Restaurant pet hates

[Allan]

I read an article in the guardian where the writer described her pet hates in restaurants
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... y-appetite

I don't share all the writers views but I have developed my own pet hates, particularly in relation to restaurants in the region.

Here are mine:-
Being shown to a table and not being offered a drink. I find many restaurants don't even bother to offer aperitifs or expect them to be ordered at the same time as the meal. I'm happy to take my time with a menu and wait for food as long as I've got a drink in my hand.

Restaurants that hide your wine. - If a restaurant insists on pouring your wine for you then they should at least pour it when you want it. I cannot think of a single restaurant that has ever got this right. I normally shame them by getting up to get it. Personally I would always pour my own wine that way I can control my intake and the temperature of the wine in the glass.

What are other peoples restaurant pet hates?

[interiors66]

Being asked to choose a dessert at the same time as ordering your starter and main, often being told the chief has to make it from scratch.

[opas]

Being offered a table on a terrace with a lovely view.............next to the smokers. The alternative being sat inside on a lovely day.

[Santiago]

Mine is the opposite of Allan's. I don't like sommelliers filling up my wine glass while i'm not looking. A) Cos I want to measure my drinking and b) cos I often have a different wine with a different course.

Not a pet hate but an annoyance. When I walk into an empty run-of-the-mill restaurant and ask for a table for four. Don't ask me if I have a booking just to make yourself look popular.