes for good Italian or steak restaurant. If it's casual food (burgers,subs,etc), I'll just go somewhere else if it's a long line.

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videogames_@reddit

The food bloggers you see are going to like the top 10 places in the country so there's going to be a wait. This isn't normal at all because the US has a LOT of restaurants and a LOT of fast food restaurants.

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HotPinkDemonicNTitty@reddit

I only see this with exclusive menus/limited pop ups, etc. Like when in n out opens in a new state for the first time. I don’t think people do this on a normal basis.

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Michael424242@reddit

that's only at the most popular/trendy places in the biggest cities. And in those cities, you're usually on the same block as a couple other restaurants where you can walk right in and sit down. People wait in those lines by choice.

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ruggerbear@reddit

Gotta disagree here. Waiting in line is completely normal in some areas. Where I live, for example, for ANY established restaurant, there is typically a minimum wait on weekday evening of 20-30 minutes. If the place is new or good reputation, unless they take reservations, expect longer. And weekends are longer waits. Up to an hour is not uncommon at all. And forget about the top BBQ joints. The good ones will have several hour waits all day long.

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Help1Ted@reddit

Yeah! I’ve waited for a while for some bbq. I remember going to a local spot in northern Georgia and seeing a line out the door. Waited a good 45 minutes for that one. And we had a local bbq place around Orlando and the first time I went by there were people standing outside in the pouring rain. I remember thinking it must be good if people are standing in the Florida rain for some bbq. The inside was barely bigger than a closet. But I ended up going back and waiting a good while.

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Michael424242@reddit

Really! Where do you live? I'm guessing Texas, probably Austin? I mean, it's not uncommon, but I grew up in LA and lived in Chicago and New Orleans, and there are always options. What's your definition of established? Becuase if that were true, it wouldn't be so hard for restaurants to stay open.

Also, top BBQ isn't what we're talking about, they were asking of every restaurant is like that. Sure, Terry Blacks and Leroy and Lewis are wild, but there are tons of other less famous places that don't have lines like that.

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ruggerbear@reddit

North of Dallas, in the Frisco/McKinney area. Fastest growing metro-plex in the nation. Not enough restaurants to go around. When a new place opens, the lines are stupid crazy for at least the first two months. If they are any good, you can expect a delay. Its gotten bad enough that if there is no one waiting to be seated, expect that the place sucks.

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Michael424242@reddit

Damn, ya that is not commonplace, and it will not last forever. But I bet is sure does take the fun out of going out

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ruggerbear@reddit

Definitely won't last forever. Both Frisco and McKinney are now close to 70% built out but the surrounding areas are growing super fast. The sprawl only seems to be increasing.

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GotWheaten@reddit

For some people. 30 minutes is the max I’ll wait to get seated at a restaurant. Longer than that I’ll go elsewhere, even if it’s a fast food drive through

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Quicherbichen1@reddit

It really depends on where you are.

In Colorado Springs, CO, for example, people waited in line - in their cars - for well over 8 hours to be among the first customers when In 'N Out was opening it's first store. Same thing happened in Albuquerque, NM when Raising Cane's opened here. Why did this happen? Because there are large populations of people in these cities who are originally from somewhere else, and they long for a taste of home.

I've eaten at both of these restaurants, and I have to say that neither of them live up to their perceived popularity. I lived in Colorado Springs during the dawn of In 'N Out. The lines blocked traffic for miles. They cut off access to parking lots and caused traffic jams in the area of the newest stores for hours. One particular opening, they actually ran out of food, so even if you sat in line for 8 hours, you still came away with nothing to show for it.

Same goes for here in Albuquerque. The lines were ridiculously long and the wait surpassed the food supply, and folks went home hungry from the grand openings.

Their food is nothing too special, just average. The appeal is being the first to eat there. In 'N Out is no better than McDonald's. My opinion of their burgers is just like shoe leather - over cooked, thin, miniscule burger patty on a stale bun. But people continue to wait for enormous amounts of time at the NEW place, simply because it reminds them of home or it's new and a novelty.

So, my answer is, YES, Americans will wait in line for HOURS for food.

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Cebuanolearner@reddit

Not normal at all. If it's a popular restaurant, people make reservations. Most wait times people will wait is less than an hour like 30 to 45 min

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InsertNovelAnswer@reddit

People make. Reservations?

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Lovely_FISH_34@reddit

It’s where you call the restaurant and book a time to eat. Like if I have 6 people with me I’ll call them and book a table for 6. That way they are prepared for a table of six, and we get a table for sure.

