Europeans in the US normally get a cultural shock;) I even know some who refuse to do fine dining in the US due to the fast experience.

Dominique Crenn wows me. There are lots of amazing chefs that are creative, and Crenn is no exception, but there aren't as many chefs that are as artistic as she is. Crenn helms, apart from maybe Grant Achatz at Alinea, the most artistic restaurant I've had the pleasure of experiencing.

I'm also a huge fan of In Situ! Last time I was there, I had Oops, I Dropped the Lemon Tart and it was just as amazing as it is straight from Bottura's kitchen in Modena.

It really depends in my experience. Restaurants like Per Se serve their meals in 3 hours, Daniel offers 3 seatings for Dinner and our Tasting Menu were done in 90 minutes.

I wouldn´t wonder if there is a trend for longer meals. If someone pays 500 $ or so per person I would fully understand if 90 minutes are not what you expect.

I can't sit in one place for 3 hours without wanting to go for a walk a couple of times. Too bad I don't smoke or drink.

3+ hour meals in Tokyo are especially difficult because they keep their thermostats quite warm.

In this case a Business Lunch can be an option;) Or simply asking for fast service. Always good not to drink or smoke....

I've been in this situation a couple of times where the first few courses have absolutely flown out the kitchen, asking the waiting staff to slow it down is perfectly acceptable and works. Once was at Martin Beresetegui, at Azurmendi the lunchtime tasting menu I had took hours and was decidedly leisurely without prompting. I don't think they're flipping tables at places like Azurmendi and if they are they should let you know on reserving.

I don't mind leisurely dining, but 3+ hours for a 7-course meal is really stretching it.

My Tokyo Michelin visits this time around:
-Ryo (1 star, unagi): incredibly good. The eel is cooked with such painstaking care and attention, and it is delicious. Mixed in are a few non-eel courses (e.g. tempura). Very pricey but love the food, love the vibe. The sake pairing was delicious.
-Sushi Shin (1 star, sushi): very good but not the best sushi I have had by any stretch. Some very delicious pieces (anago, uni, the infamous shirako), but others (shad, clam sashimi, tuna) seemed dry / not as fresh. Would be willing to revisit but a tad underwhelmed.
-Ginza Okuda (1 star, kaiseki): had a special New Year's Day tasting menu. Very good, particularly the Kobe beef. Kind of pricey given it was only 6-7 courses in total, but I would probably return nonetheless. I enjoyed the drink pairing, which included sake and wine. My wife's nonalcoholic pairing was arguably even better.

Next up for us will be Benu in SF in a couple weeks - really looking forward to that.

My meal at La Pergola for their 10 course was 5 hours including a birthday song. I can say I was pretty well drunk by the end with their very generous wine pairing (tons of refills).

5 minutes and depending on course perhaps even 10 would let me wonna talk to the manager but for a completely different reason;). To be fair I never stop time, so if I count 8 courses, 10 minutes between each and 5 minutes between each to eat it´s not that fast. Next time I will take time;)

Not sure how long my dinner will last but I´m sure I will not be drunk;)

I don't entirely agree.

We do a lot of tasting menus and for us the good ones have the 'snacks' at the beginning coming reasonably quickly and the spacing between dishes increases as you get deeper into the progression and especially between the main proteins. More so if they are pairing wines across two courses or less lest you end up with a table littered with half finished pours.

Of course, it has something to do with the chef, but I suspect there's a cultural element as well. Just like portion sizes vary by locale, so can the speed of consumption. Some people just like to eat quickly while we like to savour our food, have a pleasant conversation and otherwise enjoy the craft of the chef. The 'best' restaurants get this and adjust the service pacing to match their patrons seamlessly. Other places need a gentle reminder.

Case in point - we pushed back a little at the service pacing on our first visit to Le Calandre. About three minutes later Chef Alajmo came to our table, asked if everything was fine and said he had no problem adjusting the pace of the service. In fact he seemed pleased as he lamented that some diners seem to just want to rush through their meals. He joined us after dessert and we chatted about other restaurants we had visited on that trip.

But in the end, it's up to personal taste and we each have our own standards of how quickly we like to eat and the 'right' way to run a service. And a great restaurant can keep us all happy.