Longest Restaurant Meal

My In-laws think it’s crazy to go for a long meal. Their idea of fine dining is getting in and out of the restaurant as fast as possible. I’ve had a few meal that lasted over 5 hours. What was the longest meal you had?

Lunch at my favorite restaurant with friends every six months for the last 11 years-- 5 hours.

I went to The French Laundry with a buddy of mine who is a chef for TK at one of his other restaurants so they went even crazier over the top then they usually do… Think we were there for just over 6 hours

I could not sit anywhere for 5 hours. Other than bathroom breaks, how do you break up the time? (or maybe you don’t)

Chris - Thought the same thing as you. When we went to Alinea we were right around 5+ hours. The time honestly flew by, the meal is so well ochestrated and we were having such a good time it was no issue what so ever. Took a couple of bathroom breaks but that was really all that was needed. I could have stayed another 5

George

an almost 8 hour lunch at Troisgros, best meal of my life, too . . .
alan

Six hours at El Bulli; 4-5 hours at French Laundry; 3-5 hours at Nostrani.

We love leisurely meals, with the courses and wines spaced appropriately.

4+ hours at The French Laundry, upstairs where it was stuffy (the temp, although when I tried to take my jacket off and they said they’d “prefer” I left it on, the other interpretation became true also). There was an elderly French gentleman dining that night who went from table to table introducing himself as Thomas Keller, so that was sorta fun.

This past January in Rio with Ed Motta, 6 hours and we could have gone 10 as the conversation was just getting really going:

http://www.wineberserkers.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=17289&hilit=Motta" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Did you stay for dinner too?

Longest for me was 3-4 hours. Taking a bathroom break/walk and having good company and wine really speeds the time along. It only gets noticeable when the chairs are uncomfortable and the butt and/or back starts to complain.

We had a 5-6 hour dinner at Melisse. It was 12 courses, I think (maybe more… I can’t remember). If the pacing is done right, you don’t notice the time at all.

My in-laws actually did this at Mustards in Napa. Went in for lunch and ended up drinking their way straight thru and staying for dinner. Too bad I didn’t know them then!

Certainly had a number of 4-5 hour meals are various top restaurants here and in France, but been to a number of wine dinners that latest longer than that. Not rare at all for wine dinners to start at 6:30pm and end around 11pm - midnight - with a relaxed pace, lots of talk and lots of good food the night flies by. For instance, our annual white truffle dinner usually starts around 6:30pm and goes until 2am give or take (and once I think until 4am), often with 7-8 courses followed by a couple hours to finish up wine and hang out then finishing with scrambled eggs and the rest of the white truffles with whatever wine is left. For years we have done it in restaurants but last year went “in house” and will probably do that in the future.

Also, recall one lunch 8-10yrs ago that started at 1pm at a restaurant, led to dinner around 7pm at the same restaurant and then to us leaving probably around midnight give or take…perhaps not one meal and as I recall we changed tables but still all one day at the same restaurant…

6 hour dinner at Dr. Manfred Prum’s Estate. He would disappear into his cellar for 30 minutes, come back with a bottle to trick us (it would be the same bottle he poured two hours earlier). It was excruciating after hour 4. And we had to be on our best behavior. That was a test in patience.

7 hours at Farallon in SF. And it was just two of us. My dining partner was a server from Farallon on her night off, so there were many long chats with the staff over the wines we had ordered. Wine of the night was an '89 Pignan.

Regular wine dinners are a solid 4+ hours on average.

Have had a few long lunches and dinners - longest likely 5.5 hours. In almost every occasion I wish they lasted longer. If you’re sitting at one meal for that long, you must be having a good time.

Alan, 8 hours? = very cool! Would like to visit Troisgros one day.

Probably 4-5 hours. I know when Grant Achatz was at Trio in Evanston if you ordered the Tour menu they asked you to take a walk around the block mid meal to break it up a little.

if we’re counting wine dinners, then i’m sure i’ve been to many that ran 4+ hours.

I want to say somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 hours. Several times.