Hi all! My husband and I are taking our first ever trip to NYC the week of Christmas. When I called to make reserations at Oscar's for Christmas Day, I was told that none were available, yet Open Table showed available seats. I have never used Open Table before, so I'm confused. Do I go by the phone call or the website?

Can you tell I'm new at this?

Thanks!

Go by Open Table and make the reservation. Print out your confirmation email if that makes you feel more comfortable. I've had the opposite happen where OT shows limited seating and when I got to the restaurant, it was half empty. They are not always in sync.

Another thing to do is after making the reservation on OT, call the restaurant the next day to confirm.

Hope this helps.

Well, it happens the other way around because a restaurant doesn't "release" all of its available tables to Open Table. It's very odd for an opening to show up on Open Table but the restaurant thinks they're full.

I would still try what CP suggested, but I would definitely call to confirm.

Print the Open Table confirmation and show up a little early.

A confirmation is a confirmation, so they have to find a table for you.

I use OpenTable ALL THE TIME..totally reliable..USE it.

Ditto Dukey!!!
Have belonged for years & never had a problem

I have had several situations where both have occurred-- called and couldn't get it and OT had a table. Not strange at all since they release some tables to OT, and I think that;s one of the perks of OT. Also has occurred- less often-- when OT says no table and I get a res through the phone.

I love Opentable. Never had a problem and seem to be treated better by the restaurant when using it.

I, too, use Open Table all the time, even here in my city. You accumulate points for a dining award.

Never had any problems. On busy nights such as Christmas and NYE restaurants may ask for a credit card to make the reservation.

The bigger issue is Oscar's is NOT where you want to go for Xmas. It's nothing but a glorified coffee shop and they will charge a fortune. There was a scathing review of it on tripadvisor that's been removed.

I use Zagat's for restaurant reviews.
I don't like Trip Advisors for some reason.

I don't want to pay for restaurant reviews, so Zagat is out for me

Until a couple of days ago, I had never looked at TA for restaurant reviews.
I had a look at Dallas restaurant called Al Beirnat's and 11 of the 13 'glowing' reviews were from the same person... and all anonymous.

Opentable.com has always worked well for me and I have used it for every critical client dinner I have ever planned. In fact, most of the restaurants I worked with even contacted me and made sure they understood the event, our needs, etc... a really nice plus!

I use it a lot and my experiences have been great. I am a "VIP" member, I guess because I've gained so many points there. Once we arrived and were asked to wait a few minutes, then two other couples came in, gave their names and times (the same time as our reservation) and got seated immediately. I asked the hostess why that was, and she said they had the best table, a corner by the water view, where the people were paying and they were trying to seat us there. When I asked why we were getting that table, she said, "Oh, it's your VIP Open Table". I've often thought we get preferential treatment that way.