Every WhatsApp group chat comes with its own set of characters. There’s “the silent partner”, who responds to none of the messages yet somehow attends every gathering, “the meme-slinger”, who peppers the chat with a few weekly funnies, and “the absentee”, who’s not been seen in over a year and may or may not still be in the country.
Then there’s “the organiser”. This is the one who gets a poll going to confirm dates, discusses budgets and locations and crucially, calls the restaurant for a table.
These are Britain's unsung heroes: the restaurant-bookers who remain organised enough to be the group’s glue. These are the ones who can just about string an evening together with a bar or two, a happy hour and a table that’ll please the motley crew.
The same can be said of couples; there’s the one who always wants to go out, and the one who has to make that happen. And, invariably, the table wanted will be impossible to land; maybe there’s been a big review in the paper, or TikTok has done its thing. But even the places that are “fully booked” tend to have a little room, if you know how. Here’s a rundown of hacks and cheat codes to help up your table-getting game.
The basics
- Generally speaking, to secure the hardest-to-book tables in town, it’s a case of fastest finger first. Most restaurants these days are bookable online and so it’s imperative to see how far the restaurant is taking reservations (usually between six weeks and three months in advance) and work backwards from there.
- If tables for a particular hotspot are released at, say, 11.00am on the third Friday of each month, then make the effort: book that office meeting room, and get the laptop (and your phone) ready at 10.50am and keep hitting refresh. Glastonbury rules.
- Sign up for restaurant newsletters, follow the correct social media accounts and turn on notifications for bookings. It might add to the swathe of daily inbound emails, but if you want to nab a table, accept the sacrifice.
- Making an effort generally in restaurants shows interest and ultimately, restaurants want interested diners. Becoming a regular doesn’t happen overnight; it takes time. So to help any future restaurant booking endeavours, go for a solo lunch one day, be nice, introduce yourself, remember the names of the people who served you, be kind, and say hello to the maître d'. Then do that again, and again, and mean it. The restaurant will soon be glad to see your repeat custom, and scoring that table will suddenly get a whole lot easier.
- Most punters are booking tables of two, so if stuck, opt for a larger reservation of four or six. There are normally fewer of these bigger tables in the restaurant, but the difference in demand for a four, compared with a two, is stark. Two tops will always sell out first, so rekindle the double date.
- Painfully obvious, but call the restaurant. Usually, places have tables that don’t appear online, as well as cancellations that don’t load onto the website immediately.
- Often the hot tables in town have seats available early and late, known as “shoulder times”. Embrace them; a 9pm booking is a joyful thing, and the table will be yours for the rest of the night.
- Restaurants are still getting heaps of cancellations, and you’d be surprised what turns up. Get calling round to two or three preferred restaurants a day or two in advance (or even on the day itself) and simply see if they’ve had any tables free up. At the time of writing, two of London’s most in-demand, three-Michelin-starred restaurants, Core by Clare Smyth and The Ledbury, both have prime table tables (between 7pm and 8.30pm) for the coming weekend, due in all likelihood to cancellations (these hotspots are typically full at least two months in advance).
- If you’re keen to return, rebook that restaurant as soon as you can. No, sooner. Do it before the bill comes. If the red wine and fine food haven’t fogged the brain too much, discreetly sidle up to the maître d' and inquire as to when you might be able to return. Done in person, tables can seemingly appear from nowhere.
The Devonshire
There’s no question that the Devonshire is one of London’s most in-demand reservations. Restaurant bookings go live for the Devonshire at 10.30am every Thursday for tables within the next three weeks; set an alarm. If you do want to dine here, turn up for the pub first, order a Guinness and eat the bar snacks, then do that again a few times. It’ll take a long while to become a “regular” here but the team are good to those they see often. Also, even the Devonshire gets cancellations, so chance a walk-in (first thing at lunch and after 8.30pm have worked for us in the past). It’s also worth following landlord Oisín Rogers on Instagram (@mcmoop), as he’s been known to announce an ad-hoc cancellation or two on his stories.