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InsertNovelAnswer@reddit

Sorry, I should have put a /s.

A lot of restaurants I've been to as of late don't take reservations. Which I think is weird, but it's a thing. I mean I'm.not going to red carpet restaurants either though.

I also think a lot of people have never made a reservation in their life. I know until I was married with kids I'd never booked a reservation.

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Scrappy_The_Crow@reddit

A lot of restaurants I've been to as of late don't take reservations. Which I think is weird, but it's a thing.

It's not weird when you realize that failing to show for a reservation has increased exponentially. There are some restaurants that have implemented a charge for no-shows.

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Curmudgy@reddit

I’ve started seeing restaurants use OpenTable or similar for reservations, even when the restaurant seems too small or casual to want to deal with reservations. I do see others that refuse to take reservations.

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Conchobair@reddit

A lot of places with long wait times will have those little buzzers that let you know when you're up to be sat or a lot of them now just take your number and text you. That way you're not standing in line and you can go wait at a nearby bar.

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Bluemonogi@reddit

Not the norm in my area at all to wait hours to be seated at a restaurant. If I saw a line outside the restaurant I'd just go someplace else. No where is worth that.

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greggo39@reddit

Depends on the restaurant. There’s a barbecue place down the street from where i work where people start lining up an hour or two before they open. They usually run out of food and don’t even get to everyone in line.

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hillabilla@reddit

No, this is not normal at all. Most people will leave if they find out there's a long wait. Perhaps the videos you are seeing are social media hot spots where people want to try something they saw online that went viral.

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Conchobair@reddit

A good fish fry can keep you in line for over an hour. That's kind of part of it though. There will be beer stations or you're allowed to bring your own beer and you just kind of tailgate and drink in line.

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justwatchingsports@reddit

The only sphere that I'm aware of where this is common is BBQ.

Proper BBQ is extremely labor and space intensive and has to be started the night before to be ready the next day. That means when they're done, they're done. They can't make more that day.

A popular BBQ place will often have lines of people trying to get there before they run out of the stuff they want. People know there will be a line, so there is often beer/tea/cokes for people waiting in line, and chatting with the people waiting with you is encouraged.

Part of the fun of good 'cue is that it feels like an event. I'm there to drink a light beer or three, talk about football, and eat some of the best meat in the world. I'm not in a hurry when I go for 'cue.

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Conchobair@reddit

The line at Joe's Kansas City BBQ can be out the door and down to the liquor store.

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huazzy@reddit

I waited around an hour to eat at the Salt Lick (near Austin TX).

As you mentioned, I was waiting by a fire place they had set up and a random guy asked me if I wanted a beer. Happily obliged. He opened a cooler and handed me a Shiner Bock.

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OO_Ben@reddit

Very uncommon. If the wait is over like 30 minutes my wife and I are gonna go somewhere else unless we really want to go there. And for major holidays like Mother's Day (one of if not the busiest days for the majority of restaurants) if we can't make a reservation we're just gonna go another day. We try to make reservations whenever we can to get right in.

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notthegoatseguy@reddit

Nobody rushes to YouTube to talk about their normal dining experiences.

This has been a huge trend in recent years, and there are 100% places in Europe that have these long lines due to social media fame. And yes, Europeans, being the predominant amount of tourists in Europe, wait in those lines

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TheJokersChild@reddit

Hours, absolutely no. More like minutes. And rarely is it more than 10 or15 minutes, typically. Sometimes, on an after-church Sunday, you could wait a half hour or so hour for Cracker Barrel, but it's never several hours unless maybe it's the opening of a celebrity chef's new restaurant or something.

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tsukiii@reddit

Only for trendy restaurants in large cities.

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huazzy@reddit

Normal?

No.

Common?

Yes.

And this does happen in Europe as well. I've been in places where people were lining up to eat because they're famous/popular.

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ScatterTheReeds@reddit

Common to wait hours? I don’t think so.

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huazzy@reddit

I didn't take OP's "hours" to mean literally hours. But a 45 minute - 1 hour wait isn't unheard of. Very common in places like NYC. We usually just put our name/number down and go get a drink somewhere else until it's time.

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ScatterTheReeds@reddit

OP is European, so he probably took “hours” literally.

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MyUsername2459@reddit

It's not even vaguely common.

