[thatmiddleway]

American here: Do places like this exist en mass in European countries and this is something that's coming fresh to America? Most American restaurants seem to try and hustle you out, not invite you to stay for another meal.

[srs_sput]

From my experience, this is quite common in Europe. I can't think of a cafe that I have been to that I ever felt rushed. I have always needed to call the server over to get my check to leave.

The cafes are where people relax and people watch. No need to rush.

[mercer]

Yeah, it's a bit odd for me to realize that this is not a normal thing everywhere. I've spent quite a bit of my student years showing up at a restaurant/cafe at around 10:00, hanging out until 18:00 or so, friends of mine coming and going, and deciding to stay for dinner and possibly some singer-songwriter performance.

While cost kept me from doing it on a daily basis, I quite regularly ended up spending entire days (8+) hours at the hotspot-du-jour, only leaving for brief periods for some errands nearby.