17 Denman Street, W1D 7HW, devonshiresoho.co.uk
Mountain
Tomos Parry’s follow up to the tough-to-book Brat is equally scarce on the reservations front. Mountain in Soho was one of the biggest openings last year, later followed up by Michelin accreditation, making that 8pm booking even less likely. The solution? Bookings are taken 60 days in advance, but if you need to score a two-top before then, the rather comfy dining counter is reserved for walk-ins. Tables for four generally have much better availability than twos, but throw your name on a few preferred days on the waitlist too and check the restaurant again a few days before.
16-18 Beak Street, W1F 9RD, mountainbeakstreet.com
The Arlington
The Arlington is a reborn gem of a restaurant. Tables here are very, very hard to come by, but King is the ultimate maître d', so accommodating maximum numbers and getting the right mix of people dining inside the restaurant is in his blood. To that end, pop into the restaurant and introduce yourself, and maybe sit at the counter for a quick drink. It’s not a huge restaurant and you’ll soon begin to recognise general manager Anke Agtha and bar manager Vitek Melichar. Say hello to these people. This isn’t about currying favour, but showing you care, which really does matter to restaurants. Generally speaking, booking a table for four online will also give you a prime time slot far sooner than any availability for two.
20 Arlington Street, SW1A 1RG, arlington.london
Kol
This modern Michelin-starred Mexican remains a hard spot to land a seat in. The secret here is to sign up for the priority reservations mailing list. This special little newsletter gives its subscribers access to new table allocations 24 hours in advance. This means whilst Joe Bloggs is stuck securing a 10pm Friday night booking eight weeks from now, you’ve secured that prime-time table for date night.
9 Seymour Street, W1H 7BA, kolrestaurant.com
The Dover
There’s no question that Dover is among London’s hardest-to-book restaurants. Even so-called shoulder tables are near-impossible to come by. The way to nab a spot? The books open three weeks in advance online so it’s fastest fingers first, or book the newly launched Sunday Lunch Club. These monthly events are exceptional value for money at £85 each for “all you can eat”. The tables run from noon ‘til 4pm on one Sunday each month, proof that one of the sexiest spots around isn’t only for dinner. If an evening meal is a must, then walking in earlier in the week isn’t a bad bet. The Dover has a spacious bar at the front of the restaurant with a large counter and a number of proper tables. The bar snacks menu features the famed mini hot dogs, the lobster roll, and the crispy potato with caviar too, so you’ll be well-fed.
33 Dover Street, W1S 4NF, thedoverrestaurant.com
Kurisu Omakase
Brixton’s eight-seater sushi counter remains the reserve of the cognoscenti in town and securing a seat at this popular little spot is no mean feat. The “season” (reservations for the next three months) “drops” on booking platform Resy just four times a year, and it’s a feeding frenzy. Whilst you can try your damnedest to nab a counter spot on the drop day, the better bet is to just regularly check Resy for cancellations and to follow the restaurant on Instagram directly. Sushi master Chris Restrepo will often post a story message about a last-minute drop out. Often these are single seats so might not work for everyone, but bagging a booking is not as impossible as it first appears.
58D Atlantic Road, SW9 8PY, @kurisuomakase
Scotts
One of London’s oldest restaurants, the original Scott’s opened in 1851 in Covent Garden before relocating to its Mayfair digs in 1967. Fair to say it’s been a bit of a hot spot ever since, but had a power-lunching resurgence with the tabloids spotting the likes of Kate Moss, Kate Beckinsale and Rod Stewart dining there. Nabbing a booking to rub shoulders with the great and the good isn’t easy, so best bet here is to head for the bar counter. It’s a sumptuous, comfortable bar counter with the full à la carte menu available. This is bookable, and they hold a few spots for walk-ins too. As far as standard reservations go, booking a month or so in advance is usually called for but again, meeting the maître d' will do wonders.
