Diner’s Diary | At The Cheesecake Factory, new in Hong Kong, you form a line just to get a place in line, and for hundreds that’s fine. Not me
Told over the phone we would wait half an hour for a table on opening day of American restaurant chain’s new Hong Kong outlet, we ended up being kept waiting for three hours
There was a lot of hype around The Cheesecake Factory arriving in Hong Kong before it opened in the Harbour City mall, Tsim Sha Tsui, thanks to media reports and the pictures of cheesecakes that spread via social media. Many recognise the name of the restaurant from having studied on the American west coast.
But was the restaurant ready for the hordes of would-be diners who descended on it when it officially opened on May 1?
We tried to book a table by phone, but the receptionist said they didn’t take reservations. I asked if I came at 6pm how long the wait would be. She said about half an hour.
When we got to the restaurant (in the space formerly occupied by the Golden Gateway cinema) at 6pm, there was a massive crowd of people in front. This did not look good.
I elbowed my way into the restaurant’s entrance and to the reception podium and put down my name, whereupon I was told that it would take an hour and a half to seat us, though we should return in an hour to get a pager.
So we went somewhere nearby for an overpriced drink and waited. We came back at 6.50pm and there were still a lot of people in front of the restaurant.