How long should you wait before eating free restaurant bread?

Virgin Radio

13 Jul 2021, 12:58

People will argue about absolutely anything on social media won’t they? The latest conversation that is dividing opinion on Twitter revolves around the length of time a person should wait before digging into the little basket of bread that gets put on your table when you eat at a restaurant.

If you are anything like us, the length of time that you wait before popping a bit of yummy bread into your mouth amounts to nanoseconds. The only reason there is ever any delay to eating the bread is that sometimes it takes ages to spread those little sachets of rock-hard butter.  

One Twitter user, however, seems to think differently. Following an argument they’d had, they posted a poll saying, “Isn't it very tacky for somebody to eat the free bread as soon as you get it?” 

They added, “You should wait five minutes before reaching for the bread. If you that hungry you should’ve had a pregame meal.”

Whilst it hardly seems like the most pressing debate, it turns out that the subject touched a nerve with people. In 24 hours, 368,744 people voted, and over 97 percent said that, in fact, it is not tacky to get involved with the free bread within five minutes of it arriving at the table.

Despite the overwhelming majority being in favour of eating the bread without a five-minute delay, the original poll poster dug their heels in, and shared an image which read, “Good Morning, after witnessing the outpour of responses to my question & having the ability to sleep on it, I have gained a new perspective on why the backlash was received.

“People can not help being tacky. It is generational. I know this now. I never knew an opinion on waiting 5 minutes to eat bread would lead to people cussing me out, but what else to expect from tacky people. The essentials weren't taught.

“To my 3%... thank you for riding so hard against the tackiness! We understand that restaurants for socialising, fast-food are for eating ASAP.”

In response, one Twitter user simply said, “Ma’am the bread is there to eat.”

Another said, “Every day y’all invent new and weirder things to judge people for.”

A third person added, “Some people enjoy misery; and if sitting at a table starving, with food in front of you and INTENTIONALLY not eating it based on some made up etiquette is not miserable behavior I don't know what is.”

What do you think? Wait five minutes, or just get stuck in?