For those aiming to dine out in New York, securing a reservation has become incredibly challenging. Over the past three years, the process has shifted from difficult to nearly impossible for many food enthusiasts.
“There are some restaurants that people just can’t get into,” said Joel Montaniel, CEO of the bookings platform Sevenrooms, in a recent interview with Bloomberg. “I’ve even spoken to restaurateurs for advice on how to get in, and they simply have none.”
Dinner reservations have become so competitive that last month, the New York state legislature decided to ban third-party booking sites like Appointment Trader. On these platforms, users were reselling their restaurant reservations for $200 or more, similar to ticket scalping for concerts and sporting events.
Melissa Fleischut, President and CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association, hailed the legislation as a “major victory for the hospitality industry.” She believes it will reduce competition for reservations and protect restaurants from costly cancellations.
Despite these legislative changes, the reality remains that in recent years, the demand for exciting, trendy, and luxurious activities has outpaced their availability.
“Post-COVID, I’m sure you’ve noticed that everything is booked up, right? Every plane is full, every restaurant is full, every hotel is full,” says travel advisor Jaclyn Sienna India. “So how do you navigate getting people into restaurants, hotels, yachts, and experiences that are already booked up?”
India, who has been helping people nab reservations for 16 years through her concierge and travel planning service Sienna Charles, caters to families with incomes exceeding $100 million. Her past clients include George W. Bush and Mariah Carey.
Despite her impressive clientele, India highlights that gaining access to the most popular restaurants (or hotels, yachts, and other luxury experiences) comes down to understanding what customers want and building relationships with the establishments that can meet those needs.
“People have really moved away from fine dining; we very rarely have a client that wants to sit through a tasting menu,” she explains. “The shift in the last three years has been towards trendy restaurants where the focus isn’t necessarily on food. It’s never about food, it’s about FOMO. It’s about saying that you got in, it’s a bragging right.”
If you’re looking to earn your own bragging rights and are willing to persistently pursue a reservation, continue reading to discover which New York restaurant tables are the hardest to get, according to Sienna Charles.