The Secret To Getting Served Faster At The Cheesecake Factory
The Cheesecake Factory is a pretty popular place to eat. With a wide menu appealing to various tastes — the chain has an incredible 250 menu items to choose from — it's no wonder that people like to get their grub on at the restaurant for many occasions. Of course, with popularity comes crowds, with crowds comes a full restaurant, and a full restaurant means long waiting times. Let's put it like this: You're not going to be in and out of your local Cheesecake Factory on a busy night.
But there is a way that you can get served faster at The Cheesecake Factory. To spend less time waiting for your food, all you have to do is skip the tables and booths and go directly for the bar. You don't need to order any drinks (unless you think it will help the time go by faster). All you need to do is simply get the regular menu and order off that while you're sitting at the bar, the same as you would sitting at a table. You'll notice that your food will be brought out to you faster than it would have been if you were sitting in the dining area.
Why is that? What exactly is it about the bar that makes you get your food faster? The answer lies within how the bar of the restaurant — and any restaurant — is designed to operate.
Bar service is explicitly meant to be faster than table service
Ordering food at The Cheesecake Factory's bar means it's brought out faster than it would if you were at a table, but this isn't necessarily exclusive to The Cheesecake Factory. All bars are designed to ensure fast service no matter where you go, thanks to the straight-forward nature of a bartender's job.
A bartender is much like an average server, but rather than running around the place delivering food and utensils, they are almost always found — where else? — behind the bar. Everything that a customer needs at the bar is located right at the bar, so the bartender doesn't have to run across the restaurant or kitchen to get what you need. If you order a drink at a table, the server has to run and get it, but if you order a drink or some food at the bar, the bartender just has to take a few steps to get it instead of having to get it from somewhere else
Now, this doesn't mean that you still don't have to wait for your food to come. There may be only one or two bartenders on the clock at the time, and if it's a full bar they may have to take care of other customers too. You'll still get your food faster than usual, to be sure, but you'll still have to have a bit of patience when waiting for your food to come out.
You may want to order less food at the bar
What's the key difference between sitting at a table and sitting at the bar? Privacy. At the bar, you're pretty much shoulder-to-shoulder with the people to the right and left of you, while at the table you're in your own private area with either yourself or your associates. You can order as much as you like and you don't have to worry about cluttering up anyone else's space.
At the bar, however, you're a little more cramped, so your plates of food may spill into someone else's elbow room. Couple this with your friends ordering their meals at the bar too and you've taken up a lot of space on the countertop. You wouldn't want to be trying to have a drink while someone beside you has their entire dinner spread out across the counter, would you? If you are going to sit at the bar, you should try to keep your order to a minimum — or at least get something that doesn't come in separate plates.
While the bar is more focused on conversation and getting drinks, you may want to use a table if you want a little more intimacy. If you're ordering a big dinner and have a few friends joining you, it's best to grab booth. If it's just you, you're welcome to sit at the bar and order whatever food and drink you like — so long as you're considerate of others, of course.