Only been to one place that was quite serious about reservations - sushi place in Tokyo. I can appreciate why; if there are only 7 total seats, one single no show is a pretty dramatic percentage loss in revenue!

The increasing prices option is a non-starter for me, on what's probably already an expensive bill. +14% to guard against one no-show? +28% to guard against a couple not showing up? No thanks. Between a call back or giving them your CC information in advance so they can charge you for a no show, I'm actually not sure which I'd prefer (particularly in the case of traveling internationally.) Pros and cons to both.

Either way, I really don't see a call back to confirm as "bad manners."