San Francisco - French Laundry - reservations?

What's the best way to get reservations at French Laundry??? I've been there several times, but only was a tag-along.

I have a friend who wants to have a family dinner there next year for her husband's 70th birthday. (No, I am not invited! :( ) They only accept reservations 2 months in advance.

Is Open Table the best chance? Or, should she do a spa trip to Napa two months ahead of time ... and get up early and stand at their front door when they open?

Has anyone heard anything about the best way to get in there?

I believe they have a phone line for reservations that only is on for a few minutes until they fill the reservations allotment. I took my wife to Napa for her birthday in June and the concierge at the place we stayed tried for a month to get me a reservation and could not get one. It is extremely hard to secure a reservation. The good news is there are a ton of great places to eat in the Napa area.

If you don't know anybody in the area who can get you a reservation, the next best thing is opentable. Have you seen this tip page on getting reservations? It's a couple of years old, but may still apply

http://www.thesandersens.com/res/forum/read.php?4,5

I don't believe they take walk up reservations, but do take phone ones. You need to call at like 9:59 (am) two months (calendar date) and will probably get a recording, they open at 10:00. Keep trying over and over again with the million other people trying to reach them at 10:00. I believe the Open Table reservations open up at midnight PST for the tables they have two months in advance. A few years ago a blog posted the only chance of opentable success was if you clicked the submit button at 11:59:56, the four seconds it took for them to check for the availability would get you in at exactly midnight. If you are going for an evening meal, use 7:15 as the requested time, it will check for both the early and late table for you. Only two tables are made available per day via opentable for dinner. I don't know about lunch, and don't think anything but a table of four will get through for you.

Good luck, but again remember your chances are much better if you have somebody with an in like a concierge trying for you. The Concierges can go 90 days out.

If the family party is eight or ten people (not sure of the exact number) they can make reservations up to a year in advance if they book it as a private party, contact info on the website.

...and don't think anything but a table of four will get through for you.


2 is much harder than 4.

I believe they have a phone line for reservations that only is on for a few minutes until they fill the reservations allotment. I took my wife to Napa for her birthday in June and the concierge at the place we stayed tried for a month to get me a reservation and could not get one. It is extremely hard to secure a reservation. The good news is there are a ton of great places to eat in the Napa area.

You just have to time it 2 months to the day that you want to eat. Then call up immediately when the reservation line opens. It's like the days when you'd call into a radio show trying to win free tickets.

The key is to be somewhat flexible. Looking for a res on a specific night is almost a sure no go. There are often reservations available on other nights, however, due to cancellations. I got mine about six weeks out. (of course, that doesn't mean the meal was worth the effort, but that's another story altogether)

And I think I read somewhere that Opentable only gets one table a day.

Do you have an Amex plat? The concierge has a special relationship with certain restaurants. I've used this at Per Se and del Posto in the past. I know FL participates...,

FDW

My friend called and make a "group" reservation for 12 people. She decided that paying for 4 extra but unplanned friends was worth not having to worry about getting a reservation for a smaller group exactly 2 months in advance!

Do you have an Amex plat? The concierge has a special relationship with certain restaurants. I've used this at Per Se and del Posto in the past. I know FL participates...,

FDW

^

I used Amex Plat to reserve a table at the FL in September, 2011. I called the Amex concierge in June. They took care of the rest.

Was it really worth it? I've heard mixed reviews. There are plenty of other places to eat in Napa without the headache. People love his Ad Hoc restaurant too.

Was it really worth it? I've heard mixed reviews. There are plenty of other places to eat in Napa without the headache. People love his Ad Hoc restaurant too.

That is a totally different experience (i.e., nice casual). Ad Hoc was the only one of his restaurants I really liked. There were no expectations, and it was quite casual. Bouchon was such a dud years ago that I never returned. Bouchon Bakery is ok, but not worth the line.

