Securing a reservation at a restaurant in New York has become increasingly challenging, with the process reaching an unprecedented level of difficulty in recent years. Many food enthusiasts find that obtaining a seat at the city’s most sought-after dining spots has transformed from a difficult task to an almost impossible one.
Joel Montaniel, CEO of the booking platform Sevenrooms, recently shared insights with Bloomberg, stating, “There are some restaurants that people can’t get into. I’ve even spoken to restaurateurs, and when asking them for tips on securing a reservation, they say, ‘I don’t have them.’”
The competitiveness for dinner reservations prompted the New York state legislature to vote last month to ban third-party booking sites like Appointment Trader, where users were reselling restaurant slots for as much as $200, a practice previously seen for concerts and sports events.
Melissa Fleischut, President & CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association, hailed the legislation as a significant win for the hospitality industry. She believes it will decrease competition for reservations and offer protection to restaurants from costly cancellations.
Despite the new regulations, the demand for trendy, exciting, and luxurious dining experiences continues to exceed their availability. Travel advisor Jaclyn Sienna India points out, “Post-COVID, everything is booked up. Every plane, every restaurant, every hotel is full. So how do you get people into restaurants and experiences that are mostly already reserved?”
With 16 years of experience managing Sienna Charles, a concierge and travel planning service for affluent clients, India is well-versed in securing reservations. Her clientele includes high-profile individuals like George W. Bush and Mariah Carey, and she indicates that understanding customer preferences and cultivating relationships with restaurants are crucial for accessing popular venues.
“People have largely moved away from fine dining,” she explains. “Very few clients want to endure a tasting menu. The trend over the past three years has shifted toward trendy eateries, where the emphasis is less on food and more on preventing FOMO (fear of missing out). It’s about the status of getting in, which has become a form of bragging rights.”
For those eager to claim their own bragging rights and willing to persist in securing a reservation, India reveals which New York restaurants have the most coveted tables.