The table they sat my wife & I at was, I swear to you, 2 square feet. It was a protrusion from the shelving in the wall that they had placed 2 backless tools at. It was like taking a 16" MacBook Pro and unfolding it so it was splayed open... I got the keyboard and wife got the screen. We actually begged to be sat at the bar instead but they declined.
At some point it's just not worth it anymore. I'm too old for this.
Maybe zoomers living in small studio who are meeting randos for a date. I had less eating space than when I eat my sad salad lunch at my desk. Who needs that anxiety on a Sunday afternoon. I have dining seating in my apartment for 6-8 people and I'm hunched over a veritable coach flight tray table and paying for the privilege?
This is a tangent but mid and post pandemic, restaurant service seems to be significantly worse. Prices going up at least makes sense to me, prices are up everywhere, it is what it is and I can still afford to eat out. However, I find rarely do go out to restaurants now and service is a major part of that. Not to mention tipping percentages seems to have inflated on top of prices and for worse service...
I tend to end up at more casual places where I'm ordering at the counter and my food comes out to me (bistro's I guess? I'm not sure what the term is) where I'm mostly on my own after that, getting my own silverware, drinks, napkins, etc.
Food wise it's wild too. What used to be the price of an entres is now the price of an appetizer and the service have gotten down too.
Getting a place you actually want to live 2 bedrooms is at least $4K we pay much more because we live in a nice building.
But it's still a great city and I am sure somethings gotta give.