I thought TFL was a big disappointment. My table of 4 had the same general conclusion. It was a pleasant meal, with impeccable service. I did not have a single "wow" bite from any course. If it was half the price, I'd say it was worth it. But it is one of those places that if you never go, you'll always wish you went, and there is no real substitute. Now, I've been, and if someone wants to take me back someday, that will be fine. But I cannot see myself paying for another meal there. That isn't to say that the day before and the day after couldn't have had "meals of a lifetime." But we didn't. Honestly, a meal at the original Michael Mina (in its early days) and the SF Ritz Carlton Dining Room (neither of which are available anymore) blew TFL out of the water.

Chefs with empires are rarely your chef when you eat. Keller has a camera in TFL kitchen so he can watch the Per Se kitchen, and vice versa, depending on where he might be. Whoop de doo. And no, I'm not bitter - I'd rather have loved my meal and have been eager to return, even at that price.

I heard similar recently from a friend. She just was underwhelmed for the price and her service was uneven. I think it is one of those restaurants that might have been better at the beginning.

There were so many problems with our experience at TFL that we were sent a full refund with a personal letter of apology from TK. And the refund included the cost of wine.

There were so many problems with our experience at TFL that we were sent a full refund with a personal letter of apology from TK. And the refund included the cost of wine.
Wow - that bad. So what happened?

Wow - that bad. So what happened?

It has been a while and I don't remember everything. I was there with my husband and we had a table right next to a large group that was clearly connected somehow to the restaurant based on the special courses that were coming out. The table was loud and drunk when we arrived and they continued serving them the entire time we were there. By the end of the meal they were far worse. One knocked a chair on us in the middle of dinner.

That, and there were several courses that misfired, including some overcooked fish. I can accept a misfire or three at $130 but at $250+ it should be perfect.

By the end of the meal both of us felt as if someone had just killed Santa. My husband sent in a note, and they sent us an apology letter and some cookies, but it was addressed to someone else. We, of course, sent it back (the letter, not the cookies), and that's when the refund and personal apology letter came. We never asked for a refund, and it was probably overkill to send it, so I suspect that we were not the only table with issues that night.

I've heard great things about meals there from other people I trust, so I suspect we just got it on a bad night. Still, at that price point they should never have a bad night.

Oddly enough, this was when Corey Lee was in the kitchen there, and we have since had one of the best meals of our lives at his new restaurant Benu.

My wife and I went to TFL in August 2007 and were blown away. Maybe it had something to do with TK being in da house (wife says she spotted him). We've always wanted to go back, but some of the reviews above are giving me pause.

The problem with The French Laundry is that it has become a place on people's must do before I die lists. So many of the people who eat there have never eaten in other 3 star restaurants, let alone 1 or 2 star restaurants. They go for the scene and not to devote themselves to enjoyment of the food. This affects the whole atmosphere of the place and changes it - for the worse in my view. Add that to the fact that the chef is often not present and you reach a point where disappointments will become commonplace.

TFL has held on to its third star for 2012 but it's only a matter of time and Michelin is notably slow to promote or demote. However, it has dropped down to number 56 in the world for 2011 in the San Pellegrino awards from its regular top three spot.

None of which is to say that it won't be the most amazing experience. But it is to say that you can get an equally amazing experience, and equally amazing food, at several other restaurants in wine country. So, if you cannot get a reservation, try elsewhere.

We just got back from French Laundry this past weekend. We were able to get reservations via the Visa Signature concierge.
We tried calling and Open Table and were not able to get through, but surprisingly our Visa Signature concierge was able get us a table for 2!

I posted full review here (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/san-francisco/1292735-french-laundry-dinner-lots-pics.html)

In general, food was good, with some excellent dishes, however, the price was just astronomical.

We've frequented a couple other 1 or 2 star Michelin star restaurants before, but the price here is at least double.

We're glad we tried but probably would not go back due to the price - but it's definitely a place to try once for the experience!