Limited menu for parties of 12 or more

I'm just curious, but last night my cousins and I had a dining experience that we have never before run across and we go out to eat on a weeknight every other month. When we called for reservations there were going to be twelve of us so that's what we told them. Later that same day, someone from the restaurant called to tell us that for parties of twelve or more, they serve from a limited menu and there could be no pizzas. We were surprised at this, but since it was too late to regroup and find a different spot, we went ahead and kept the reservation. As it turned out, only 11 of us showed up and we got to order from the regular menu. There were no problems getting the food out at the same time so what's the big difference between serving 11 and serving 12?

I've never heard of requiring a limited menu for a group of this size. Sometimes it is required for larger groups and they'll even give you the menu choices early so you can preorder. What restaurant was this so the rest of us can make reservations based on your experience.

I have worked in a private club that required limited menus for parties of 12 or more, but have not heard of this being done in restaurants before. At the club, it was done to ensure quality and service, as our food service was quite upscale and not especially high volume. In that situation, this requirement allowed us to give the large party its due attention, while not sacrificing quality or service to other diners. It should also be noted that we were very accommodating on the limited menu, modifying it at the request of the host to meet their expectations for selections.

I would expect any full-service restaurant to be able to handle a 12-top with little to no issues - after all, it's the same as 2 6-tops, and any establishment of even medium volume handles that scenario repeatedly, every night.

It's very unusual, and it seems that even a standard level of service would dictate that they would be accommodating, make an exception to the rule, and hope for repeat business. This seems to be a gap in their concept of customer service, and/or a serious lack of skill in the kitchen.

I've actually had the opposite. I've had large groups (20-30) asking if they could only order off of a limited menu to keep things simple (One person was picking up the tab for the whole group generally). I hadn't done something like that before, but we accommodated, and all were happy. I am assuming the person organizing the group had some insight into the dining habits of their guests.

For larger parties and special events a limited menu can prevent chaos in the kitchen and ensure that everyone eats at the same time, but cases like that are far larger than parties of 12 in my experience.

I 've also never heard of such a thing- and the calling you after Iyou made the reservation to tell you there were special riulesb nQuestion: Could the "no pizzas" part be designed so the larger group would have certain per person tab? Without knowing the place, it sounded to me like they were trying also drive the tab per person up to "make it worth thrir trouble".

Deb

In reply to Mark's question, it was Ray Parrella's. The food and service was very good and everyone enjoyed what they had. I'll go back but will keep the limit in mind. Thanks for everyone's input.