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Press Release


How to Get the Ungettable Table - Part II


March 31, 2007 		Continued from Part 1

The 120 restaurants tested on Open Table were chosen based on some admittedly subjective criteria, including a reputation for being hard to get into and suggestions from Zagat Survey editors. OpenTable's senior director of consumer marketing, Ann Shepherd, says the restaurants are in unusually high demand and just as difficult to get into over the phone as they are on the site.

In many, though not all, cases, the reputations were warranted. In roughly 3,000 attempts, no 7 p.m. seats turned up at Del Posto in New York or the Vetri in Philadelphia. And there wasn't a single table -- at any time on any Saturday night -- at Dantanna's in Atlanta. One reason may be that certain restaurants hold back some or all of their tables from the site's reservation system. OpenTable says that practice is uncommon and that it tries to flag users when it occurs.

Overall, we got the table we wanted a third of the time, with a higher success rate in some cities than others. In Miami, that number jumped to 70%, in part because the restaurants in the test, like David Bouley Evolution, Chef Allen's and Michy's -- all helmed by celebrity chefs -- are relatively large. In more than nine out of 10 attempts, tables turned up at Ceiba in Washington, D'Amico Cucina in Minneapolis and Rubicon and Kuleto's in San Francisco.

A willingness to eat early helps. The OpenTable test succeeded six times more often in securing a table before 7 p.m. than after. Some restaurateurs say they need help filling early tables, but toward the end of the night, they're often filled by walk-ins or people who linger over dessert and coffee.

If you're not using OpenTable, one trick is to call the person in charge of doling out last-minute tables. These are often set aside to be used at the discretion of the chef, the owner or investors. Several restaurateurs provided contact information for publication. Theodore "Teddy" Suric, managing partner at davidburke&donatella in New York, says he can currently be reached at 917-584-9295, though he warns against people calling during certain hours: "2:30 to 4:30 a.m., that's when I need to sleep," he says.

Once a potential patron gets someone like Mr. Suric on the phone, they have to make a case for why they deserve a last-minute table. Restaurateurs across the board say they're turned off by people claiming to be hot shots or big spenders. There are no guarantees, they say, but special circumstances -- a spouse's birthday, an important client coming to town, a burning desire to visit the restaurant while in town for the weekend -- often get consideration.

The scarcity of top tables reflects several shifts in the dining scene. For one thing, elite restaurants are getting smaller; like couture lines in the fashion industry, small eateries can generate press and draw celebrity patrons, thus boosting a chef's profile. Vetri in Philadelphia has 11 tables and Schwa in Chicago has 13. Thomas Keller's Per Se in New York has 15 tables. Most of these places book their Saturday night tables within a few minutes of opening the reservation books months in advance.

Continued in Part 3

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