French Laundry Restaurant
 

Is there a way to obtain restaurants at French Laundry? Donna

I think you meant &quot;reservations&quot;. I'm afraid the short answer to your question is &quot;NO!&quot;. Of course you can just try calling over and over again day and night trying to get through starting about 6 months or so ahead of the date you want to go. <BR><BR>But according to posts here the easiest ways might be to do one of the following:<BR>1) Offer your first born child<BR>2) Camp on their doorstep until they open and hold the reservations clerk at gunpoint until he or she promises you a reservation.<BR>3) Have your good friend Jack Nicholson or Julia Roberts call for you.<BR>4) Cut their phone line, then appear in person and offer to repair the phones after they promise you a reservation.<BR>

Donna,<BR>The French Laundry takes reservations starting two months prior to the date you would like to eat there. The telephone number is (707)944-2380. Since it is so popular, it is hard to get through on the phone and reservations go fast. Dinners (excluding wine) are about $105-120. Good luck. If you can get in, it is IMHO well worth it.

Wow, for $120, wine (and tips?) excluded I'd learn how to cook!!

A pilgrimage to French Laundry is primarily for impossible foodies like moi, food snobs, and trendoids. The food is very complex and not everyone's cup of tea. I do not mean this to be demeaning. Food at French Laundry is an art. This is like dining at a 3 star Michelin restaurant in France. It is food as art and food as communication. Actually, contrary to my name, I do not live for these places. If you have never been to a premier restaurant and can afford to do so, it is a once in a lifetime experience. You'll have to plan ahead or stay at a premier hotel that has a concierge that works miracles. <BR><BR>If you are not put off by these comments, French Laundry may be for you.

I have not eaten there personally but have talked to people who have and the common opinion is that the food is good/great, small protions, overpriced with long, drawn out service. The first thing one does upon leaving the premises is stop by MacDonalds to satisfy the hunger.

Donna<BR>Eating at the French Laundry is a true experience if you like outstanding food. The Chef is considered one of the best in the US. The meals are very unique, excellently prepared, combining great dishes with fantastic presentation and very good, but unobtrusive service. If you are the type of person who really enjoys fine dining, you will love the French Laundry. For someone who thinks McDonalds or Burger King make a great burger, or someone who thinks that a great meal is an all you can eat smorgy, I really doubt they would enjoy it, and they would be wasting their money to go there. As the old saying goes, to each his own.

I do think it is worth it if this kind of experience is something you are into.<BR>I thought the food was delicious and although the portions are small, you do not leave hungry. Patrick is right on how to make reservations. Start the morning with your call and put your phone on redial. You have to call two months to the day from the day/evening you want to make reservations for. Of LilMsFoodie's description of FL folk I am probably a foodie(I like a good burger joint evey now and then)..and I thought the whole experience was grand!

I thought they did lunch only Friday-Saturday-Sunday?No?

You can also put your name on the waiting list, I did this when I knew I would be in town, and they called my hotel the day before I wanted to dine there and we set up a res for the next night. Someone had cancelled, so here is another way to get &quot;inside&quot;.

I've read this post a few times and I have one question. Where is this restaurant? Just curious.

Yountville,heart of Napa Country

I just read that the French Laundry is going to reserve some tables for on line booking--something like 2 per night. It is another way to try. We usually stop by when we are in the area (which is frequently) and try to make a reservation for any available date--fortunately we can go whenever we can get a reservation.

This all sounds like a hassle to me. Made me scratch this off my list for good.

me too Bob, and I consider myself a &quot;foodie&quot;.......nothing is that great!<BR><BR>There are 3 other restaurants in the same area that are excellent.

Corina: which are....?

OK, Cornina, you're going to earn the award for cruelty of the year if you don't spill the beans. What was the point of mentioning there are 3 great restaurants without giving their names?

Add me to the people who beleive that the French Laundry is worth every penny. We ate there in May and it was the finest dining experience my wife and I have ever had. Truly a memorable dinner. We would not dine there every night, but for one night every three or four years, we certainly would.<BR><BR>For my wife and I, dining is entertainment. We are like PamSF, not a connoisseur, just enjoy good food. Would you spend $300 per ticket for front row seats to a Lakers playoff game or to an original production of The Producers? If so, you understand why people pay that much to dine at the French Laundry.<BR><BR>Anybody who went to McDonalds after dining at the French Laundry either has an overactive metabolism or needs to lose weight. I was stuffed, and I am 6', 215 lbs.<BR><BR>The wait list is a good idea. Sometimes, people cancel the last minute. Amazingly, sometimes they don't show up despite the hassle of getting the reservation. Another suggestion is to make reservations for lunch instead of dinner.<BR><BR>For those of you who have scratched the French Laundry off your to do list, remember as Plutach said &quot;The best things are the most difficult.&quot;

Right in Yountville, the 3 others that leap to mind and are close by the FL are Napa Valley Grille, Bistro Jeanty, Bouchon's.<BR>While very nice, they are not the FL.<BR><BR>I'm STILL trying to get reservations there. You have to do it at least once.

