Thread: The Top Hardest-to-get Restaurant Reservations in the World

The Back Door: The Top Hardest-to-get Restaurant Reservations in the World
by Charlotte Druckman
Published: Wed Nov 11, 2009

When the prospect of snagging a table at one of the world’s hottest restaurants seems a little challenging, get creative. Here are just a few of ASMALLMAGAZINE's favourite hotspots and our tips for getting in.

The Fat Duck

Bebel’s Ristorante
Via San Marco, 38, Milan, Lombardy, 20121
Phone: +39 02 657 1658
To sum up Bebel’s and its clientele, two words: in fashion. Beloved by the couture elite, restaurateur Sergio Sorini draws a preternaturally well-dressed, high-profile fan base to his restaurant, which features multi-regional Italian cuisine in an Art-Nouveau-inflected interior. Pizza gets a nod, but it’s the in-house grill (especially the whole fish of the day) that steals the show.

To reserve: The good news is that Bebel’s is not listed in tour guides, which means you’re not competing with out-of-towners for a chair. Bad news: The regulars are not only loyal, but they’re also not to be trifled with. Code Red: FASHION WEEK!

When in Milan…: Have your ‘assistant’ book two weeks in advance for a non-market-week meal; a month in advance for show season supping.

Le Comptoir at Hôtel Relais Saint-Germain
9, Carrefour de l’Odéon, Paris
Phone: +33 (0)1 44 22 07 97
Fax: +33 (0)1 46 33 45 30
At Chef Yves Camdeborde’s Comptoir (counter), international foodies rub elbows with devoted locals. Style-wise? Casual and unassuming. Plate-wise? Loosen your belts and don’t bring a dieter or vegetarian. If boudin is on the menu, order it (it’s a recipe passed down from Camdeborde’s père, who cooked at the Ritz).

To reserve: Unless you’re a personal friend of the chef’s, call at least six months ahead (some book a year in advance).

Shortcuts: Get a room at the adjoining hotel – guests are never refused a seat. You can also do a ‘Hail Mary’ 7.30pm call-up and see if there are any last-minute cancellations. Or, go during the first-come-first-served windows (no reservation zone) on a weekday afternoon or during the weekend—just be prepared to wait.

Tetsuya’s

El Bulli
Cala Montjoi , Ap. 30 17480, Roses, Girona
Phone: +34 972 15 04 57
bulli@elbulli.com
.: elBulli :.
For culinary enthusiasts who consider molecular gastronomy a religion, Chef Ferran Adrià is a messiah. Adrià is credited with putting foam (and the small town of Roses, Spain) on the map. And although it might sound like a case of The Emperor’s New Clothes, people make pilgrimages from far and wide to taste dishes garnished with ‘Cordoba air’. The menu changes constantly based on what the mad scientist is destabilizing in the laboratory.

To reserve: Visit the ‘Reservations’ department on the restaurant’s site and you’ll read that, “The restaurant is fully booked for our season 2009… but we will be at your disposal to revise if cancellations are produced…” Meaning? Keep your jet at the ready during ‘the season’ (April to September) and call or e-mail each day to check for cancellations. To secure a slot in 2010, launch a heavy contact campaign the second week in October—and that means you're already late.

El Bulli


The Fat Duck
High Street, Bray, Berkshire
Phone:+ 44 0162 858 0333
The Fat Duck
Heston Blumenthal is the chef that true food nerds tout as the founding father of hi-tech cookery. And although it is removed from London, there are plenty of savvy diners willing to make the journey to Blumenthal’s base. If you're wondering if you should go, the list of awards the restaurant has garnered since it opened in 2001 should be reason enough. If you do make it there, sign up for the tasting menu and regale your friends with anecdotes about pommery grain mustard ice-cream and parsnip cereal.

To reserve: Call TWO months (as opposed to the standard one) before the desired date and do it first thing in the morning, Berkshire time. But be warned, a cancellation without sufficient notice can result in a £100 penalty per person! The Fat Duck website has a comprehensive list of times the reservation department is taking calls.


French Laundry
6640 Washington Street, Yountville, California
Phone: +11 707 944 2380
Jackets (and reservations) are required for both lunch and dinner at Chef Thomas Keller’s flagship boîte. He introduces haute French culinary practices to Napa Valley’s easy-going luxury and regional ingredients. The menu changes daily, depending on what’s freshest. And when you’re biting into your foie gras terrine paired with poached rhubarb, you’ll be satisfied that the effort to land your seat paid off.

To reserve: The bookings office is open from 10am to 6.30pm (PST) and starts taking requests two months in advance with a credit card guarantee only.

Tip: You might have a better shot asking for a lunch spot (Fri – Sun, 11am to 1pm). Also, allegedly, two tables are available online at OpenTable.com. Remember to confirm 72 hours before you dine. Or, the reservations office does take bookings up to a year in advance. Talk about planning ahead.

