If restaurants were like hospitals, you would have a reservation for your meal and arrive on time but they would still leave you waiting in the lobby for over an hour. They would finally seat you at a table and bring out every dish, glass, and piece of silverware you could possibly need.
Then you would sit at the table with no food or drink for another hour or two. The wait staff would come in numerous times to see if there is anything you “need”.
Finally, they would call the chef and tell them to come down to the restaurant to start cooking for you. The chef would fry up something in a pan and then hastily leave the kitchen while the other kitchen staff prepare the remainder of your meal.
And in the end, they would have the check sitting on your table before you are done eating…