Yes the boisterous group at the J bar is quite normal, EK employs them specifically to annoy pax trying to sleep...
In all seriousness though, there are various generations of seats and you may have been unlucky. The 777 seats haven't changed at all though in terms of the foot cubby. The food service is unfortunately always a bit slow but in J shouldn't take this long. I'm not shy about asking for a drink if it's taking a while