While I’m in a ranty mood, let me also give kudos (or lack of) to restaurants that won’t accept reservations (either all the time, or only on Friday and Saturday nights specifically).
Reason for reserving? My mum’s birthday. My parents are in town, as are relatives from Ontario, and family from deepest darkest Surrey are also coming out to celebrate. Can I book a table for 8? Apparently not.
First up - The Keg. They are unable to take a booking as it’s first come first served. It’d be really nice in an ideal world to head to Granville Island where you have a table booked around 7ish, have a wicked good steak, probably some desert, let the booze flow, then head to Theatre Sports for some comedy afterwards. But no, they don’t take reservations. And after explaining the situation, people flying in from everywhere etc, hoping to maybe, just maybe, score a bit of sympathy (and a table), I get told that no, people would be screaming if that happened. Uh.. why? Why can’t you manage your place well enough to reserve a couple of tables at a given time? A short (5 to 10 minute) wait would be acceptable, but turning up with 8 people at once, anyone want to take bets on how long it would take to get a table? In fact, if anyone wants to be part of a scientific experiment where we test this out, drop me a line and we’ll do it!
Second up - Moxies. The one on Bute at Robson. They don’t take reservations on Fridays or Saturdays. Despite having “The Boardroom” - a nice little private room that would be perfect for our group, it’s a no go. The girl helpfully advises me to try Broadway or West Georgia. Gee thanks, love.. much obliged..
The girl at Moxies on West Georgia sorted me out properly.. I have a reservation, they’ll probably call me on the day or the day before to confirm, they have my mobile number, it’s all good.. So that’s nice.. it’s just a bit of a hike from my place. The alternative would be a table at Earls which is round the corner from my place. Might still be worth checking out. But “Fuck, Honestly!” - it shouldn’t be this hard. What’s wrong with these places that they can’t manage their tables, deal with reservations etc? And I’d be fine with a “if you’re not here within 15 minutes of the booked time, your table’s gone” policy - it would seem only fair.
So.. dinner for 8, some time towards the end of the month.. who’s in?
