How to Request a Specific Table When Booking OpenTable
If you enjoy a bite to eat, especially in big cities, OpenTable will quickly become your best friend. The app can help you quickly and easily book a table in a hot restaurant without picking up your phone (and inevitably being constantly on hold).
This week OpenTable introduced a new feature that makes it even better: place requests. With it, you can tell the restaurant when you book a table where you want to sit. You may not be able to choose your table in any particular location, but you can make special requests for things like outdoor seating or a place in a bar.
Unfortunately, not every restaurant offers this opportunity. Following its rollout last week, OpenTable reports that roughly a third of the restaurants on its platform are currently running.
If the restaurant offers alternative seating options, you will see a table icon on the restaurant’s profile page. When you go through the booking process, the app will ask you where you would like to sit.
Just like when you request an outdoor table over the phone, your request is still subject to availability, but it gives the restaurant information about what you want and you are more likely to have that perfect table when you arrive.