The Best Way to Make a Restaurant Reservation

If you’re planning on going out to dinner, you want to be sure that the restaurant will have space for you and your group.

Follow these tips to ensure a spot at your favorite restaurant for any special occasion.

Plan Ahead

The internet makes it easy to determine the best time for you to make a reservation. Ever since Google released a feature that shows you a restaurant’s peak times, people have been able to use this information to inform their choices.

You should always expect a restaurant to be busy during holidays. Even if you’ve been there many times and they never seem to be busy, this can change. You may want to try to avoid dining out on a holiday if you aren’t interested in dealing with other large groups. If you’re set on making a reservation at a busy restaurant on a specific holiday, you will likely need to call at least a week or two in advance.

When you are making the reservation, you should also know exactly how many people will be attending. If you have a large party, try to reach out to everyone and confirm their attendance before you make the reservation. If you bring more people than you said you would, the restaurant may not be able to seat all of you.

Any restaurants equipment should be able to accommodate extra meals in theory, but you shouldn’t expect the restaurant to rearrange their seating at the drop of a hat.

Be Considerate of Staff and Restaurant Equipment

At an upscale restaurant, it may be appropriate to tip the host who shows you to your table, especially if they have gone out of their way to secure your table during a busy time. In most other settings, an enthusiastic “thank you” will suffice.

You should also try to arrive at least five to ten minutes prior to your reservation. This will ensure that your table is ready on time, and it is also very helpful to the staff.

In short, be the type of customer that you would want to wait on if the tables were turned.

Call if Anything Changes

Call the restaurant to cancel your reservation if your plans change. A reservation is called a reservation for a reason – the staff reserved a place for you and they expect you to be there. If you aren’t, it will slow down their process. You should call as soon as you know you don’t want to use your reservation, so the staff can seat another party instead.

If you’re running late, you should call the restaurant as soon as you know. Don’t just show up fifteen minutes late and expect to be seated, as many restaurants will not hold a reservation if they expect that you aren’t coming.
Even if you’re only going to be a few minutes late, you should still call ahead and let the restaurant know. Not only is it helpful to the staff and restaurant equipment, but it improves your chances of being seated in a timely manner despite your lateness.

Dine Out with Confidence

Now that you know the easiest, most effective way to make and keep a reservation, you can be prepared to schedule a relaxing night out and don’t forget to enjoy a glass of bubbly! If you’re on the other side of the reservation process, you can be prepared for any dinner rush by maintaining your restaurant equipment from commercial refrigerators to ice machines.