Gordon Ramsay's real life kitchen heats up

2 hours should be enough time to finish a meal at most normal restaurants, but a place where you pay for a $110/person prix fixe meal should let you sit for as long as you need to finish the food. I would imagine this is a multicourse affair, and as such they probably have the pace thoroughly timed-out, but sometimes you want to be able to converse a little during and between courses. The last multicourse dinner I had was at Alinea in Chicago and it took us about 3 and a half hours to finish the 12 courses. This isn't Chili's, people, you're paying a lot of money to eat this stuff and should be allowed to go at your own pace.

Well, my boss just ate there last week and apparently it shouldn't take more than 3 minutes to finish a meal because the portions are so small. So as long as they don't take an hour to serve you, I doubt it becomes an issue. Incidentally, my boss told me that she had a BLT there... in a martini glass. Pureed tomatoes, cut up bacon, and a liquified lettuce dressing drizzled over the top. I personally prefer not to eat sandwiches with a straw.

I completely agree. I can see sitting and chatting for a bit during dessert but really - once the bill comes, let's go people!

Are we talking two hours after service or two hours after being seated. Either way two hours should be more than enough time for most people to finish a meal. Tables are money in the restaurant business. Can you imagine a theater allowing people to sit around for a while after the movie is over, even if you paid a high price to get in? I have to believe that he runs his British restaurants the same way too.

I love for this to happen EVERYWHERE, I'm tried of having to wait upwards to 2 hours just to get a table in a resturant. If you want to BS go to someones house.

if you don't like it, NO SOUP FOR YOU!!

I have to agree with RSL, but from the other side of the table. There's nothing I enjoy less than sitting around listening to people yammer about nothing for two hours after a meal. If this can be enforced by family-style restaurants (Perkins -- a regional chain -- has been doing this in the smoking section for 10+ years at some locations), Gordo can do it at his restaurant if he so chooses.

As an ex-server [that's "waiter" to you non-service-industry types], I gotta say that there's nothing more annoying than the "campers"--the people who've finished a meal and sit around gabbing with their friends/family/etc while you have a basically empty table and are getting no money for it. And if it's taking you two effin' hours to finish a meal... Maybe you need to be moved to a friggin' hospital. I applaud Gordon!