Pubs/restaurants strict on food and time?

Yes (restaurants, not pubs).

Yes.

And yes.

I heard from a friend time limits weren't enforced in a local restaurant. They were there for nearly 3 hours and racked up quite a tab!

Out recently for dinner at a pub/restaurant. Everything v safe, took numbers etc. we asked about the 2 hour rule and staff said “if the table isn’t booked we don’t enforce it”. We were there just over 3 hours.
I think that’s the case and also if people aren’t ‘messy’ (therefore more likely to break distancing rules etc) they leave you be.
Not necessarily a good things but in less popular (average food) or bigger restaurant/pubs you can probably stay longer. My dinner was more for the catch up than the food. I typically wouldn’t have chosen that venue for a meal, but it was big, lots of space and air circulation, and the food was perfectly good and tasty for pub food.

My experience of places in the Eyre Square area is that time limits are being enforced. At least they were last week.

I haven't eaten out yet, however my sister was in a restaurant outside the city (really a pub selling pizza) the other evening and she said there was no management present in the place. She would be familiar with the owner/management, and only the young bar staff/waiters were present into the evening. They were not approached to leave after a few hours, and she said every table was occupied while they were there.

Hearsay and all, but I would expect a bar/restaurant to have a manager there or a senior member of staff monitoring the goings on in regards to managing numbers and time restrictions.

Edit: Just to add, hearsay is what I'll be going on when it does come to making a decision to eat out. If I'm hearing that these places are jammed or no management checking on it, obviously I will avoid the place!!

I think as others have said it depends on where you are. My girlfriend and I had lunch in a hotel just outside the city and a couple of drinks last Saturday afternoon.
When no one had bothered us after just over 2 hours we both thought we were on to a winner and would be left for another while as there was only 2 other people in the bar at the time.
We tried to order another drink shortly after that but the manager came over and told us unfortunately our time was up and we wouldn't be served again. I was a bit disappointed due to how quiet the place was etc but at the same time it was fair enough.

finbarrk wrote: »

But that was the area I asked about.

Ah, bless you! Sorry to say that's not how forums work.

finbarrk wrote: »

But that was the area I asked about.

All places mentioned in this thread are just minutes walk from Eyre Square.
The area you constricted yourself to doesn't have many places.
Galway is small