I didn't mean to offend anyone.<BR><BR>No doubt about it, the French Laundry is definitely a cut above the rest and should be experienced at least once. I've eaten there 3 times (through some influential friends). <BR><BR>Personally IMHO, any restaurants that take more than 2 phone calls to obtain a reservation for, usually aren't worth it to me. There are just too many incredible restaurants w/fresh, young, innovative chefs in the Bay Area/Napa/Sonoma to experience (most of which have yet to be reviewed). <BR><BR>Donna - The FL will offer online booking through www.opentable.com . A table for 2 at 6:30pm and a table for 4 at 9:30pm each day. Two tables for lunch will be open Fri, Sat or Sun.<BR><BR>Yes Kal, you named 2 of my favorites....did you know that the Chef from NVG (after 9 yrs), has now opened his own restaurant at the location where LiveFire in Yountville used to be? Brochettes of pancetta wrapped quail &amp; sausage? Baby beet salad w/orange, fennel, endive, toasted pecans &amp; goat cheese fritters????? mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm<BR>

lol.....sorry forgot to mention the chef is Bob Hurley and the new restaurant is called &quot;Hurleys&quot;<BR><BR>Happy Eating!

dgordon: If you are a &quot;foodie&quot;, the effort is worth it. It is spectacular in preparation, presentation and palate pleasure. Thomas Keller, the owner and chef, is a genius and deserves the accolades he consistantly receives from the food world. You will spend three to four hours at the restaurant with refreshing pauses between courses. Perhaps you will stroll around the herb garden during one or more of these pauses. You will not go away hungry. The servings are small, but there are many of them in order to provide you with the experience intended. Get a reservation if you can. You won't regret it. If you have the flexability, getting on the wait-list for a cancellation is a good way to go. Good luck.

Great news. Open Table can now help with reservations at French Laundry:<BR><BR>http://www.opentable.com<BR><BR>I am still working on securing my first reservation... have been trying off and on for 6 months.

Corina, The Hostess @ Hurley's is named Katie and our server was Jorge!;-)<BR><BR>We ate there for our T'giving/Anniv. dinner and had a wunnerful meal. The calamari appetizer was as interesting as the baby beet dish you mentioned. Good wine list,too.<BR>We can't wait for the summer bike riding season to begin as it looks like they did a good job in opening up the patio area for cocktails and dining.<BR>Perfect &quot;cool down&quot; spot...much like the porches at Pacific Blues or Vintage 1870.<BR><BR>I mentioned this thread to Mrs Kal. She will be on the phone to the FL to find the next open reservation. Me and my big yap!<BR>Kal

awww Kal I should have known you already knew about Hurleys. <BR><BR>Your posts always put such a smile on my face :-)<BR><BR>Your Kauai advice made my last Kauai vacation (December), the absolute best.....and I've been there over 15 times. Thank you!<BR><BR>

Gee. Thx!<BR>And I got the waistline to prove it!<BR>The other place we like to eat at in Yountville is the old market up by Napa Grill, either Miller's or Gordon's. French country style restaurant. Excellent breakfasts, lunches breads, pastries, etc.<BR>Speaking of food and Kauai...lobster raviolis at Coconuts. Ooops. Better post that on &quot;foods that you can't get at home thread&quot; before I get Kauai-bashed again!<BR>Kal

We're also trying to get into the French Laundry for our 15th wedding anniversary. We booked a room at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and the concierge has us on their list for the day we want to eat there. Their concierge actually drives down to French Laundry when they open, to get the reservations (if they have available staff). So, that route might be an option for someone out there too. Good luck! We still don't have reservations either so I'm not sure it'll work...wish us luck too!

Been eyeing the French Laundry, but have never atttempted to dine there. I had no idea how hard it was to get in! After reading all the rave reviews here, I'm thinking of giving it a try since we live in the vicinity.

Actually I have it on good authority that they might have an opening at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, October 11, 2005.

No matter what the wait or cost, do it. We were there years ago and it's an experience that I'll never forget.<BR><BR>

Is the post about using Open Table a joke? I'm gullible and use that site so I just looked and I don't see anything there. I have a friend who is planning their trip around when they can get in to French Laundry! That's what I would do too!<BR><BR>Wendy

Open Table offers two tables a night at the French Laundry, one I believe at 5:30 and the other at 9:30. Check the Frech Laundry listing on their web site to be sure. Unfortunately, those tables disappear as soon as they become available each day.

I just found this thread. I tried to get reservations here a couple of years ago and missed by two days. I'm trying again for a birthday in May and will start calling in March to the day I want to dine there!! We stopped by and looked around last time we stayed in Yountville. I almost wept just being in the building. I hope we get in this year!

I thought La Toque would be one of those three places that might be comprable to the FL. There really is one one French Laundry!! ***kim***

I think you are too late. I believe that French Laundry is closed for a while. My understanding is that it closed after New Years and will remain so for four or five months. Keller is opening a restaurant in NYC and must be there to oversee its opening and make sure it runs as he wants.

My guess is that it is hugely booked for the rest of 2004 as foodies will be desparate after no Laundry for 4 or 5 months. LMF

I'm rolling laughing, LMF. &quot;desparate after no Laundry for 4 or 5 months&quot;. Sounds like me on a trip through Europe.

Thomas Keller will be opening a new restaurant in New York sometime in 2004 called Per Se which he has said will be identical food-wise to the French Laundry. It will be interesting to see, in this town where restaurant reservations are status symbols, if the reservation situation will be the same. It is opening in the new AOL Time Warner building in Columbus Circle, which will also have a Mandarin Oriental Hotel and restaurants by JeanGeorges Vongerichten and Masa Takayama.

Per Se will be opening next month in NYC. The website just says they will be opening in the Spring. That could mean March, April or May? It doesn't state a specific month.

We've been to Domaine Chandon, Terra, Tra Vigne, Auberge, Bistro Jeanty but really wanted to try FL this year. La Toque looks good, also. Anyone been there lately? ***kim***