It's My Party, and I'll Sit Incomplete If I Want To

ottoFlorence Fabricant writes a column for the Diner's Journal titled "Dear Flo Flab," in which she takes questions and "gives advice on the fine points of entertaining at home and eating in restaurants."  The (usually) sound advice comes from someone who is clearly experienced and well versed in all things food.  One question in the column's return yesterday addresses the issue of seating incomplete parties:

Seating incomplete parties does zero good for a restaurant.  Restaurants like Otto and Balthazar serve well over 2,000 people during the weekend alone.  Plenty of other restaurants match these numbers, numbers that would not be attainable if incomplete seating policies were not in place.  The policy is even more understandable at small places like Mission Chinese Food, where, "You're looking at two hours" for a wait for two on Saturday night.  If parties are allowed to sit and hold a table for X amount of time while they wait for their friends to "park the car," "come back from the bathroom," or "close the bar tab," dinner cannot commence.  A party sat incomplete raises the wait times for everyone else.  Every square inch of real estate in NYC is valuable and restaurants, down to the tables and chairs, are no exception.

A recent article in the New Yorker titled "Check, Please" explores the challenges fine dining restaurants face making money.  Fine dining aside, every restaurant faces the same challenges.  In "Check, Please," John Colapinto explores different ways in which restaurants maximize the diner's experience while turning the table in the quickest time possible.  Turn tables, turn a profit.

Not every restaurant should adhere to a strict incomplete seating policy.  If the dining room is only half full, sit the incomplete party.  But, if the restaurant is on a wait, it makes complete sense, and should be expected, that priority will go to groups that are "all here."