The phenomenon of restaurants putting a time limit on your dining experience is not terribly new nor is it something missable. Especially when booking online, it will often tell you about a maximum duration of visit. But more and more often, this policy is establishing a poor reputation in New York City.
The city always faces a rush at restaurants, especially on weekends. Covid was when strict time limits were first imposed to keep a healthy customer flow, but many of them (especially diners) haven’t stopped the practice out of a concern for profits: 90 minutes for two, longer for bigger parties.
Christina Izzo, 33, who went out at Ye’s Apothecary, a Szechuan restaurant and speakeasy that opened in NYC’s Chinatown last year, told New York Post that she had two such experiences where they were ushered once time expired.
“It was almost like a bodyguard ushering you out of a club after a fight,” Izzo said,
Speaking about another experience at Torrisi Bar and Restaurant on Mulberry Street, she said once her party was first seated, a server immediately warned them that they only had 90 minutes.
Izzo told the Post that time limits have gotten “out of control,” adding that it was “pretty impossible” sometimes for three people to work their way through a meal in an hour and a half.
Andrew Rigie, executive director of NYC Hospitality Alliance, says time limits are a balancing act, weighing the need to “turn tables” against the worsening hospitality.
Will this system last? It’s hard to say, but if there are enough complaints from customers that threaten the bottom line, perhaps the practice will be fazed out.
