Start Calling Now: The World's Toughest Restaurant Tables to Book

By Nikkitha Bakshani

In certain restaurants, the act of waiting for a table is like an appetizer in itself. Not all of these places have three Michelin stars, but they all certainly carry their own share of accolades and notoriety, be it for their crazy food concoctions or their crazy waiting lists — and often it’s for both. The Internet provides myriad tips on how to get seated at one of these establishments, but here’s our advice: book a reservation before you book a plane ticket. Here are nine of the world’s toughest restaurants at which to reserve a table.

Our approach to finding the restaurants on this list was pretty hands-on: we simply went to the restaurant’s websites and checked for the next available tables. How did we know which restaurants to call? We perused our 101 Best Lists in America, Asia, Europe, and Latin America and did some additional research on restaurants with famously long waits. Perhaps you did not know this, but restaurants described as the “best” are not necessarily the same as the restaurants that are most difficult to reserve, though there is a lot of crossover. Nevertheless, the waits on this list aren’t only due to sparse seating or questionable infrastructure (one place only takes reservations over the phone): the food is pretty darn excellent.

A few destinations, like Chicago and Spain’s Catalonia region, are host to multiple restaurants on this list. You’ll find that there is a surprising lack of restaurants in Paris or the United Kingdom on this list, but that is because the main contenders — Yam'Tcha in Paris and The Fat Duck in Bray — are temporarily closed for renovation or relocation. You’ll also be surprised at the absence of New York City institution Rao’s, where you can only secure a table if you either very famous or friends of the owners. Due to this level of exclusivity, we concluded that Rao’s is more of a dinner club than a restaurant. That’s good news for you, because it means that, as hard as the restaurants on this list are to get into, they all actually want you there. It is not impossible.

We refrained from ranking these restaurants, because the waiting times are often variable, and getting lucky is certainly not unheard of. Even fully booked restaurants like Next and Tickets offer last minute seating, not unlike a Broadway play. Another way experiencing these restaurants is not unlike a Broadway play? Each of them offers a unique and dazzling culinary experience.

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