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Reservations
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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. 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!
Do You Call to Cancel Reservations?
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?
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 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. 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.
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. 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 Would You Do?
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.
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. 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.
Did the Restaurant Do the Right Thing?
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.
Little Becky Makes Another Prank Call
Little Becky is up to no good again. This time, she tries to pass as Mariah Carey over the phone and attempts to make hotel reservations at a fancy French hotel. Without even attempting to disguise her little voice, she gets the hotel operators to stay on the line and indulge in her antics.
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