reservation at tickets and waitlist?

[estnet]

I missed the 90 day mark and the concierge I was using is less than useless so... given my inadequate grasp of spanish. Is there any was to get on a waitlist? If there are cancellations do they show up on the web reservation or how does one find out?

[c oliver]

I've read that if you show up about 7/730, you can be seated. Our res was for then and there were a number of available spots at the bar and at tables.

[Rachelleny]

Thanks C Oliver - We are going to try that - although won't put too much faith in it as I've read that others have been turned away with empty tables. But already have reservation at Alkimia & awaiting several others, so I know we'll have a fabulous experience no matter what! Thanks again for replying!

[c oliver]

I read somewhere (yelp?) that they were seated about 7/730 with the proviso that they would need to be done by 915. They did finish up but would have liked more time but pleased that they got in. The 'ringmaster' the night we were there was super nice if that makes any difference. It IS such a fun experience besides the superb food. I'm threatening when we go back to Barcelona, I'll snag a res and THEN buy plane tickets :)

[Rachelleny]

Well, I didn't get a reservation at Tickets, but did get one for 41 at 19:30 our first night there - which is perfect as I'll be up at 4:30 that morn to leave London & my friend is getting in on the redeye from NY. Never mind the fright when at first my card was declined due to my travel even though the card was notified. But perseverance paid off & finally got through again! I won't feel so bad if we don't get to Tickets now :-) But yes - snag the res & then get the tickets!

[c oliver]

We got pickpocketed (both of us!) on the Sunday before our res on Friday. Got a replacement card on Friday or I'd have been on CH trying to give someone our res :) The food gods were looking out for us!

[Rachelleny]

Yowsa! Hmmm... I'll make sure I leave one card back in the apartment just in case :-) The food gods love (or should) anyone who helps others on CH I think!

[c oliver]

Not Chow-related so I'll keep it brief. We travel a lot but really learned with this. A hundred dollar bill and a credit and debit card will remain in the apt. What's travel without the occasional Tickets meal :)

[Rachelleny]

Agreed!

[degan]

They just changed the reservations framework - today. I've been trying to get a reservation the last few days with no luck and this seems to be the reason:

*The period for book is reduced to 2 months.

How to book

1
Click on the Bookings button in this website.

2
Choose a date in black and click on it (if there are no dates in black it means that there isn’t any availability, and you will have to wait until another day is opened for bookings or until a cancellation is made).

3
Fill in the booking form.

4
Once the reservation is made, you will receive confirmation via SMS and e-mail.

Note

A
It is only possible to make a reservation within 60 days.

B
Every night at 12 am there are 80 places at our clients’ disposal. The aim of reducing a month is to facilitate all the logistics management of all the requests and at the same time, minimize the risks of cancellations or no –shows in order to make it easier for clients to organize their agenda.

C
There are 80 new seats available for our clients every day.

D
It is not possible to book by email or telephone. You can only book in our website option, through the site El Tenedor.

[Aleta]

Thanks for sharing, degan.

[laubowski]

Thanks Degan. This basically means all of April is booked and no bookings can be made in Feb.

i.e. if you booked 3 months ahead in Jan for April. All the bookings in April will be full so no booking online for April.

[degan]

Good point. It should be all sorted out for May.

[papayaface]

Dates do open up randomly as I have seen during the past two weeks of searching. We got a four person table at 41-degress, 30 days in advance of our trip. The catch is, there's only two of us... in case anyone's interested in April 18th...

[Joechin]

Does anyone know what's going on with reservations for 41Grados? I seem to be able to get a reservation for Tickets easy enough if I stay up late (I'm in the UK) but for weeks now new dates for 41Grados have opened - starting to get tired staying up every night..!

Would ideally like to do them both and don't mind making a special journey at whatever date/time.

[Aleta]

Joechin,

It's 1:25 pm NY time and I just checked the website. There are lots of tables available and dates are very wide open. I don't know where you have been looking... Here's a direct link to the booking page for 41*.

http://wb.thefork.com/-41-restaurant/...

[erica]

Aleta: That link does not take me to a booking page. Just curious if you have used this website?
I used the restaurant's site for my own reservation.

[Aleta]

That is really strange. I double-checked the link after I copied and pasted it. It came from the restaurant's website booking section and originally displayed the booking calendar. I guess it's not a permanent link...

