Reservations

Is It OK For Restaurants to Cancel Reservations When Guests Don't Reconfirm?
Poll

Is It OK For Restaurants to Cancel Unconfirmed Reservations?

To land a dinner time for two at Tyler Florence's new restaurant, Wayfare Tavern, I booked a month in advance through OpenTable.
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To land a dinner time for two at Tyler Florence's new restaurant, Wayfare Tavern, I booked a month in advance through OpenTable. Two days before my reservation, I received a message asking me to reconfirm. Before I had a chance to call back, I received another. In a standoffish tone, the hostess said, "We are calling to confirm your reservation for tomorrow night. If we do not hear from you by 7 p.m. today, then your reservation will be canceled."

I was entirely taken aback by the threat. This is an issue that San Francisco critic Michael Bauer has already brought to light. But here are my two cents: hadn't I already confirmed my presence when I booked the reservation? What if I'd been out of the country until the day of and couldn't call back to confirm? A gentle reminder phone call would've been more apropos. And at the end of the day, there are too many good restaurants that don't require reservations for this redundancy to be necessary. What do you think?

Source: Flickr User joey.parsons

Should I Book Restaurants Before I Travel?
Travel

Do You Make Dinner Reservations Before You Travel?

If I'm visiting somewhere I've lived before, chances are I have a few favorite locations and often make dinner reservations before I’ve even booked a hotel!
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If I'm visiting somewhere I've lived before, chances are I have a few favorite locations and often make dinner reservations before I’ve even booked a hotel! However, planning restaurants in advance isn't only about securing a seat; it can save money, too! If you're staying at a hotel, relying on the concierge is great . . . unless his idea of "reasonable" is your idea of a splurge. (And he won’t be there to pay your bill either.)

Save yourself the sticker shock and look up dining establishments — and menus and reviews, if that’s your thing — in advance. This way, you'll limit the time spent searching for a place to eat, the chance that there's nothing appealing once you arrive, and the ease of popping into a familiar chain out of frustration.

While planning out a few meals in advance lets you save money and learn more about the food before you even take off, some would say this takes the fun out of discovering places along the way and simply isn't a priority when it comes to vacation planning that should be done ahead of time. What would you do?

Do You Eat at Restaurants That Don't Take Reservations?
Poll

Do You Eat at Restaurants That Don't Take Reservations?

A couple of weeks ago, I went to grab dinner at Pizzeria Delfina, my favorite local pizza joint.
by partysugar

A couple of weeks ago, I went to grab dinner at Pizzeria Delfina, my favorite local pizza joint. The trendy restaurant is always packed, and although it doesn't take reservations, I normally don't mind going early to put my name on the chalkboard. However, the wait ended up being two hours on a Wednesday night! I couldn't help but think of a friend who refuses to eat at restaurants that don't take reservations — no matter how good the food is. As my stomach growled, I wished I was more like her. Where do you side on the matter?

Poll: Do You Call to Cancel Reservations?
Poll

Do You Call to Cancel Reservations?

I dine out with friends and family all the time, and inevitably there are always scheduling changes.
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I dine out with friends and family all the time, and inevitably there are always scheduling changes. When I need to cancel a reservation, add or subtract a party member in a way that would affect table count, push dinner back, or am running late, I always make sure to call the restaurant — and more often than not, they thank me for calling. Do you do the same?

How Long Will You Wait For a Table?
Poll

How Long Will You Wait For a Table?

Yesterday on his blog, San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer discussed the no-reservation restaurant trend.
by partysugar


Yesterday on his blog, San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer discussed the no-reservation restaurant trend. While he doesn't enjoy it, Bauer will sometimes wait up to an hour for a table.

When I have no place to be, I'm willing to wait an hour, especially if the eatery has a bar. How about you?

Source

Poll: How Do You Make Reservations?
News

How Do You Make Reservations?

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal that reviewed online dining reservation applications prompted a discussion I had with PartySugar about the preferred method for booking reservations.
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A recent article in the Wall Street Journal that reviewed online dining reservation applications prompted a discussion I had with PartySugar about the preferred method for booking reservations. If possible, I'll score a reservation online; it's convenient and sites such as OpenTable offer incentive points for doing so. Party, however, always prefers to book over the phone; she believes it's easier to get a reservation that way. I'm curious to know: how do you book your dinner reservations?

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Are You Willing to Hold Tables With Your Credit Card?
Poll

Are You Willing to Hold Tables With Your Credit Card?

The other day, I was on OpenTable to book a reservation at Range, a popular restaurant in San Francisco, and the online service prompted me to enter in my credit card number.
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The other day, I was on OpenTable to book a reservation at Range, a popular restaurant in San Francisco, and the online service prompted me to enter in my credit card number. It may not be the norm, but some restaurants — like Agave and Momofuku Ko — stand by this policy. Although it could seem risky to reveal a credit card number before any sort of purchase has been made, the practice seems to make sense for those restaurants who would have lost significant business due to no-shows.

What is your opinion on this issue? Are you willing to, or have you, plunked down your credit card number to secure a reservation?

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What Would You Do?
restaurants

What Would You Do?

We've all been in crazy situations and I want to know how you handle entertaining blusters and bad restaurant behavior.
by partysugar

We've all been in crazy situations and I want to know how you handle entertaining blusters and bad restaurant behavior. Much like our What Would You Make feature, I'll present a situation and you tell me what you would do.

Here's the scenario: you're at a new, trendy restaurant. You don't have a reservation but, it's 8:15 and you figure they might be able to squeeze you in. When you arrive at the restaurant there are several open tables. However, the hostess tells you there is a 20-minute wait. You are in no hurry and decide to wait. The 20 minutes go by and there is still an empty table. All of a sudden you realize you've been waiting 50 minutes and the table is still empty. What would you do?

To see what I did in this situation — true story, it happened to me a couple of weeks ago! — read more

Have You Ever Been Rushed Out of a Restaurant?
Poll

Have You Ever Been Rushed Out of a Restaurant?

Last week food blogger Sam Breach recounted an incident where her late — as in less than an hour before closing time — reservation caused the staff to rush her through her meal.
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Last week food blogger Sam Breach recounted an incident where her late — as in less than an hour before closing time — reservation caused the staff to rush her through her meal. I personally thought it was unacceptable, why take a reservation so close to closing time if you're only going to rush people out? Yet I must admit, I don't like making reservations so late, mostly because I'm worried of being rushed out. So tell me, have you ever been rushed through a meal?

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Did the Restaurant Do the Right Thing?
Poll

Did the Restaurant Do the Right Thing?

The other night my friends and I were out and about and decided to grab some dinner.
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The other night my friends and I were out and about and decided to grab some dinner. At 7:35, we popped in to a small sushi place and asked if they had a table for four. Our chances didn't look good — there was only one table left and it had a reserved sign on it — but the hostess disappeared into the back and about five minutes later she returned, removed the reserved table and sat our party.

We proceeded to sit down, order drinks, and peruse the menu. A few minutes later — at least 7:45 — a lady entered the restaurant and was really upset to hear that she no longer had her 7:30 reservation. The hostess said she called twice, but that no one answered. Personally I wondered why — if the lady knew she was going to be late — she didn't call the restaurant herself.

So what do you think, was it okay for the restaurant to give the table away? Or should they have waited?

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