Originally Posted by USAFAN
They are now at the Ferry building. I tried to make a reservation for 5/14 or 5/15. No chance!
One day we will go to Betelnut, and we need a recommendation for a good Italian, Californian, French, Mediterranean restaurant. We like bistro style.
How are ANTICA TRATTORIA or CHEZ PAPA (area?!?)?
When I lived in The Marina neighborhood, which was just down the street from Cow Hollow, where Betelnut is located, we never made reservations and always got a table every weekend when we dined there. The trick was to simply show up when the restaurant opened for a very early dinner. I've found that this has worked for us 99% of the time, even with the most popular San Francisco restaurants.
Chez Papa, in Potrero Hill, is quite popular at the moment and evening reservations are quite difficult to come by, unless you are willing to eat after 9:30 pm. Simply arrive for an early supper and you'll probably get in between 5 - 5:30 pm. It has worked for us on our last 5 trips to Chez Papa without a reservation.