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Comment by mschuster91 | Hacker News Reader

> European dining is the worst, every time I am back stateside I feel like im being waited on in the white house or something fancy.

Part of European dining is the social aspect, that gets ruined when you're constantly being asked if you want another drink.

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> Part of European dining is the social aspect

So like every culture in the world then?

So you say "I'm good or maybe in a bit." Was that hard? (Versus trying to chase someone down to get your beer refilled.)

And if you say you're good, you'll get the check (assuming end of meal). If you don't pay it, they'll come back and ask you if you want something else. If you say no, they'll give you a few minutes and come back. They want you to get the fuck out of there as quickly as posible.

In the average place in most European countries (excluding places with a queue outside or highly sought after reservation only places), nobody would bat an eye if you stay talking an hour after you're done.

Ironically as a Brit on the continuant, that was one that annoyed me.

Trying to pay for what I used, in order to leave and do some things was a pain...

> In the average place in most European countries (excluding places with a queue outside or highly sought after reservation only places), nobody would bat an eye if you stay talking an hour after you're done.

That's because most European restaurants operate on a single sitting model when it comes to financial planning. Someone coming in later in the evening to fill an already vacated table is a nice and welcome extra income for the restaurant, but that not happening will not cause a financial loss either.

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