Guides
How hard-to-book reservations actually work
Field notes from the founder of SeatSwiper, the system that watches these tables around the clock. When reservations open, cancellation windows, and honest venue-by-venue strategy, city by city.
New York
- The Hardest Restaurants to Book in NYC (and How to Actually Get In)
Venue-by-venue strategy for NYC’s toughest tables — Carbone, Tatiana, 4 Charles, Torrisi: when reservations open, cancellation timing, and what actually works. - Don Angie Reservations: How to Actually Book It
Don Angie left Resy for OpenTable, so most guides send you to the wrong app. How its 7-day book works and when the pinwheel-lasagna room’s tables come back. - How to Get a Reservation at Carbone (What Actually Works)
Carbone books on Resy and prime tables vanish in seconds. When reservations open, the 2-top math, cancellation timing, and the honest alternatives that work. - How to Get a Reservation at L’Artusi in NYC
L’Artusi books on Resy, two weeks out daily at 9am ET. The rolling window, the 30 walk-in counter seats, and the softest slots to actually get. - How to Get a Reservation at Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi
Tatiana is one of NYC’s toughest reservations. Its Resy window, the Lincoln Center seating quirk that helps you, and when cancellations reopen. - How to Get a Reservation at Torrisi in NYC
Torrisi may be harder to book than Carbone. Its 30-day, 10am Resy window, the walk-in bar that serves the full menu, and how cancellations behave. - How to Get a Table at 4 Charles Prime Rib
4 Charles is a tiny West Village basement with brutal reservation math. When reservations open, why 2-tops rule the room, and how cancellations behave. - Kabawa Reservations: How to Book NYC’s Hardest Table
Kabawa books on OpenTable, not Resy, on a rolling 14-day midnight window. The honest guide to NYC’s No. 1 tasting-menu table, plus Bar Kabawa. - Lilia Reservations: How to Book Missy Robbins’ Table
How to book Lilia in Williamsburg: the 28-day Resy window at 10am ET, the off-peak seatings that open up, the ~3pm cancellation wave, and the 4pm walk-in bar. - Rezdôra Reservations: How to Book the Flatiron Pasta Room
Rezdôra books on Resy and opens a new date at midnight, not 10am. The 30-day release, the 4-guest cap, and the low-competition seatings that actually work. - Semma Reservations: How to Book the West Village Star
How to book Semma, the Michelin-starred South Indian room and NYT’s No. 1 New York restaurant. Resy timing, the walk-in bar, and shoulder seatings that work. - Una Pizza Napoletana Reservations: The Honest Guide
How to book Anthony Mangieri’s Una Pizza Napoletana on the Lower East Side: the 9am, 14-day OpenTable window, the dough ceiling, and the afternoon notify sweep.
Los Angeles
- The Hardest Restaurants to Book in Los Angeles (and How to Actually Get In)
Venue-by-venue booking strategy for LA’s toughest tables: Mother Wolf, Somni, Bestia, Sushi Kaneyoshi. When reservations open and what actually works. - How to Get a Reservation at Mother Wolf in LA
Mother Wolf books on Resy 7 days out. The 9am opening, the 4pm day-before Notify texts, walk-in counters, and the easiest slots to actually get. - How to Get a Reservation at Sushi Kaneyoshi
Sushi Kaneyoshi puts its entire month on SevenRooms at once, and it’s gone in minutes. When reservations open, the 3pm timing, and how to actually get a seat.
San Francisco
- The Hardest Restaurants to Book in San Francisco (and How to Actually Get In)
Venue by venue strategy for San Francisco’s toughest tables: Four Kings, Jules, House of Prime Rib, when reservations open, and the walk-in back doors. - How to Get a Reservation at Four Kings in San Francisco
Four Kings books on OpenTable: the noon PT opening, the three-week window, the 10-seat walk-in counter, and what actually gets you the table. - How to Get a Reservation at House of Prime Rib
House of Prime Rib has no set opening time, the book just runs out months deep. The before-5pm bar ritual, phone lines, and how cancellations reopen tables.
Chicago
- The Hardest Restaurants to Book in Chicago (and How to Actually Get In)
Venue-by-venue strategy for Chicago’s toughest tables: Bavette’s, Au Cheval, Asador Bastian, Galit. When reservations open, and what actually works. - How to Get a Reservation at Asador Bastian
Asador Bastian books on SevenRooms, not Resy, 30 days out. How to get a table in the tiny River North room, plus the 4pm Bar Room walk-in path. - How to Get a Reservation at Bavette’s Bar & Boeuf
Bavette’s opens tables on Resy at 9:00am Central, 21 days out, and Saturdays vanish fast. The timing playbook, the walk-in bar, and cancellation windows.
Miami
- The Hardest Restaurants to Book in Miami (and How to Actually Get In)
Venue-by-venue strategy for Miami’s toughest tables: when reservations open at Carbone Miami, Sunny’s, COTE, and Boia De, plus the walk-in lanes that work. - How to Get a Reservation at Carbone Miami
Carbone Miami reservations open on Resy 30 days out at 10:00 a.m. ET, and walk-ins get turned away. The alarm strategy, weekday odds, and the VINO backup. - How to Get a Reservation at Sunny’s Steakhouse in Miami
Sunny’s opens its Resy book 30 days out at noon, not Miami’s usual 10 a.m. The walk-in terrace, the bar, and the day-before cancellation window.
