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Some restaurants, food trucks and stalls are known for testing patience, while other experiences take aspiring diners by surprise. Not everybody’s down to wait. I asked a dozen L.A. chefs and food writers, “What’s the longest you ever waited to sit down for a meal, and was the experience worth the wait? Why or why not?” Their responses might surprise you.

Bryant Ng (Cassia + Cassia Rice & Noodle Kitchen)

4 hours. We were at Sushi Dai in Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market (the fish market has now moved to Toyosu, but I believe Sushi Dai is still there). It was our first time in Tokyo and our first time at Tsukiji Market. The line was pretty deceiving because it didn’t look like it would take that long. Because it was our first time at Tsukiji there was so much to see and experience that the time waiting in line went by quickly. Kim and I took turns standing in line while the other person went exploring/foraging. We’d bring back snacks and pictures and tell each other the cool stuff that we had seen (the rows and rows of seafood, the dodging of the speedy motorized carts, the food). Before we knew it we were getting closer to the front of the line. Also, once you’ve already waited a few hours you’re pretty much committed. You can’t really step out of line and say “well” it was fun waiting in line, let’s leave. There’s definitely a point-of-no-return moment. However, once we were inside eating we could really appreciate the quality of the sushi. From a value perspective we paid approx. $35 per person. To get that quality of seafood in L.A. you’d have to go to a sushi restaurant that would charge about $250 per person. Have I had better nigiri style sushi here in L.A. and also in Japan? Sure, but not at that price point. If you factor in the 4-hour wait as part of the experience and a good story to tell later, then the whole experience in the end is worth it. However, had you told me we’d have to wait 4 hours we wouldn’t have done it since I’m generally one of those people who believes that waiting in lines is a waste of time.

Elina Shatkin (LAist)

I can’t remember waiting any significant length of time for a sit-down meal. I just wouldn’t do it. I am impatient, probably one of my worst qualities, so wasting time that way would make me hate life too much to enjoy whatever meal I was waiting for. I also learn from past experience. The handful of times I have waited in line to get into a bar, club or other venue, it has NEVER been worth it. So if I had to wait more than a short time for a meal, I would bail and go somewhere else. The world is full of options. Waiting is for suckers… As an addendum, now that I have a toddler, we don’t wait anywhere for anything.

Garrett Snyder

I’m generally line-averse, so there aren’t too many times I’ve waited longer than, say, a half-hour for food.

The memorable exception was spending about two hours in line on a Friday afternoon for La Barbecue in Austin, which also happened to be during one of the first dates I had with my now wife (she lived in Texas then; I was visiting).

I will say the situation had the potential to be completely awful. It was hot. It was dusty. We were really hungry. But crucially there was a help-yourself keg of Lone Star in the yard that cost a $1/cup, which lubricated the whole ordeal nicely. I think we even played a game of corn hole at one point.

The brisket/hot links/ribs were superb and totally worth it, if for no other reason than we were buzzed and famished and felt an inflated sense of accomplishment for conquering the line, when in fact all we did was drink beer and shoot the shit. So maybe lines aren’t entirely bad!!

Esther Tseng (e*starLA)

The longest I’ve ever waited for food was two hours and 30 minutes for Le Barbecue in Austin, Texas. I know that’s actually pretty short considering how long people wait in line for food, but for context, I have always absolutely hated standing in lines. Despite that, the wait was definitely worth it. The brisket trimmings (yes, they ran out of brisket slices by the time we got up there), pulled pork, pork and beef ribs and shells & cheese were tender, glistening and bursting with peppery flavor. What helped the wait for my friend Katie and I was the ability to head in to their counter bar and consume two glasses each of hibiscus-infused frosé while basking in the sweltering Texas heat. Mentally, it was the also-visiting couple who filed in behind us in line after leaving Franklin BBQ, since they were told that the wait there would be three-and-a-half hours with no promise of any product being left. We knew we were still getting some of the best barbecue available in the city for our wait time — and barbecue queues are notorious!

Andy Wang (Food & Wine)

I usually hate waiting for food, but I’m always down to wait an hour or so for the pan roasts at Palace Station Oyster Bar in Las Vegas. On one recent visit, many solo diners in line started friendly conversations and one guy at the counter bought a couple he had just met dinner. There wasn’t any weird angle to his nice gesture. The couple didn’t even realize what happened until after he left.

Those who’ve been to this place know: It’s always worth it to wait for the perfect combo pan roast, loaded with seafood and prepared at the spice level of your choosing. (Start with level 2 or 3 if it’s your first time. You can always add Tabasco or other hot sauce.) I think the longest I’ve waited here is about 90 minutes. I’ve also made a point of coming here at 10 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. so I don’t have to wait as long. Waiting here can be fun, though, because almost everybody in line wants to talk about how good the food is. I still think about one guy who stands in line for an hour on the regular so he can bring bouillabaisse home to his wife. I bet that’s a really happy marriage.

Brooke Williamson (Da Kikokiko, Hudson House, Playa Provisions, Small Batch Ice Cream, The Tripel + Tripli-Kit)

I will say that I purposefully go to restaurants on slower days or with reservations to avoid waiting because I HATE waiting… I’d have to say that the longest I’ve waited was definitely not in this country… When traveling, my tolerance for standing in line grows… It may have been for tamago on a stick in Japan, or possibly for pizza in NY (I’m aware that NY is in this country)… But for sure not in my own city… We used to go to Din Tai Fung before they were everywhere, but we’d always go sit outside before they opened the doors… For some reason sitting outside a closed restaurant while hoping to get a table right when they open, feels very unlike waiting for an already seated table to leave. It’s possible that the longest I’ve waited was supplemented by a nearby bar while waiting, and therefore doesn’t stick in memory because of that?