Post by staggerstag on Sept 15, 2022 0:45:24 GMT
It happened a couple of months ago at a pizza restaurant in north London. Upon entering we waited for 6 or 7 minutes in the 'wait here to be seated' area, during which time three other parties had joined us. It wasn't for a lack of free tables, it was because the waitress, who was rushed off her feet, informed us that the credit card technology had gone down and they were trying to sort it out before seating more customers.
Eventually we were sat a table. And kept waiting for further minutes (about 10) There didn't seem to be any food coming out of the kitchen and no staff were tending to us new arrivals. We had already wasted more than 20 minutes with not even a jug of tap water and bread to show for it. Enough was enough and we left. The waitress clearly understood our reasoning and there was a hint of gratitude in her expression as we made to leave, as though she was grateful to us for lightning her load.
We went across the street to another pizza place and had a very enjoyable time, with minimal waiting.
While I'm here, the other day I was working directly opposite a Japanese restaurant in Soho. It's on a short narrow back street and you wouldn't know it was a restaurant if you weren't specifically looking for it. It's name is Jegumu but the facade is wordless, just three small triangle shapes like this
It looks like this from the front
It's quite expensive and serves fish dishes, sushi etc.
The other day I observed two young ladies get out of an Uber outside it and brush aside the curtains and go inside. I noticed they were shown a table near the entrance. They were given handwritten menus and that was that. Or so I thought. I'm not nosy by nature but when you are yards from a building you can't help but notice what's going on, and only a few minutes later the two ladies promptly left. I tried to glean some explanation from their departing faces - but they gave little away. It might have been the prices. Or they may have arrived at the wrong place. Or something else. Quite odd, I thought.
Eventually we were sat a table. And kept waiting for further minutes (about 10) There didn't seem to be any food coming out of the kitchen and no staff were tending to us new arrivals. We had already wasted more than 20 minutes with not even a jug of tap water and bread to show for it. Enough was enough and we left. The waitress clearly understood our reasoning and there was a hint of gratitude in her expression as we made to leave, as though she was grateful to us for lightning her load.
We went across the street to another pizza place and had a very enjoyable time, with minimal waiting.
While I'm here, the other day I was working directly opposite a Japanese restaurant in Soho. It's on a short narrow back street and you wouldn't know it was a restaurant if you weren't specifically looking for it. It's name is Jegumu but the facade is wordless, just three small triangle shapes like this
It looks like this from the front
It's quite expensive and serves fish dishes, sushi etc.
The other day I observed two young ladies get out of an Uber outside it and brush aside the curtains and go inside. I noticed they were shown a table near the entrance. They were given handwritten menus and that was that. Or so I thought. I'm not nosy by nature but when you are yards from a building you can't help but notice what's going on, and only a few minutes later the two ladies promptly left. I tried to glean some explanation from their departing faces - but they gave little away. It might have been the prices. Or they may have arrived at the wrong place. Or something else. Quite odd, I thought.
