Why do restaurants bring out the drinks so soon?

The Sandbox General
1

I see that there’s a massive shortage in restaurant staff so it seems like wait times for food are increasing. But what I don’t get is, why bring out the drinks first? I ordered a latte and waited 40 minutes for my food and by the time my food got here, the latte was cold and I complained and asked for a new one.

Likewise if the drinks are cold, the ice melts by the time my food is there and I hadn’t even got to drink it yet.

Is it rude to ask for them to bring the drinks at the same time? I don’t want to micromanage.

2

how do you even function in society if you have to ask advice on issues like this?

yes, i’ve asked to get my drinks with my food if said drink is alcohol. i can’t drink without eating. only problem with that is, they tend to screw it up, so i hesitate to ask this.

1 Like
3

I think most people want to drink the drink first, or at least start on it while they wait, but I don’t think it’s bad to ask them to bring the drinks with the food. Be prepared for them to forget though, as it’s an unusual request.

I have the opposite problem. I’m going out for cocktails and dinner with friends. They give us one cocktail menu (that has like 20 interesting cocktail options) and four dinner menus (that have 6 enteees) and come back in 30 seconds asking for our cocktail order.

Uh, it’s going to take each person 5 minutes to read the cocktail menu, so that’s like 20 minutes.

Why not give us 4 cocktail menus and 1 dinner menu??? (Or better yet 4 of each… but if there’s a run on the paper they print their menus on or something…)

1 Like
4

Sometimes you just don’t know. I didn’t realize tipping wasn’t just a courtesy until my mid 20s or so. If I hadn’t asked then I would have never found out.

5

To elaborate you don’t tip Asians working at Asian restaurants. When I started working I started going to white people restaurants because that’s where my coworkers went and discovered that there’s this weird culture of like tipping appearing to be optional but if you don’t do it the workers actually don’t get paid.

6

They bring out the drinks right away because they hope you will finish your drink and order another with your meal. The highest profit margin is typically on the drinks.

6 Likes
7

I always hear this, yet they go out of their way to make it as difficult as possible to order drinks.

One drink menu per adult is not too much to ask, darn it!!!

8

They’re doing zero menus now. Like I go a restaurant and immediately a waiter asks what I want. Apparently I was supposed to know that I had to look up the menu on my phone.

9

Drunk people don’t know price tags, that’s why

4 Likes
10

Fair enough; I’ve hardly gone out to eat in the last 1.5 years.

That said, I did go to a restaurant with outdoor dining two weeks ago and they had paper menus. It was lunch though and I didn’t order alcohol.

11

I remember reading an article in the Noom app about carbonated beverages increasing hunger. This is what I could find when I looked it up.

BBC Two - Trust Me, I'm a Doctor, Series 7, Episode 1 - Can fizzy drinks make you eat more?)

2 Likes
12

If I just want to have one drink, with my food, I’ll either order it as my food arrives or shortly before.

Seriously, though. One of my earliest memories of going to a restaurant was being frustrated at a Denny’s because I was already done with my Coke when the food arrived. When I was like, 5.

13

My peeve, is when the first thing they ask is what you want to drink,well what iwantto drink usually depends on what I will end eating

1 Like
14

I remember I once tipped $8 on a $12 lunch in Koreatown (left a $20 and didn’t wait for change; seriously, with the banchan, those places are amazing value). The server starts running after me thinking I screwed up.

15

Cuz drink guest order more

16

My dad often orders his drink to come with his food, be it a beer or soda or lemonade. He just doesn’t drink much while idle.

I, on the other hand, order my drink and a water right away. Drink my drink while waiting for food, then order another drink when the food comes. I consume the water and second drink whilst eating the food. Depending on whether the party is having desert or just lingering over the meal. I may order a third.