Whether you are traveling or not, arriving at a popular restaurant at the last minute can lead to a long wait. How many times have you waited for a table for more than 30 minutes? You can find yourself waiting in the cramped entry/lobby in the restaurant. You then realize that you get up every few minutes to check where you are on the waiting list. It is not a very pleasant way to begin a dining experience. I have great news! I will show you how to reduce your wait and the related frustration!

I am always looking for ways to help enhance my dining experiences to the five star level. My first goal is to reduce or eliminate any wait times before being seated. Having a reservation is key, especially in fine dining restaurants. There are phone apps that are available to assist you in making reservations.

The restaurant reservation app that I really enjoy is OpenTable! Download this free app onto your phone, and after a simple signup (email and password), you are ready to start making reservations. 

5StarTips🌟

How to use the OpenTable App

🌟 Once you sign in, you can search for a location. There is an option for “Near Me Now” which will give you a list of restaurants at or near your present location.

🌟 Scroll down the screen and you can also search by selecting a “Cuisines” type to find restaurants that are available with that criteria. 

🌟 Scrolling down further you will see the “Special Features” option. This allows for searching for more specific dining experiences which can include: Brunch, Romantic, Special Occasion, Outdoor Seating, etc. 

🌟 Once you have made your selection, restaurants will be offered with the dates and times that are open for reservations. I appreciate the five-star rating system as well. There are $ signs to indicate the average expense of a meal on a 1 to 4 scale. The app offers maps, directions, and other information about the restaurant’s location.

🌟 There are several other perks to the app that I have found to be very helpful. When you are making a reservation, you have the option to add additional personal information. For example, this could include a special occasion that you are celebrating or food allergies. Also, there are times that I am looking for a window seat and type in this request (please note: often the restaurant will not guarantee a seating request, but most do their best to accommodate). 

Dining Reward Program🌟

I use this app for reservations for most of my dining experiences. The other benefit to using this app, that few are aware of, is the loyalty reward dining program. The average restaurant earns 100 points for a reservation made with the app. However, there are restaurants available that can earn up to 1,000 points. When making a reservation, the points you will earn are displayed. 

I used the OpenTable reservations for a party of six at the beautiful Fairmont Olympic restaurant in Seattle, Washington

After you have earned a certain number of dining points, you will be able to redeem them for a Dining Reward. The rewards are Dining Rewards gift card (dollars to spend toward another Open Table dining experience) or an Amazon gift card. I earned $50 dollars last month, to use toward my next OpenTable reservations dining experience. This is a great benefit for a free app!!

Final Thoughts:🌟

There are so many great advantages to using this app. Not only do you have the convenience of having reservations available at your fingertips, the app offers a plethora of additional information about the restaurants. This includes menus, directions, sending email reservations to others, reviews, hours of operation, parking information, and dress code suggestions. The app is very well designed, and I have found it to be an excellent tool to making a restaurant reservation an Always5Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 experience! Cheers to you enjoying the OpenTable app! 

Enjoying the Ritz Carlton Montreal restaurant with champagne! Cheers!

I was not compensated in any way for this post. My opinions are completely my own and are based on my experiences which I paid for entirely myself.

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