I was with two friends at a restaurant the other day. One of them ordered a bread basket and said it’s to share. There were six bread in total so I ate only two out of politeness. Near the end of the meal there were still two left, but I thought they were going to eat it later. Then the waiter came and the friend let him take the bread away. I didn’t want to stop the waiter because it’s already in his hand and technically my friend is paying for it, not me.
What would be a better way to guage if other people plan to eat the bread or not? Would it look bad if I went ahead and just asked if I could take the rest? Emphasis on I was not the one paying for it.
20 comments
I think I would say something like “Oh hold on! I just realized I’m actually still pretty hungry haha. Let me grab one more piece. These are so tasty! Are you guys sure you don’t want any more?” I mean just try to claim them but in a very positive way. But generally you could ask your friends earlier if you could have them, if they have stopped eating and put their cutlery on their plate.
>Would it look bad if I went ahead and just asked if I could take the rest?
That’s fine buuut to be nitpicky I wouldn’t ask it like this. In the scenario where they do plan to still eat it, maybe now they feel guilty because you make it seem like you REALLY want it so they could be inclined to say “sure take it” even though they wanted it themselves.
>What would be a better way to guage if other people plan to eat the bread or not?
A better approach would be something more indirect like “So are you saving the bread as a dessert?”. Instead of potentially making them feel guilty if they do in fact were planning to eat it still, you now have eating order philosophies as a interesting conversational topic. At least I find that interesting. And of course the most likely response is just a “No, you want it?”
>I didn’t want to stop the waiter because it’s already in his hand and technically my friend is paying for it, not me.
Also I would totally stop the waiter there emphasizing it’s “for the environment” and me eating those breads is a noble cause.
You could say “this bread is delicious, does anyone mind if I have some more/ does anybody else want it?”
It doesn’t matter who is paying. If you said “hold on! I’m, I’m, I’m not done with that”, they would have understood.
It would be best if your friend asked the table first if everyone’s done with it, but if they don’t then you should quickly jump in and say “oh wait, I’d like to have that last piece of bread please”. Key is to be quick.
Definitely ask – there’s no way to gauge it silently.
You could say “Does anyone want the last bread before it goes to waste?”
Food waste is a major environmental problem, partly because it’s so ingrained in our culture. I’ve seen OP’s scenario happen at almost every social event I’ve been to (whenever there’s food). In this case, I say fuck social norms – good people will respect you more for taking leadership on reducing food waste.
Bro they’re your friend, just say hold on, I want to eat some more of it to the waiter. No need to overthink it lol
they are your friend, why are you tiptoeing around them? Just ask if they want the bread or not. It doesn’t matter if the waiter had already held the bread, take it back if you still want more, no one will ever judge you for that. If i treat my friend a meal, I would want them to be full and satisfied.
Just ask your friends. People who like you want you to be happy, and they can’t read your mind to figure out what you want.
Maybe im ratchet af, but id have asked the waiter for extra bread and a baggy to go 😂😂
Lots of places have bread size to go containers so..
You could also have asked the table if anyone was gonna eat that…
Ask.
I go “eat some because it’s gonna be gone soon” never apologize for ur hunger
If it takes a long time for them to be eaten, just ask if someone still wants any.
If you see no one is eating it( say hey is it cool if I eat this? Anyone else still want some)
If they want some they will grab some
there’s two ways to this that i’m not sure from your post. Either you were full from your meal and wanted to take the bread home for later/tomorrow. In that case just putting your hand up saying “hey [friend’s name] it tasted great, you mind if i take it home for later/tomorrow instead of sending it back?” would work in most western cultures, if you were still hungry you can ask to order another dish for yourself that you pay for yourself in most western cultures, you don’t have to eat leftovers just because you want more food than us and we consider bread to be just an apeteezer. 🙂
I recommend watching this masterclass in handling this situation from Marcus (Fred Armisen):
https://youtu.be/XDJjStqXbmw
Imagine being so socially inept you have to ask the internet the process behind sharing some bread
She paid for it so I’m sure she wouldn’t want her money going to waste if she knew there was someone else who still wanted it. Just speak up ‘oh I’d like some more’ the server won’t care and either will she.
She must be devastated. Bread baskets are meant to be conquered, not left unfinished!
Well, Kevin, it seems like you’re in quite a roll here. If you want to gauge if others plan to eat the bread or not, just start chanting Bread! Bread! Bread! loudly. Guaranteed to get their attention… or their bewilderment. Enjoy!