People standing in line for hours to eat? I can't even think of a single place that would be like that, much less it being common. Normally it's people in a lobby/waiting room, and by the time the wait is approaching an hour people give up on waiting more. . .and even then that's for only the busiest and most popular of places.

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huazzy@reddit

It's very common in NYC.

I've waited in line to eat at many restaurants there. Halal Guys is one of the more well known examples (which is a popular chicken and rice food cart in Manhattan). Someone recently told me that some people wait hours to eat it now. Shake Shack also had massive lines before the became a national chain.

Likewise, this trope is commonly portrayed in Seinfeld as well.

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Arleare13@reddit

I wouldn't say it's "common" here. Waiting in an hours-long line is something most people here won't do more often than once in a very long while, not with any regularity. And it's never out of necessity, it's because you want to try some hyped-up place.

I actually don't think I've waited in an hours-long line since the original Shake Shack, back when that was the only location.

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huazzy@reddit

It's very common in NYC.

I've waited in line to eat at Halal Bros for example (which is a popular chicken and rice food cart in Manhattan). Someone recently told me that some people wait hours to eat it now.

Likewise, this trope is commonly portrayed in Seinfeld as well.

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TurdFurgoson@reddit

It also happens in Japan a lot outside of really popular shops, mostly ramen.

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PacSan300@reddit

Yeah, for example, two of the most iconic ramen restaurants in Tokyo, Ippudo and Ichiran, regularly have long lines, often on a daily basis.

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huazzy@reddit

Very common in Asia, and there is a sentiment there that the longer the line the more "worth it" it'll be.

I dragged my Japanese cousin to eat at the Tsukiji fish market. Waited a long time. Wasn't worth it.

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TurdFurgoson@reddit

It's my understanding that Tsukiji is mostly a tourist trap at this point

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GOTaSMALL1@reddit

Waiting for ramen??

You can get ramen for like $10 for a 30 pack at Sam's Club!

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TurdFurgoson@reddit

Obviously you're joking, but there's a ramen shop here in St. Louis where people will wait for at least an hour during peak times. So worth it.

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cdb03b@reddit

At super popular restaurants yes. At 90% of restaurants? no.

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PacSan300@reddit

And those 10% of restaurants often get 80-90% of hype and attention.

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MetroBS@reddit

No this is not normal, it was filmed because of how not normal it is.

Normal things don’t get notoriety

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Hoosier_Jedi@reddit

The Japanese will do that and not even blink.

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rawbface@reddit

Yes I will often wait more than 10 minutes before going someplace else. 10 minutes is not a long wait at all. It would take longer to get to anywhere else. You'd be wasting time going to a different restaurant.

If the wait is more than 30 minutes, then lets consider other options.

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Crayshack@reddit

Not normal at all. Sometimes, a particular popular restaurant might have a wait during peak times. But, most people are only willing to wait around 10-15 minutes. The only times I've waited longer is when the group I'm with is not in a rush and really wants to eat at a particular place. Most of the time I go out, there's no wait at all (or maybe like 30 seconds while the host(ess) checks to see if the table is free).

I suspect that food-related YouTube videos have more of a tendency to gravitate towards the big popular restaurants than the average person and they are also more willing to put up with a bit of a wait before they sit down than the average person.

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CrownStarr@reddit

This is something I see often in food related YouTube videos.

There's your clue. You should always view this social media lifestyle stuff with extreme skepticism if you want to learn how normal people live.

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machagogo@reddit

Not normal. No.

There are trendy places the world over that are difficult to get into. Especially in the TikTok era.

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huazzy@reddit

New York City is probably the one place in the U.S that I'd argue this is "common". Even Seinfeld had episodes around this concept multiple times.

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machagogo@reddit

Does it exist? Sure.
Are you awaiting on line e hours every time you go eat like OP asked? Of course not.

Trendy places as noted is always the answer.

You wanted soup at "Soup Kitchen International" sure you would be waiting. But there were probably 100 other soup locations that were good that you didn't have to wait.

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huazzy@reddit

I think OP is exaggerating by saying it's "hours". But in NY/NJ I'd argue it's quite common to have to wait (say) 45min to get a table.

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CinemaSideBySides@reddit

Yeah, I wonder if part of this is regional. I've been in the Midwest my whole life and I could never understand why the characters in Seinfeld had to wait forever in a line outside to see a movie. Actually, there was a scene in Annie Hall of waiting in a line for a movie too, although that one was indoors at least.

