Get treated like a celebrity at top restaurants!

Having a wonderful time while dining out depends upon many things: ambiance, the food, service, the quality of your table, and of course your tablemates.  Having a great experience needn’t be completely up to chance, however…  by employing a few simple strategies you can greatly increase your chances of having a memorable dining experience.

Having dined at hundreds of restaurants across the country over the last few decades, I’ve picked up a few pointers and secrets that may very well help you have a great dining experience…

..

Strategy 1: Become a regular. Restaurateurs value their faithful customers.  One of the best ways to get special treatment at a great dining spot is to dine there regularly, be unfailingly polite, tip well, and chat with the hostess, owner, or maître d’ so they get to know you. You’ll tend to get better tables and an occasional small treat - a free appetizer or perhaps a glass of wine from a bottle they’ve just added to the wine list.

Strategy 2: This works.  Try it! Ask your server to ask the chef if he could recommend a dish few customers order but that he is particularly proud of. Try this and it’s likely that the chef will appear at your table within a few minutes. Let’s face it - most chefs toil away unseen and many don’t have a lot of interaction with their patrons. An unusual question will pique his curiosity and he will likely come out to chat with you. This strategy is similar one Will Schwalbe recently posted about on Tim Ferriss’s blog.  If he does come out to chat with you and guide you toward something he’d recommend, expect him (or her) to return during your dinner to see if you are enjoying your entree.

Strategy 3: If the restaurant is a hot spot, spend some time in the bar - perhaps during the lunch hour. Get to know the bartender; ask to meet the owner or maître d’ and give them your card. If you may entertain colleagues or customers in the future, mention it.  And if you end up caring about the restaurant, bring clients to dine there.

Strategy 4: When you make your reservation, tell them if it’s a special occasion - and/or pre-order a bottle of champagne. Communicating up front that you’re celebrating something special and/or that you’re willing to spend some money in the restaurant will help:  you’ll receive a little extra attention and likely a great table.

Strategy 5: If you enjoy a truly memorable meal, send the chef a thank you note afterward. It’ll only  take you a few minutes, and will likely be shared with the owner, hostess or maître d’…  and you’ll certainly be treated well on return visits. A bit more dramatic - and certainly more expensive - if you have a fantastic meal at a restaurant that you really care about, send the chef a bottle of champagne along with your thanks for a great experience. You’ll be truly pampered on subsequent visits.

Other:

• Tipping: if the service is good, tip 15-18% of the pre-tax amount on your bill. If the service is wonderful, tip 20% - or more. If dining in a restaurant with captains, the rule of thumb is 15-18% of the pretax amount for your waiter, and 5% for the captain.
• Hot spots: if you’re trying to score a table at a hot spot in a major metropolitan area, there are a couple of strategies you can employ, one dicey and free, the other much more certain but - guess what - costly.  First, you can always hope they have a no-show or two: try walking in at around 8pm or so - you might get lucky if they had a 7pm or 7:30pm no-show. Similarly, some restaurants located in neighborhoods will hold a few tables for local traffic - you may get lucky and snag one if locals haven’t come in. The second option involves using a restaurant reservation service. For New York City and other major U.S. cities, check out Primetime Tables - for a $75 fee you can score a table at some of the hottest restaurants in the nation. Restricted to New York are Weekend Epicure, which charges a $35 fee, and for the serious NYC diner, check out Sorted - but beware, the membership fee is not for the faint of heart!
• Getting a good table: if you’re shown to a table that’s not to your liking, politely ask the hostess or maître d’ if anything else is available. Most restaurants are decidedly more flexible than they’re usually willing to admit.
• If something goes wrong: if you’re truly disappointed by your experience - the food, or service - politely tell the hostess or maître d’.  A quality restaurant will certainly want you to be happy, and will usually make it right, right on the spot.
• If you’re running late: if you’re running a bit late for your reservation, by all means call! Most restaurants will hold reservations for 20-25 minutes - but will greatly appreciate a call if you’re delayed. Do the right thing!

Try these strategies and see if they work for you. Number two above is killer: try it the next time you’re dining at a fine restaurant and see what happens. Are there strategies you’ve employed to get better tables at restaurants - or to snag a table at a hot spot? If yes, please share by commenting.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!