How to Follow Restaurant Reservation Etiquette

In modern times, eating at a nice restaurant has become less of a luxury than in the past. With more people eating out than ever before and more dining establishments to serve them, some restaurant etiquette may have fallen by the wayside. It's important to remember that while restaurants are at the service of the customer, the customer has a part to play as well. An important part of restaurant etiquette is proper reservation behavior.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Expect to need a reservation for most moderate to high-end, sit-down restaurants. While many restaurants hold a few tables for walk-in customers, the only real way to guarantee you'll be seated when you show up is to make a reservation.
2. Call a restaurant for a reservation just before dinner service begins. In some restaurants, no one comes in to answer the phones until later in the afternoon.
3. Amend reservations to include additional people. You should never show up for a reservation with more people than you originally indicated, because the restaurant may be completely booked and might have trouble accommodating additional customers. Significantly less numbers should also be reported so that the restaurant can fill the additional seats.
4. Call to inform the host or hostess that you are running behind if you will be more than 15 minutes late. Restaurants need to be able to organize their tables and seating plans throughout the night, so it is only courteous to give fair warning of your tardiness.
5. Cancel reservations as far ahead of time as you can so that the restaurant can re-book your table. Canceling at the last minute is inconsiderate of the needs of the restaurant and other patrons who want to take your table.

Tips & Warnings

• Hot, new restaurants that are favorably reviewed often book up months in advance. To get a reservation at one of these restaurants, you'll have to plan way in advance.
• It's acceptable to make multiple reservations for one day if you don't know when you want to be seated, but you must follow proper etiquette and cancel the reservations you won't use with significant advance notice.
• Use an online reservation service like Open Table to search for open reservations at restaurants in major U.S. cities (see Resources below). Not all restaurants are available, but you can get a good cross section of cuisines.
• If you leave a message on a restaurant's voicemail service for a reservation, follow up your message with a call back during open hours to confirm. Don't assume your reservation is set until you talk to someone at the restaurant.