Our esteemed dining critic, Dave Lowry, is very good at what he does (that is, despite an unremitting number of pop references to Salma Hayek), describing his experiences at regional restaurants in a cogent and entertaining way.
As he stated in a recent blog post, though, Mr. Lowry doesn’t like to have to wait in a bar, waiting area, or be banished to the banality of a city sidewalk as part of that exercise. We get that—when it’s time to eat, it’s time to eat.
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That’s why restaurants take reservations. You want dinner at 7 p.m.? Fine. Your wish is only an OpenTable reservation away.
Mr. Lowry makes such requests, while some of us do not. Lack of planning, or laziness (in my case, I much prefer spontaneity), precludes some of us from doing so. And unlike Mr. Lowry, we’re not averse to waiting a bit for a table, provided there is a bar with a set or two of competent hands, armed with a wine/cocktail list and ideas for wine, spirits, and snacks.
It’s no secret that restaurants like to run a waiting list, as the bottom line is bettered with patrons drinking in the bar. In addition, when drive-by patrons see activity and conviviality from the street, it beckons, it lures them in. So a full restaurant and bar often become self-sustaining. That’s one reason some restaurant owners avoid reservations. Plus, a lot of guests get comfortable while waiting at the bar and end up eating there…in which case everybody wins.
As Mr. Lowry admits, reservations cost a restaurant dearly via lost sales. A reserved table has to be kept open rather than seated immediately, so open tables translate to lost dollars. The flip side of that coin is that the efficiency afforded by a walk-in-only policy helps keep prices down: That $14 pasta at Pastaria, for example, may cost $18 to $20 at a restaurant that takes reservations; that $8 glass of wine might cost $10 to $12 elsewhere. If you’re trying to save a dining buck, a no-reservations policy can help you do so.
Still, restaurateurs continuously struggle with the issue. The diner doesn’t expect to make reservations at a breakfast joint or a bar and grill, but how about at a slightly nicer restaurant? At what point does the diner expect that convenience? Unfortunately, it’s different for every diner—it’s a question of perception. Whereas one diner might regard a restaurant like Pastaria as an everyday kind of place, another might see it as “nice” enough to warrant reservations. It’s a hard line for a restaurant owner to draw.
Pastaria owner Gerard Craft says it just doesn’t make sense for him to take a reservation several weeks to months in advance for someone who will ultimately eat a $14 pizza. Hence, Pastaria’s no-reservations policy.
The Block (in Webster Groves and now in the Central West End) does not accept reservations either. Co-owner Marc Del Pietro accepted them at Luciano’s Trattoria, but he says he never will again. What some restaurateurs see as an implied agreement (“We’ll hold the table, and you show up on time”), customers often see differently, he says. They’ll make multiple reservations around town and never bother to cancel the unused reservations. “Parties show up late, or they don’t show at all,” Del Pietro laments. “Or the party ends up smaller, or worse, bigger. It’s a hard game to play, a harder game to win.”
Restaurateurs who do not accept reservations feel it’s the most prudent path to long-term success.
It’s funny that those who take reservations say exactly the same thing…thereby endorsing Mr. Lowry’s thesis.
Feel free to offer your opinion in the comments section below.