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Hegemonic_Smegma@reddit

There is no restaurant on the planet worthy of a wait of more than 10 minutes for a table. People who believe there are such restaurants have bought into the bullshit. They're the kind of people for whom bragging to friends and family members that they were there is far more valuable than the actual experience.

I make reservations when I can.

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Sufficient_Cod1948@reddit

Not normal, but it does happen, usually for small and/or trendy places that have just got a huge influx of customers from social media.

No one is making a video of them casually going into a restaurant, being seated right away, and getting their food in a timely manner.

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Trick_Photograph9758@reddit

It's weird to me too. I think people get caught up with "omg, this place is so trendy, I have to get in!"

Some new trendy chicken take out/drive thru opened nearby, and there was a line of cars literally like a mile long on opening day, over an hour wait. For a chicken sandwich. My head explodes seeing shit like that, but some people get off on it. I don't know what to tell you.

But wait, in Italy, Naples, isn't there that famous pizza place, I think it's called Sorbillo's, that is supposed to be the best in the world? I think people wait forever to get pizza there, although it's probably all tourists.

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Cheap_Coffee@reddit

I can't remember a time I stood in line to get into a restaurant. There's always another good restaurant open.

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CinemaSideBySides@reddit

I've never found a long wait to be worth it. Every time I've been talked into going to the "best" "must-try" trendy restaurant in a city with the 40 minute wait, it's left me thinking I rather go anywhere else than wait that long for a table. But I'm not a foodie, so what do I know.

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MajesticBread9147@reddit

This is only normal for restaurants that become super famous on social media that tourists and transplants go to.

Every city has one, about 5 miles from my hometown there's a mediocre cupcake place that has lines around the block

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Extension-Scarcity41@reddit

Absolutely not. Same as you, if the wait is > 10 minutes, I'm gone.

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CinemaSideBySides@reddit

No. I can't imagine food-related Youtube videos go around to regular boring restaurants to film people. These kinds of videos go to restaurants that are blowing up on social media or trendy for some reason, hence long lines.

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dmbgreen@reddit

Not for me, I will normally not wait more than 30 minutes for a table. Me and my wife will inquire if there is room at the bar or leave. If I don't get acknowledged by staff in 5-10 minutes after sitting, I will usually walk.

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MyUsername2459@reddit

That's not even remotely normal, and I've never seen people standing in line for hours to eat at a restaurant.

Long waits in a restaurant for seating are normally only for very busy, and very popular places. . .and that's not people standing in a line typically. That's people seated in a waiting area. That's also not very common. I can think of very few times I've ever seen a wait at a restaurant of an hour or more, much less hours.

What kind of weird stuff are you watching on YouTube so that the algorithm feeds you something like that?

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ODeasOfYore@reddit

No. An hour wait time for a restaurant (unless it’s a big party) isn’t worth it to me. Standard waiting time (if there is one) should be between 15-30 minutes

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albertnormandy@reddit

If the wait is more than 15 minutes I am going to seriously consider just going home and eating leftovers. I take long waits as a sign from the ether that I don't need to eat out.

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TheBimpo@reddit

Those videos are of trendy/hotspots. The average diner or burger joint that's just down the road or across the street has immediate seating available.

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FlappyClap@reddit

Europe isn’t a country. There are many different countries and cultures across the continent.

Here are your fellow citizens waiting in line for Popeye’s:

https://www.reddit.com/r/facepalm/s/gWtqd8vH9U

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GhostGirl32@reddit

Normal, no absolutely not. That being said, new places opening in places where they haven’t been before for the opening day/week— sure maybe… or places that are viral (like the cronut craze in NYC, etc) might have this happen.

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CuriosThinker@reddit

If the expected wait is more than about 10 minutes, I go somewhere else. There are plenty of options. I make reservations when possible.

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freebiscuit2002@reddit

Hours? No. No one has the time for that.

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Delli-paper@reddit

Not normal. Slightly more normal though is leaving your name and phone number and having them call you while you do something else nearby.

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InsertNovelAnswer@reddit

Not hours but yes. I've waited 45 minutes to an hour I ur before but generally it's due to a party of 6 or an event (championships,super bowl, etc.)

It's also not as bad as itnused to be. In the 2000s it was a problem a lot. Now not so much because eating out has gone down.

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whirdin@reddit

Normal wait time in towns (less than 100k people) is 0-45 minutes to sit down, then 15-30 minutes to get food. The range is because going at rush hour will be longer wait, and going without reservations is longer wait. Most wait times are 10 minutes. In my town, my favorite restaurant will actually post a map of other restaurants in the area when they are full.

