If I've never been to a restaurant and it's empty, I walk.

The first customer would hopefully have already built up trust in that restaurant to walk in when its empty. Then the next, and the next. So, to me, the inference is the more customers an unknown (to me) restuarnt has, the more likely it will be ok.

I will be the first customer if it's a place I already know and trust.

I don't see the logic in that rule at all. That would rule out a tremendous of number of smaller ethnic restaurants I've patronized around NA that tend to serve quality food but aren't necessarily busy.

Olive Garden and Red Lobster are always busy but I sure don't take that as a sign of quality.

Did I say that if I see a crowded restaurant, I walk right in?

The good ethnic restaurants (at least in LA) will have patrons. Especially native patrons. The empty ones are probably bad, or at least haven't proven themselves to have a clientele.

Agreed. I would have missed out on a lot of great ethnic cuisines if I followed that rule; however, it makes sense for mainstream cuisine. It pays to research your intended target before setting out.

Three times in recent memory.

Once was with Mr. LabCat at a local restaurant outside DC, noted for good fried chicken (which he had a craving for). Walked in and were told by the hostess to take a seat anywhere but she didn't give us menus. The place was about a third full. We waited. And waited. And waited. The only place the wait staff seemed to be paying any attention to was the bar area. We waved and got a nod from a waiter as he walked by with food for a table in the bar but he didn't come back. After about 15 minutes of being ignored, we walked out and went to our favorite Thai place instead. Won't be back.

The other two times happened on the same night in NYC. A group of five of us had reservations at a small Italian place at 8:00. Before dinner, we stopped at a different place for drinks. You'd have thought we were invisible. No amount of gesturing or calling out made any difference. One of my friends even tried waving a $20 bill to see if that would lure anyone in. Nope. They apparently didn't want our money so we left. Won't be back.

We got to the restaurant where we had the reservation a little before 8:00. The place was small, with just a tiny bar that could seat four or so people, and every table was full. No room at the bar either and there wasn't really a waiting area, so we stood near the door and shared a bottle of wine while we waited. Come 8:20 or so there was no indication that any of the tables would be clearing out soon. The manager was very apologetic, saying that the party at our table was taking much longer than expected. By 8:30 we decided to leave and try our luck elsewhere. The manager comped us the wine and apologized profusely. I'll definitely try to go back to that place next time I'm there, not only because it looked great but the staff were fantastic to us.

I've walked out of multiple restaurants when I wasn't given a menu within eight minutes of sitting down, and I think I recently walked out of a restaurant when I decided I didn't want anything on the menu. I can't remember which one though.

any particular reason for eight minutes? It's certainly too long to wait, but just wondering why specifically eight.

Be glad you don�t live in Germany - 8 minutes is nothing. But we have a very different dining-culture, a dinner takes normally at least double time as in the US.

To toppic: Yey, I did after I didn�t received a menue oder something to drink after over 30 minutes

But this is fine, if it's a different culture. I remember I was at a conference in Greece once, during the tourist season. We had to insist that we were in a hurry every lunch time because otherwise the lunch would take two hours+ instead of the allotted 90 minutes. It wasn't bad service by any imagination, but we had to be clear about what we wanted before we sat down.

True. OTOH, waitstaff in Germany will look in on you quite regularly throughout that time, bringing drinks quickly and refilling them often (this is Germany, after all ). There is also a tendency to overfeed you like, well, a German grandma/oma. I do not exaggerate when I say that, after a long lunch, someone will invariably suggest, "Let's go for a walk and coffee," "Coffee," being code for coffee/tea and cake. Lots and lots of varieties of pastries and cakes. Fortunately, it is a walking culture, food is made of fresh ingredients, and it's cold year round (I have had to wear a sweater and trench in July), so, if you are judicious, weight gain is minimal.

Thinking of eating in Greece, a friend of mine, who is very fat and half Greek, but doesn't look it (Greek, that is. It's obvious he's fat) went to Corfu with his wife and grandchildren. They sat at a restaurant table and one of the waiters said to his colleague in Greek, "You take that table over there and I'll serve Fatty and his family." The waiter then smiled broadly, walked over to the table with menus and asked if anyone wanted a drink. Tony said, in fluent Greek, "Three cokes for the kids, water for my wife and a brandy for Fatty, please." The waiter looked shocked for a few seconds and then Tony laughed out loud. Everyone saw the funny side. The service was exemplary...

I have lived in Germany for 10 years. I fully expect slower service there. The upside is they don't hurry you out the door while chewing the last bite of your meal.

Exactly. If you need something you get their attention and ask for it. I prefer it to the "Hi, I'm Bruce, I'll be your waiter tonight, let me start by trying to upsell you something" approach.

One caveat though - I love American breakfast places - Denny's, Perkins, Waffle House, where you can eat, get served by a waitress who calls you 'hon', read your paper, and go. Just don't get that here.

That has made the whole thread worthwhile! Please tell me this is really true ......

i've never had a problem with empty restaurants. rather, my judgment calls depends on the people who are already there. i tend to walk out of places dominated by young white people. if it's an ethnic restaurant with no diners of that ethnicity, i don't walk, i run.

a fine example of one place doing it wrong, and the other doing it right.