Originally Posted by jejb

I too agree. I've actually always appreciated the way Delta does this with a trolley (at least pre-Covid). The first pass is to lay the table (cutlery and cloth) do the first drink and also give you the amuse bouche. They usually start from the Galley, so if you're conveniently placed, you get served first plus a top up as they come back up the aisle. Next trolley service is usually for soup, salad and starter, plus wines for top up. For the main course they tend to dispense with the trolley and just serve the mains individually as they come out of the ovens and then the final course is the cheese and dessert trolley along with port and dessert wine. Often they'll do a final trolley with tea, coffee and liqueurs. The whole thing gives you a definite feel of individual courses but is served from the trolley. Timing isn't usually a problem because everyone's finished the amuse bouche by the second trolley (it's usually small) and the individual serving of the mains means they can wait until you're done with soup, salad and starter before bringing the main. They don't usually start the dessert trolley until most of the cabin is done with mains.