Cities will have a long wait time for popular places. I've seen wait times of 100 minutes at high-class places. Still, even in cities, the majority of restaurants are average wait time, the demand is there so more restaurants exist. It highlights the big difference between fast food (short wait) and fine dining (long wait). I've waited 40 minutes at fast food in the city, but that was rush hour on a very busy day with thousands of people in the area for a show; it would have been an 90+ minutes to wait at a restaurant. It's not that the wait is normal, it's that they are full and you are expected to walk away because they can't serve you.

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An8thOfFeanor@reddit

I know of only one restaurant in my entire city that has had crowds like this, and that was because it was featured on Guy Fieris show

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EvanMinn@reddit

> This is something I see often in food related YouTube videos.

Think about how many 100s of thousands of restaurant videos that are on YouTube.

I have no actual numbers but I wouldn't be surprised to find out of the many restaurant videos, 99.99% make no mention of anyone waiting long time in line to get in.

The 0.01% that talk about long lines include it in the video because it is an unusual.

So, yes, there are 1,000 videos that mention it but that is still a tiny, tiny percentage of the total number of restaurant videos.

It is not typical at all and many people never experience it in their lifetime.

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TillPsychological351@reddit

Only for flavor-of-the-month trendy places in cities where fear-of-missing-out is a thing. If you see a line like that on Youtube, it would 't surprise me if some of the people in that line are social media influencers.

Most of us have neither the time nor desire to wait that long for food.

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Fappy_as_a_Clam@reddit

Hell no. 10-15 minutes max or I'm out

Unless it's someplace I can drink while I'm waiting.

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Penguin_Life_Now@reddit

Long lines say something about the quality of the food, this is particularly true at BBQ restaurants that are often open limited hours due to the amount of prep work involved. Having said that I will not stand in line for more than an hour or so to eat anywhere.

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CrochetCafe@reddit

This only happens on Sundays between 11-12ish (when the church-goers are all getting lunch at the same time). I live in the Midwest in a city of around 250,000 people.

Not that long ago, my brunch club went to a new brunch restaurant. We made a reservation but one of our guests was late and they wouldn’t seat us without everyone there. So they filled all the tables and we had to wait until one opened up. We stood there in the front room for an hour and 10 minutes. I was mostly pissed because the food wasn’t even very good…

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dopefiendeddie@reddit

That's not normal at all. Normally the wait is reasonable, or people make a reservation if there's concern over having to wait.

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AngriestManinWestTX@reddit

There's a few BBQ places like that in Texas.

They're only open one or two days a week from 11 AM - 2PM, there are no reservations, and their food is good enough that people will start pulling up at 8 AM. There's a place near where my family lives in Fort Worth called Goldee's that's like that. I'm thinking about calling up some of my friends for a little BBQ and ~~day~~ morning drinking the next time I go home. Pull up with a full cooler, grab up some beers, and have a little fun waiting for the food.

But generally speaking, most people are not going to want to wait 20+ minutes to be seated at a restaurant. I could be seated and ordered somewhere else waiting that long for a table almost everywhere.

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ThreeTo3d@reddit

There’s a couple bbq spots that a lot of visitors from out of town like to try. It’s almost an attraction. People will wait for stuff like that, but most people aren’t waiting for a normal meal.

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sneezhousing@reddit

Yes and no. It's not something you see daily and not something most of us would/do. However, there are certain people who are really into status. If a restaurant/bakery, etc, is really popular for whatever reason, there are people who will do anything to eat there.

Me not so much

Now there is normal waits on busy nights like Friday or Saturday. It's common for there to be 30 ,40 or even an hour wait on those nights. It's not worth getting back in your car driving another 15 to 20 min to another restaurant just to be told the have the same or longer wait for a table. That is just what happens on those busy nights or on a holiday. Now if it's just a random Tuesday and they tell you it's an hour wait you can easily find someplace else to eat and get in quicker

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RespectableBloke69@reddit

TV (and YouTube) isn't real life.

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Zetin24-55@reddit

No. Most people will not wait more than 30 minutes to be seated at a restaurant. And the vast majority of restaurants you can just walk in and be seated. Unless they're really popular or it's a particularly busy day.

The videos you're watching are probably about excessively popular/trendy restaurants that could develop a wait like that. Which makes for good video content. If people are waiting 2hrs for food, 99% chance the food is good enough content to make a video about.

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