Las Vegas
- The Hardest Restaurants to Book in Las Vegas (and How to Actually Get In)
Venue-by-venue booking strategy for the Strip’s toughest tables: Delilah, Carbone Riviera, Gymkhana, Golden Steer. When reservations open, and what works. - How to Book the Golden Steer Steakhouse (and the Sinatra Booth)
Golden Steer reservations open 6 months out on OpenTable, the longest window in Vegas. How to book early, request the Sinatra booth, and catch cancellations. - How to Get a Reservation at Delilah Las Vegas
Delilah at Wynn books on SevenRooms and prime tables vanish in minutes. The reported 30-day window, the two walk-in bars, and how cancellations reopen.
Washington DC
- The Hardest Restaurants to Book in Washington DC (and How to Actually Get In)
Venue-by-venue strategy for DC’s toughest tables: Dōgon, Rose’s Luxury, minibar, The Dabney. The noon openings, monthly calendars, and walk-in bars that work. - How to Get a Reservation at Dōgon by Kwame Onwuachi
Dōgon books on Resy just 28 days out and prime nights sell out within a day. The real playbook, plus the Salamander hotel package that guarantees a table. - How to Get a Reservation at Rose’s Luxury in DC
Rose’s Luxury opens the entire following month on Resy at noon on the 1st, then holds seats for walk-ins nightly. The monthly calendar, the bar, what works.
Boston
- The Hardest Restaurants to Book in Boston (and How to Actually Get In)
Venue-by-venue strategy for Boston’s toughest tables: Sarma, TABLE, Giulia, Contessa, La Padrona. When reservations open, and how to actually get in. - How to Get a Reservation at Giulia in Cambridge
Giulia now opens each day at 10am ET on a two-week window, not midnight. The corrected playbook: OpenTable timing, the patio phone rule, and cancellations. - How to Get a Seat at TABLE in Boston (It Sells Like Tickets)
TABLE sells its 32 communal seats on Resy in announced blocks, like event tickets. When seatings open, what dinner costs, and the famous cancellation policy.
Austin
- The Hardest Restaurants to Book in Austin (and How to Actually Get In)
Venue-by-venue booking strategy for Austin’s toughest tables: Uchi, Sushi | Bar ATX, Suerte, Este. When reservations open and what actually works. - How to Get a Reservation at Sushi | Bar ATX in Austin
Sushi | Bar ATX opens the whole next month on Resy on the 1st, 24 seats a night. The monthly ritual, seating times, and the cancellation second chance. - How to Get a Reservation at Uchi in Austin
Uchi books on SevenRooms, not Resy, about a month out. The rolling 30-day window, the 4pm walk-in bar move, and how Uchiko and Uchiba compare.
Seattle
- The Hardest Restaurants to Book in Seattle (and How to Actually Get In)
Venue-by-venue booking strategy for Seattle’s toughest tables: Sushi Kashiba, Il Nido, The Pink Door and more. When reservations open, and what actually works. - How to Get a Reservation at Sushi by Scratch Seattle
Sushi by Scratch Seattle opens its entire month at once on SevenRooms, on the 1st at 10 a.m. How to win that morning, and how to catch a canceled seat. - How to Get a Reservation at Sushi Kashiba (Both Ways In)
Sushi Kashiba splits its counter between a 30-day OpenTable window and a Pike Place walk-in line. How both races work, and how to win one.
London
- The Hardest Restaurants to Book in London (and How to Actually Get In)
Venue-by-venue strategy for London’s toughest tables: Gymkhana, Carbone London, Sushi Tetsu, CORE. When reservations open and what actually works. - How to Get a Reservation at Carbone London
Carbone London books on SevenRooms with a £50 deposit and a 12pm cancellation cutoff that tells you when tables come back. The window, the rules, what works. - How to Get a Reservation at Sushi Tetsu (Seven Seats)
Seven seats, one weekly moment: Sushi Tetsu opens the following week every Monday at 12pm on SevenRooms. How to get a seat, and why the waitlist matters most.
How the platforms work
- Why Every Resy Table Vanishes Instantly
Resy tables disappear in seconds because everyone races the same synchronized opening. Why manual refreshing loses, and the tactics that actually work. - SevenRooms Reservations: Finding the Tables Resy Won’t Show
SevenRooms powers a restaurant’s own booking page, not a marketplace, so its tables feel invisible. How to find them, book them, and beat the quiet window. - How Far in Advance Can You Book a Reservation?
The window is set per venue: rolling daily openings, synchronized monthly releases, or prepaid tasting tickets. How to find any restaurant’s exact window. - Resy vs SevenRooms vs OpenTable: When Reservations Open on Each
Reservations open in genuinely different ways on the three big platforms. How Resy, SevenRooms, and OpenTable each work — and how to get the table on each. - How to Book NYC’s Hardest Tables With an AI Assistant (MCP)
You can ask Claude or ChatGPT to set up a watch on a hard-to-book table. How agent-driven reservations work today via MCP, and what agents can’t do alone. - When Do Resy Reservations Open? The 10am Rush, Explained
Resy reservations open a set number of days out, usually 10am ET — “the Resy drop.” How the 10am rush works, and the smarter way to get the table. - Why Resy Notify Never Gets You the Table
Resy Notify tells everyone at once — so the alert is the starting gun for another race you’re probably losing. Here’s what it does, and what works better.