Noma



Noma
Strandgade 93, 1401 Copenhagen
Phone: +45 3296 3297
Restaurant noma
It’s not that Noma hasn’t been getting heaps of praise since it opened in 2003 (most recently being nominated the 3rd best restaurant in the world in April 2009 by English magazine Restaurant) , it’s that the world’s gone mad for all things Nordic. That’s why it’s so hard to get yourself on the books for some grub. Apropos of this list, the chef, René Redzepi, trained at both El Bulli and French Laundry before hitting a few of Copenhagen’s most illustrious kitchens. His goal: To create a new Nordic cuisine that fuses age-old methods of curing, smoking, salting, pickling and distilling with indigenous, just-picked or -fished ingredients and up-to-the-minute techniques. An example: King crab and ashes served with mussel stock and leek. Don’t turn up your nose! Nettles, woodsorrel and juniper are all the rage; didn’t you get the memo?

To Reserve: The website makes it seem as easy as woodruff pie, but don’t be mislead. Book at least a month in advance via phone or website.

One Clique Away: The website lists a special e-mail address for group parties (booking@noma.dk), meaning 6 or more, and the fact that “Emails will be read and answered every day, except Sundays” is mentioned suggests that coming en masse will improve your chances. (Perhaps an ‘accidental’ e-mail to that address for a two-person rendez-vous will help you get your wish; just don’t try that more than once.)

Tetsuya’s Restaurant
529 Kent Street, Sydney
Phone: +61 2 9267 2900
Heralding from Japan, Tetsuya Wakuda has not only become one of Australia’s most acclaimed chefs but holds rank amongst the world’s greats. His super sophisticated cooking style emphasizes purity of flavor and doesn’t rely on bizarre machinery or chemical manipulation (case in point, his signature dish: ‘confit of ocean trout served with unpasteurised ocean trout roe’). No à la carte here, folks; instead, a pre-set 10-course menu of Tetsuya’s choosing.

To Reserve: Download a reservation form from Tetsuya’s website or call. There’s no prescribed deadline, but common sense would have you give two months’ notice.

Plan B: Have a posse? The restaurant boasts three private dining rooms for larger groups, so when it comes to trying to snag a table, there may be safety in numbers.

Waverly Inn
16 Bank Street, New York, New York
Phone: +11 212 243 7900
Back in the day, Graydon Carter, editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair, and his partners-in-crime dreamt of having a clubhouse: a ‘Cheers’ for the young and hip literati and glitterati. Carter’s dream is a reality in the form of this exclusive watering hole in New York’s West Village. And even though the concept may offend your democratic sensibilities, once you’ve had a taste of the Waverly life, you’re going to have to face a hard truth: it’s pretty great.

To reserve: Bottom line: it’s more like a members-only club than a restaurant. You’ll need to be a celebrity and/or an F.O.G. (Friend of Graydon); either way, the more you dine there, the better your chances of attaining ‘regular’ status.

Tip: Roll in late in the day (before dinner service starts) to ‘check things out’ and befriend the gatekeepers. You can ask them to save you a place in the dining room for the following evening; or, become a barfly and establish a presence.

Tables worth waiting (in line) for

The following do not take reservations:

Momofuku Ssam Bar, New York City
(reservations are taken for parties of 6 to 10)
:: MOMOFUKU ::

Pepe’s Pizzeria, New Haven, Connecticut
(For those in New York, you don't have to travel that far. There is now a Pepe's Pizzeria location in Yonkers that just opened this month.)
Welcome to The Original Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana - Home

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Paris
(Reservations are available for the first lunch service and the 6.30 dinner slot.)
Joël Robuchon ƒWƒ‡ƒGƒ‹�Eƒ�ƒuƒVƒ‡ƒ“ | ƒIƒtƒBƒVƒƒƒ‹ƒTƒCƒg

Barrafina, London
Barrafina : Spanish Tapas Restaurant London

Joe’s Stone Crab, Miami
Joe's Stone Crab

Father’s Office, Santa Monica
Father's Office

I've been trying to get into EL Bulli for 3 years

Hoping a chance this year...and for the record you're not late for reservations yet, it's typically mid October however this year they are running late. Check the website for details

the secret to El Bulli - and it's fraught w/ risk: make a trip to Barcelona for a week. call them every day, lunch and dinner, and ask if they've had a cancellation. when they say yes, tell them you can be there in 1.5 hours.

i can tell the author never went to Japan b/c not even one restaurant made it in - and those are the hardest to get into.


that list is somewhat erratic but i've written about a few of those places:

Noma
ChuckEats noma (Denmark, Copenhagen) – eating with the earth

French Laundry
ChuckEats The French Laundry (Yountville, CA) – Unlocking the Secret

Fat Duck
ChuckEats Fat Duck (Bray, England) – Redux

El Bulli
ChuckEats El Bulli (Roses, Spain) – The Mad Scientist


- chuck

Had a chance to try Joel Robuchon in vegas at MGM.. dunno if the one in Paris is similar or completely different..

Waverly is easy to get into.

too bad~ no pictures of the restaurant!

New York Times reported that a place near me in Chester County, PA was one of the toughest tables to get......

Booking Talulas Table - Culture Lifestyle - Portfolio.com

I have been (once) and it was AWESOME!!!

Father's Office worth the wait? That is rich. At least there are two locations now. The burger is still good, but might have slipped a bit.

I agree with dleevw. Wish there were some pictures of these crazy places.

Originally Posted by dude12911

I agree with dleevw. Wish there were some pictures of these crazy places.

you can check out the links in my blog above for pictures of the food

- chuck