On the New York restaurant landscape, one thing that’s for sure: there will always be a handful of restaurants where getting a table is about as likely as the Olive Garden in Times Square getting a Michelin star. These hard-to-get reservations are always changing too.
Some New Yorkers are all in, treating the reservation game like it’s a death sport for social media self-affirmation. Whether you want to partake in this Big Apple culinary contest or you actually want to, say, try the food at a buzzy restaurant, it can be frustrating. With that in mind, here are the hardest tables to nab in New York right now, along with some advice on how to actually get your foot in the door or where to go when you just finally have given up.
If You Want to Go to 4 Charles Prime Rib…
There are just 32 seats at this diminutive, quasi-sub-terrestrial meat mecca. And since it first fired up the grill in 2016, it has not gotten any easier to get in the door. Reservations are released at 9 a.m., 21 days in advance. But it’s not that simple. The restaurant has essentially made it nearly impossible for ordinary people to eat there.
For starters, the system gives preferences to guests who have already eaten there, and yes, they have a list. Secondly, like all restaurants on Resy, further preference is given to those with an American Express Platinum Card since AmEx owns Resy, one of the most popular online restaurant reservation platforms in the United States.
The other option is to get in line. Monday to Thursday, 4 Charles opens at 4 p.m. and the staff starts culling line queuers’ information at 3:45 p.m., taking cell phone numbers. The restaurant serves lunch starting at noon on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and yes, the lines start well before opening.
On several occasions I’ve turned up at 11 a.m. on a Friday, one hour before opening, only to find there was already a line of 15 people deep. So, if somehow you don’t feel like you can live without eating at 4 Charles, get in line two or three hours before. I won’t be there; I’ve given up. 4 Charles St., West Village, nycprimerib.com
Alternative: Minetta Tavern, located on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village, has a similar vibe, is slightly more accessible, and arguably makes a better burger than 4 Charles. For easiest access, sit at the bar. 113 MacDougal St., West Village, minettatavernny.com
If You Want to Go to Ambassadors Clubhouse…
From the restaurant group that brought us the fabled Gymkhana, a London restaurant focusing on northern Indian cuisine, comes Ambassadors Clubhouse. Located in NoMad, the restaurant’s menu focuses on dishes from Punjab. When the first two weeks of reservations were released, the place was fully booked within seconds.
Reservations drop on Resy two weeks out and word on the street is that they’re going to change that to one month in advance at some point. The restaurant allows potential diners to join their “Priority Access” list which alerts members when there is a new batch of reservations released. 1245 Broadway, NoMad, ambassadorsclubhouse.com
Alternative: Kashi, located in downtown Brooklyn, has a menu of Northern Indian dishes, including a fair amount from Punjab. Never mind that the restaurant’s name is the nickname for Varanasi, the most holy Hindu city in India, known more for openly cremating bodies on the banks of the Ganges River than cooking edible food. 286 Livingston St., Downtown Brooklyn, kashiny.com
If You Want to Go to Bong…
There are not many restaurants representing Cambodian fare in New York City. When a restaurant opens up that’s as good as Bong, it makes it even harder to get a seat at one of the seven tables inside the Crown Heights hot spot.
So what’s a Southeast Asian food lover to do? Reservations open 20 days in advance at midnight. With so few spots, walking in and getting a table might be tough, though the restaurant did recently add a short counter for walk-ins. In the warm-weather months, there is outdoor seating in the back. So if your palate is craving Cambodian, there’s hope. 724 Sterling Pl., Crown Heights, Brooklyn, bongnyc.com
Alternative: Bayon in Manhattan is a good option if you can’t get into Bong, though you do have quite the trek from Brooklyn to the Upper East Side. 408 E. 64th St., Upper East Side, bayonnyc.com
If You Want to Go to Bistrot Ha…
When Sadie Mae Burns and Anthony Ha opened up Ha’s Snack Bar on the Lower East Side in late 2024, it was an instant hit thanks to the couples’ inventive take on blending French and Vietnamese cuisines. It was also instantly difficult to get a table at. But then the couple doubled down and opened up Bistrot Ha a year later, serving up elevated takes on Gallic-Viet fare. And, to no one’s surprise, it’s nearly impossible to eat here.
The menu changes often and they don’t have a website, so you never know what you’re going to get. Reservations are released six days out at midnight. Bistrot Ha opens at 5:30 p.m., so if you want to try to nab one of the dozen tables via walk-in, plan on getting there an hour before opening to wait in line. 137 Eldridge St. Lower East Side, no website
Alternative: The only restaurant in New York vaguely similar is Bistrot Ha’s sibling Ha’s Snack Bar. Luckily, it’s easier to get a table here than it used to be. 297 Broome St., Lower East Side, no website
If You Want to Go to Bungalow…
Indian food is having a moment in New York City. Thanks to Pangat, Kanyakumari, Jazba, and the Unapologetic Food Group’s eateries (Semma, Adda, Dhamaka, and Masalwala & Sons), there’s never been a better time to eat serious Indian fare in the Big Apple. Bungalow is huge part of this phenomenon, evidenced by the fact that since it opened in March 2024, it’s been extremely difficult to eat there.
