Thread “Booking” (in Recommend me a restaurant or a bar)

Why has it recently become such a difficult task to make a reservation at many Central London restaurants. Many establishments ask for the table to be vacated by a certain time which in most cases is fine, but the problem is that service levels have recently dropped significantly. This leads to delays in ordering, often accompanied by near chaos when the incorrect drinks arrive at the table and/or delays from the kitchen occur and one is rushed from that point on. I have no issue with restaurants trying to discreetly “turn tables” but alongside this they must ensure that service levels are adequate to cope, currently many do not and in difficult economic times this is short sighted. More