In a restaurant in Italy, should I be seated when my food arrives?
I sat at the table, ordered the pizza. While it was being prepared, I decided to go to the bathroom for a short visit. An employee came (the griller) and while I was in the middle of my business, he informed me that the pizza was served.
I left the bathroom and told him ok thank you, but his behavior suggested that I should be at the table by the time the pizza arrived. He talked to me like saying "dude what are you doing, you should be at your seat by now". Just like an air attendant would speak to you, if he would find you in the WC when the aircraft prepares for landing.
I am not interested in complaining or anything. I tried to justify his behavior as you occupy a table, but are not consuming your food ASAP, thus it might take longer for me to seat the next customer.
Should I be seated when my food arrives (assuming that my theory stands about the "eat your food ASAP"), or was this case just a random phenomenon, an outlier?
Best Answer
In my opinion you should be seated when your food arrives, especially if you are alone at the table. But it seems strange that they will come looking for you in the toilet. How long where you in there?
I would not want my food to be served without me being there and most restaurants (> fast food category) I know, would wait with serving until I am back, and keep the food warm in the meantime.
The reasons for wanting you at the table could be:
- So you can check if the food is okay (actually what you ordered)
- So you can be sure nobody tampered with it in the meantime (it is the waiters responsible until you get it, so he cannot just leave it unattended)
- So the food is warm and fresh.
- To make sure you did not left suddenly
P.S: I am from central Europe.
Pictures about "In a restaurant in Italy, should I be seated when my food arrives?"
Do you just sit down at Italian restaurants?
Italian seating customs will be familiar to Americans. \u201cWhile visiting a ristorante (restaurant) or pizzeria/trattoria, guests should wait for the host to seat you. At a caf\xe9 or bar, guests can seat themselves,\u201d according to Steve.What do you need to know when eating out in Italy?
How do you eat in Italian?- Eat in Italian. ...
- Only drink wine or water with a meal. ...
- Don't eat eggs in the morning. ...
- Do drink cappuccino in the morning. ...
- If you want to eat in Italian you need to now what a \u201cpeperoni pizza\u201d is. ...
- Peel your fruits and vegetables. ...
- Don't ask for salad dressing. ...
- Use condiments sparingly.
Do you order all at once in Italy?
We generally order an entree and either a salad or contorno. Depending on the restaurant, portions can be HUGE and you may find little room for more. Dolce and coffee are always ordered after everything else is finished. One things that Italians do NOT do is order coffee with dessert.Do Italians take their food seriously?
Italy takes its cuisine seriously. Pizza, spaghetti, minestrone \u2014 the list goes on. In fact, Italy was voted as 2017's \u201ccountry with the best food\u201d by CNN. If you're trying to fit in with Italian business clients, learning how to eat will be important.The italian joke - subtitles - www.abitofenglish.com
More answers regarding in a restaurant in Italy, should I be seated when my food arrives?
Answer 2
I find it very weird. I would never expect restaurant's staff to talk to me in that situation, not in a McDonald nor in a Michelin 3-star restaurant ; except maybe if I stayed there more than 20 minutes, and they started to worry about whether I am alive.
It seems impolite to me and I have never encountered this situation in any restaurant, nor in Italy nor in France...
Answer 3
Another reason could be for self-insurance/coverage. What if someone decided to steal a slice of pizza, or the entire pizza, as you're in there? Would you believe the waiters when they would tell you "your pizza was already served"? Just another possible option.
Answer 4
You could have left through the bathroom window because you saw someone from the wrong mafia family enter in which case there would have been no point in preparing more parts of your order.
More seriously: I don't know the restaurant's topology but it may simply have been the case that he was not sure just where you went and checked the bathroom. It would have been creepy to just peep and then silently close the door again, so he told you that your dish was ready as a sort-of explanation of him looking.
Answer 5
The only reason that the waiter had to chase you in the toilet is because he was looking for his money. As far as the waiter is concerned, you placed your order and ran; and they want to know if they have to bin the food and maybe call the police.
I don't believe for a moment that the waiter really cares if you eat the pizza hot or cold - especially given how long meals last for, it's always cold by the time you get to the end.
If you're alone, and leaving your table, taking your bags & coat (and laptop etc etc) after ordering and plan to return, tell the waiter you'll be back in a short while. Just imagine that once making your order, the food is on the table; and a table where there's no customer sitting means it's time to clean up the table.
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