Have you ever gone to a new restaurant only to take one look at the menu and want to bolt? I have to admit, this has happened to me more times than I care to admit. I seem to have a problem with trying new things, especially when it comes to food! I really need to get into the habit of checking the menu before I am seated at a new restaurant, but a recent experience got me thinking whether there was proper etiquette for such a situation. So, here’s the scenario. You take a chance and visit a new restaurant you are not familiar with, and then after being seated (and even perhaps ordering a beverage) you take a look at the menu and think to yourself “there is nothing on this menu I want to eat!” What do you do?
After discussing my dilemma with my spouse, who was also thinking the exact same thing, our first step was deciding that we didn’t want to stay and tough it out! So, in order to honor the fact that the hostess bothered to seat us and a waitress went to fetch us some soda’s, we decided it would be best to dig some dollars out of our pockets and discretely find our waitress. We explained to her that we had never been to the restaurant before and weren’t interested in anything on the menu. We slipped her a few bucks and thanked her for her time.
Overall, I think that although exiting a restaurant before you have ordered can be an awkward thing, we handled it well. The important thing to remember is it’s not what you are doing, but how you do it that matters. So, talking to your waitress and explaining your situation is a must! I guess we didn’t have to leave a tip, but since she had gone to get our drinks we felt like we needed to leave something for her trouble and the fact that she had two wasted drinks in her hand. Hopefully this will be the last time this happens to us! I will say, I still felt a bit embarrassed even though I think we did everything right.
So, what you do think? Do you think we did the right thing? Is there anything you think we forgot or should have done? Anyone a current/former waitress and been on the other end of this? How did it play out for you and how did you feel about it? Let us know in the comments!
We prevent this type of situation by always going to the same place, which we absolutely love! We are non-adventurous with our food too, so why take the risk? 😉
I’ll keep this advice in mind next time I’m going out to eat. Thanks!
We forestall what is going on by continuously going to similar spot, which we totally love! We are non-bold with our food as wellWe forestall what is going on by continuously going to similar spot, which we totally love! We are non-bold with our food as well
Leaving a restaurant when the menu doesn’t suit your preferences can indeed be a delicate situation, but it sounds like you handled it with grace and consideration. Your approach to discreetly compensate the waitress for her trouble and wasted drinks reflects thoughtfulness and respect for the service industry. Your emphasis on the importance of communication and etiquette in such scenarios sets a positive example for others. Thank you for sharing your experience and highlighting the significance of handling these situations with tact.