Photo Credit: Reality Technology Review
Ever since moving to Chicago, I am totally dumbfounded by how long it takes to eat at some of Chicago’s best restaurants. I never heard of needing to wait up to 3 months just to get in somewhere!
Whether it’s Girl & The Goat, Siena Tavern or one of Chicago’s other ultra exclusive and hard to get into restaurants, I have 5 easy ways that can help you skip the line and dine at these restaurants any time you’d like!
1. Eat at the Bar/Lounge: One of the easiest ways to eat at any popular restaurant is to sneak in and grab a table at the bar or in their lounge. I discovered this trick one night at Girl and The Goat (it can take up to 4 months to nab a table at this Chicago hot spot).
To make a long story short, I had just moved to Chicago and was actually heading over to another restaurant on Randolph Street (that doesn’t take reservations) and they told us it would be an hour wait. We decided to head over to Girl and The Goat and just pop in and grab a drink while we waited. When we sat down in the lounge, the server came over and asked if I wanted any food. BINGO! I knew I had hit a goldmine. Here I was, able to order food at a restaurant that most people wait months to get into.
To be honest, since I discovered this, I hardly ever make reservations anymore, because I prefer the ambience of the lounges more! Oh…and I never ended up going back to that other restaurant with the wait.
2) Tweet the restaurant: Don’t like eating in the lounge area? No problem! There are other things you can do to help get you a table at a booked restaurant. Tip #2 is try tweeting them! Almost every single restaurant has a person (or team) dedicated to help build their brand via social media. I’ve found on multiple occasions that if you tweet the restaurant last minute for a table, they are likely to help you out.
For example, last month, my sister decided to make a last minute trip into Chicago to visit me. She said she was dying to try Sunda and asked if we could go. Since Sunda’s wait list for a weekend table usually goes out a couple of weeks, I got a little worried I wasn’t going to be able to take her. I decided to take to twitter and tweet them.
I said “I want to go to @Sunda on fri@ 9:30 but it’s booked for 6ppl. Sisters in town and wants to try! Can u help?”
Within minutes I got a response saying I was all set for Friday night. I can’t promise this will work every time, but it hasn’t failed me yet and to be honest, it never hurts to ask! Most restaurants hold a couple of tables every night in case a high profile person (celebrity or big spender) wants to dine there, so why not let them give one of those tables to you?!
3) Check out Open Table Day Of: Open Table is my dining best friend. If you aren’t using it, start! Not only do you get gift certificates good at almost ANY restaurant just for making a reservation through them, but it makes the entire reservation process super simple.
A lot of times, people will make reservations months in advance for these places, forget about them and end of having to cancel last minute because they forgot. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve checked Open Table the day of and seen prime time tables available at some of the most difficult restaurants to get into!
4) Dine on a weekday or off peak time: I promise that you will be able to eat at almost any restaurant in the city if you’re willing to eat at 4:30 or 11:00 on a weekday. I know it seems like a strange time to eat, but honestly, if you want to go that bad, it’s a GREAT solution.
Usually, I will catch a movie at like 8 and head over to the restaurant after for a late dinner. Or if you like to head to sleep early, have a late breakfast and do an early dinner one night!
5) Get Takeout: If all else fails and you are just dying to try the food, order takeout! Most people forget that you can do that (even at nice restaurants). Last weekend, I was craving rock shrimp tempura from Sunda and decided instead of fighting the crowd, I’d just order it to go!
So those are my 5 tips! I challenge all my readers to pick one of the places on their “dining bucket list” and try to get in tonight!
Love always,
Erica
