Woman says she hates eating with large parties, then asks servers to bring her food out separately every time: ‘Makes my life a million times easier’

A woman’s request to have her food brought out separately, instead of grouped with the rest of her party’s order, has started a conversation online about restaurant etiquette. The video was posted by TikTok creator Kym Jenkins under the caption, “I can’t stand eating with a large party!”

The clip has been viewed more than 507,900 times and has gotten over 46,800 likes and more than 1,600 comments. The on-screen text in the video reads, “POV: Don’t group my food up with Others!”

In the video, a woman wearing a black shirt and glasses, with blonde braided hair, sits at an outdoor table holding a menu from “THE RIM craft draft eats.” She explains her preference to the server, saying, “I’mma tell you this too. Don’t wait on nothing to put food in. You put the food in and it comes out as it’s ready. Don’t try to group stuff together now.”

Woman explains her food order preference to the server

The server responds by asking, “You don’t care? You just want it to come out however you want it?” The woman then gives an example to explain her point. She says, “So if I order corn, wow, okay, then you come back, they want to order- they order more stuff.” The server replies, “I got you.”

She continues, stressing that she wants her order handled on its own: “But I order corn.” The server then says, “That makes my life a million times easier. Yeah, makes your life a lot easier.” The woman stands firm on her preference, repeating, “You don’t got to group that stuff up.” The server responds, “Okay, I got you. I got you.”

She then starts listing more items she plans to order, saying, “So I put in queso, water, and a-” before the server interrupts one final time with, “I got you.” The video does not show how the rest of the meal or the order played out. This kind of dining preference can sometimes lead to awkward interactions with staff, as a New York woman says her waiter told her she had enough food when she tried to order more soup dumplings. 

The video has drawn a wide range of reactions in the comments section. Some viewers felt the request was unnecessary and could make service harder for restaurant staff. One commenter wrote, “This isn’t funny. When you are out to eat , you are not at home. It’s not necessary to be difficult.”

Another person who appeared to work in food service pushed back on the idea of sending out food item by item, writing, “Nope. I’m not running back and forth with single plates and my food runners aren’t doing it either.” One comment used sarcasm to react to the request, saying, “Sorry we’re closed due to maintenance issues.”

Other viewers said they understood her point of view, particularly when it comes to large groups. One person wrote, “I understand because when they wait on everyone’s some folks food be cold.” Frustrations with food orders can arise even with seemingly straightforward requests, as when a woman at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse was unhappy with the chicken she received. 

A commenter who identified as a server said the approach described in the video would actually help them while working with a large group, writing, “as a server I LOVE HER! this makes my life easier with a large party!” Another viewer suggested the exchange in the video was lighthearted rather than serious, commenting, “she’s clearly playing & I’m sure the server is laughing.”

One comment pointed out that the person taking her order in the video did not appear to object to the request, writing, “Sounds like the waitress didn’t have a problem with it. People are here too pressed to find a problem!!”