Can you tell me about using "The Fork" for reserving and savings?
 

I have not used this and have seen comments about the savings. I went to the site and it appears there are different offers for different restaurants. Do you reserve and the discount is simply taken off the bill?
Any info is appreciated.

I've used it quite a lot and they just deduct the discount right off the bill. It's often significant (as I mentioned on the other thread). Be sure you use your account and tell them your name when you arrive. Other places I've gotten good discounts for include Les Ombres.

Some of my local places I don't use The Fork because I hate taking advantage of the discount. Probably dumb, huh?

Yes, that's how it works. We just got back from Paris and used The Fork / La Fourchette a half dozen times. It made it easy to reserve without wrestling with French on the phone. Twice the bill was presented without the discount but a polite reminder to the waiter got a new bill with the right amount. Just recognize that the discount does not apply if you use a discounted formula (what the French call a "menu") (The menu is "la carte" which leads to the English "a la carte.") The Fork does not give a discount to every place.

Also note that only diners who have eaten at a restaurant can leave a review on the Fork. I found using Chrome and Google Translate was helpful. And attempts to reserve at the last moment failed. so I think there may be a time cutoff.

Is the account your email address?

And thank you both for the comments. Belinds, I understand about not using it at some local places.

Yes, your email address. I just looked at my account to see and noticed I have 1800 yums. Only 200 more yums (2 bookings) and I get 25 euro off! Maybe I'm shooting myself in the foot to not book at those local places. :-)

I didn't know about the yums. Yes, you might be :)

I used it a few times and it worked just fine with the discount, etc.

Belinda I thought you had one primary yum in Paris. Non?

You are such a clever boy. C'est vrai.

We've used it on occasion and had no problem re the discount. When the check was presented the discount was there.

I tried to make a reservation through them last night in Pamplona. No matter what time or number of persons I selected, it would not go through, kept getting an error message.

Walked to the restaurant anyway and plenty of tables were available!

Some restaurants require you to take what they give you - a discounted menu, for example, which you might not want.

You can order a la carte, if you wish, but will not get the discount.

I now rarely use la Fourchette or the Fork (which is now owned by Trip Advisor). Most of the "discounts" really are not. Typically the discounts do nothing more than extend the <i>menu</i> options. It can also lock you into an option you or others at your table really do not want

I prefer to call directly when reserving but some restaurants do offer discounts not otherwise available. Having a free account with them is probably a good idea.

I don't mind paying for food in restaurants I like to go to.
If I just want to pay for 2 courses, instead of 3, this is what I do.
It's not rocket science.

The restaurants in Paris that gave us discounts through The Fork all had the requirement that the already discounted menus were not further discounted, only giving a discount for items from the carte and only if at least two courses were ordered. Wine was never discounted. And in the one case where we tried to reserve for a time an hour or so away, the system refused to present the confirmation page. Another restaurant had a notice that reservations for the same day had to be made by phone, not by The Fork.

How much is the discount?

The discounts vary from restaurant to restaurant. Go to the website and see what discounts they are offering.

Thanks..I took a look at Oviedo, where I will be for 4 nights next month. But none of the places I have on my list are participating. I gather that this is not for people who want to plan where they will eat based on things other than the discount. In other words, if one has a list of a few restaurants of interest, chances may not be great that they will be on the Fork list. But if you don't care all that much and are just out for a discount, it seems like it is a good site to know about.

I ama going to check NYC next. I would not feel off using it in my home city...

I just signed up and used the Fork in Rome a few days ago. They offered 20% discount at the 7 p.m. time slot, which is early for Romans but worked great for me as I was solo at this point and walking home alone so wanted to get in and out early in the evening.

When il conto came, the 20% discount was noted in red and deducted from the total. I actually ordered dessert (unusual for me--a cannoli at the rec of the waiter) to balance out getting a discount and being light fare!!

The Fork allowed reservations at participating restaurants that did not give discounts. When discounts were offered, they ranged from 20% to 50%. I did notice that the 40% and 50% discounts were at restaurants that seemed overpriced without the discount, while the 20% and no discount restaurants seemed fairly priced.

I don't use The Fork primarily for the discounts. When there is a discount available, that's a bonus. I have found interesting restaurants using the website that I might not have tried otherwise.

I just typed my address in with next Tuesday's date and got over 100 restaurant options. Three were my regular neighborhood cafes, where I really don't book ahead anyway.

There seem to be two primary automated reservations systems in Paris; the Fork and then ZenChef. The latter usually is initiated by the restaurant's website reservation link. You get an instant notification that you'll hear back within 24 hours if your reservation is confirmed. You usually get another reminder by email the day of the reservation and a request for a review after.

Making reservations online is easy if you're booking before arriving in Paris and if you're not particularly comfortable calling a restaurant and reserving in French. I would imagine the restaurants like these systems as well.

In the US I use opentable.com all the time. I also use it in London and have precooked 3 restaurants for my trip there in a couple of weeks.

I think you might have meant "prebooked" instead of precooked...

you're right, of course

I think most restaurants prefer that you book directly so they do not have to pay these third-party sites. Although if they pay per month or per year, and not per reservation, I guess it would not matter. I do know that most places will not put all their tables on OpenTable, so it pays to phone if you do not see your preferred time slot.

I like booking directly with the restaurant, or with OpenTable, since that allows me to ask for preferred seating. If the place in city not my own has no online site, I ask the hotel to book for me.

We got a nice discount(30%?) in Manosque last week.

Neither TripAdvisor nor Fourchette show ALL restaurants. We ate at Longchamp in listless...sorgue last week, and it didn't not sow on the map of French food restaurants. We enjoyed the joule de porch nevertheless.

Really liked the convenience of using The Fork prior to our trip to Madrid. Made a reservation for the night we wanted with out having to deal with the language barrier or long distance phone call.

Most restaurants and cafes do not subscribe to either LaFourchette or OpenTable, due to cost concerns.
It must be a pain to have to deal with discounts and customers who don't understand the principle.

It is convenient for touristy restaurants, when people do not speak the language, though.

Thanks to all. The comments are very helpful.