Reservations drop 20 days in advance at 11 a.m. If that doesn’t work, you can walk in and if you’re open to sitting at the bar (always a good option for parties of one or two), the space only takes walk-ins and the full menu is available. 24 1st Ave., East Village, bungalowny.com
Alternative: Located just a short walk from Bungalow, is Ishq, serving up modern takes on Indian fare. 202 Avenue A, East Village, ishq.nyc
If You Want to Go to Polo Bar…
Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar has been nearly impossible to get into since the day it opened over 10 years ago. That is, unless you’re a New York “it” girl or boy or an A-list celebrity. It’s basically a semi-private clubhouse for the rich and famous and the people who yearn to linger in the precious glow of privilege and entitlement.
If you really want to get in, it takes a bit of old-school work: call 212-207-8562 at exactly 10 a.m. for a reservation 30 days out. What will likely happen is that you’ll be on hold for about an hour. When it’s your turn and there are still open tables, the reservationist will likely offer you a spot at 5pm or 10pm. Everything in between goes to the pampered and the privileged. 1 E. 55th St., Midtown East, ralphlauren.com/global-polo-bar
Alternative: Cecchi’s, located in Greenwich Village, has a similar clubhouse vibe with arguably better food than Polo Bar. 105 W. 13th St., cecchis.nyc
If You Want to Go to Rao’s…
It wasn’t always so hard to get into this East Harlem red sauce joint, but that was back in 1896 when Rao’s first fired up its pasta-boiling burners. For as long as anyone can remember, this has been the toughest table to nab in the country, if not one of the toughest on the planet. The reason: every table is “owned” by a regular, so you really do have to know someone. They don’t even take walk-ins.
Besides strategically seeking out and befriending a table owner, the only way to get in here involves a serious commitment and some potential liver damage along the way. Any ordinary person is allowed to sit at the diminutive bar and order a drink (and only drinks, food is only allowed for the reserved tables). If you appear at the bar enough times, smile enough, charm enough, someday you might be offered a table. But there is absolutely no guarantee of that. 455 E. 114th St., Harlem, raossince1896.com
Alternative: You can’t throw a meatball in New York City without hitting an Italian restaurant, we even have a list of some quality red sauce joints here, which all act as great alternatives to Rao’s. The other option is to go to the Rao’s outlets in Miami and, strangely enough, St. Andrews in Scotland. But let’s be honest, we all know that exported New York restaurants are never as good as the original.
If You Want to Go to Tatiana…
Tatiana has been one of the hottest tables since it first opened in Lincoln Center in November, 2022, and it has hardly cooled off. Chef Kwame Onwuachi’s New York-and-Creole-inspired Caribbean fare is certainly worthy of all the buzz. But how to nab a table? At noon, 28 days in advance, new reservations drop on Resy. But if those are gone, you can show up before opening time at 5 p.m. and beg. Or grab a seat at the six-stool bar, which is open to walk-ins as long as you’re a party of two or fewer. 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, Upper West Side, tatiananyc.com
Alternative: There are some great new-ish Caribbean spots in New York, such as Kabawa, but it’s not a piece of Caribbean-style rum cake to get in there either. So, try Markette in Chelsea where chef India Doris cooks up London-inspired Caribbean fare with a flare. 326 7th Ave., Chelsea, marketterestaurant.com
If You Want to Go to The Eighty-Six…
Brought to you by other impossible-to-get-into, see-and-be-seen restaurants Corner Store and Or’esh, The Eighty-Six is a steakhouse at 86 Bedford St. in the West Village. It once housed the legendary speakeasy and now shuttered Chumley’s where the term “86” apparently originated. If you like dining with celebrities and can’t get a reservation (they’re on the new DoorDash reservation app), arrive at 4:30 p.m. and put your name in. They also reserve some bar seating for walk-ins. 86 Bedford St. West Village, the86.nyc
Alternative: Opened in Summer 2025 near Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, Dynamo Room excels at non-mainstream cuts of steak and has one of the best burgers around, finished off at the table by pouring beef jus over it. 2 Pennsylvania Plaza, Midtown, thedynamoroom.com
If You Want to Go to Una Pizza Napoletana…
Often named as the best pizzeria in the United States, 52-seat Una Pizza Napoletana has been wowing New York palates for years with bulbous, cartoonish-looking Neapolitan-style pies. The rub is that the place is very popular and it’s only open Thursday through Saturday. If you’re a walk-in, they prohibit you from eating pizza, as would-be reservation-less diners are only allowed to consume drinks and dessert.
When Una Pizza first opened at this location, you could sit at the bar and order from the menu but you were not allowed to order pizza there. These days the bar is reserved for Tavola, an expensive (and always booked) chefs’ table of sorts. Resy drops its open tables at 9 a.m. every day for two weeks in advance. Similar to 4 Charles, your best bet is to give up and go to an alternative, which may be even better, with fewer weird restrictions punishing walk-ins. 175 Orchard St., Lower East Side, unapizza.com
Alternative: There are a handful of better-than-average Neapolitan pizzerias in New York City. Two of the best are Don Antonio in Hell’s Kitchen and Song‘ E Napule in Greenwich Village, where the pizzaiolos are actually from Naples.