[Joechin]

Thanks for the reply

Been trying the 41Grados website - I see what you mean about the available dates (up to the end of Feb) but when you try to book there are never tables available and it suggests 1 or 2 other restaurants - a clever marketing ploy no doubt. I'd expect the new dates to be in April maybe (90 days) but nothing ever comes on there.

Do you get the same when you try and book?

[bluedog67]

I had this same problem, so I emailed them and got a date during my visit, whiche was only a few weeks away. So worth the $$ - 41 "surpises" - amazing adventure!

[Joechin]

I'll give that a try thanks, did you give them a date range? Which email address did you use?

Thanks in advance

[bluedog67]

I used the email right of the contact on the website. I only gave them 2 dates that I was avail. Had my choice of time. Note that they only take parties of 2 or 4, and cannot accomodate vegetarians or "people who don't eat seafood".

[Aleta]

Joe,
Sorry about that misleading link. I've used the Tickets booking page before without a problem.
In light of the new concepts etc, I think the restaurant still needs to update their website to reflect the changes. Did you notice the "New" sticker with info about no reservations on 41*? That was pretty odd too. Perhaps they accept walk-ins now for casual drinks and snacks but the special menu is by reservation only.
Good luck!

[Joechin]

No problem, yeah it seems it's all a bit up in the air at the moment.

Have tried Bluedog's suggestion and emailed them direct with 2 sets of dates - will let you know if this method is successful.

Thanks again all!

[cherrybomb99x]

I was there last week with a res for 41 Degrees, not Tickets on a Wednesday night. We could have easily done a walk in to Tickets, there were tables avail. Alternately, if you can get a res at 41 Degrees, the waitstaff there are able to make you a reservation for Tickets. At least they were for us. We decided to skip Tickets 41 Degrees was enough for us.

[estnet]

Thanks again, but as I am by myself I can't make a reservation for 41, but I'm getting more hopeful about getting into Tickets :)

[estnet]

Has anyone ever seen a date earlier than 90 days appear? I've been checking for a few weeks and can always see the new date open up when I check at the right time but I've never seen any previous dates open.
I still have hopes of a walk in though

[Aleta]

Estnet,

I was one of the first posters to figure out the Tickets reservations system and to document it on CH. When I was getting ready to make my own reservation for this past summer, I checked daily in advance for 2 months, so I became quite familiar with its workings. Logically, if the calendar was showing cancellations, they would be random and for different dates and times. I have NEVER seen these odd availabilities.

If you are staying in a hotel, I would email the hotel and ask them to give a call. Although Cherrybomb says that she saw lots of vacancies at Tickets when she visited, this does not necessarily mean that walk-ins were accepted. I saw lots of empty tables and counterspace too but I also saw people come up to the door and ask the doorman something. He shook his head and they left.

Inopia is the bar run by Albert Adria before he started Tickets. No reservations were accepted, you might wait for 1+hr (my record was 90 min - standing on the street) and if you arrived past 8:30 pm and were prepared to wait, the doorman might tell you to forget it! By the time you finished waiting, the bar would be closed. Tickets was designed to be different by offering reservations online and a relaxed (read 'no-crowd') bar experience.

[estnet]

thank you so much - after two weeks of never seeing any openings except the new ones I was beginning to suspect that they never appeared :(
I will try some of the other options and just be happy if I am lucky enough to get in one way or another.
If not I have lots of other places to try- but who knows I might be lucky.

[bluedog67]

As my trip approached, I would check the calendar daily, and I would see random dates appear, but they would still be well into the future.

41 grados was AMAZING, and Chef Adria had to approve every plate that we were served. So worth it!

[cherrybomb99x]

go in for a drink at 41 and they can get you a table at Tickets if you are nice. You can also walk in and take a chance, they keep open tables. We had no problem with this tactic in late November. If it is off tourist season, you should not have a huge problem. The 41 staff were willing to book us a table FWIW.

[Aleta]

Cherrybomb has a good point: it's off season so perhaps a drink at 41 can lead to a table at Tickets.

[Aleta]

I see tables right now for March 14, but nothing else.

[bluedog67]

Note that 41 new concept doesn't allow folks coming in for drinks until dinner service is over about 11:00 pm. But maybe they could get a res @ tickets for a later date.

[Aleta]

Thanks for the clarification, bluedog. That's useful to know.

[BCNBill]

Hi, best tactic -- just turn up. Best turn up at 8, will give you a clue of how things are looking, and expect to be bumped to an hour or more later, depending on which day of the week. During the hour or more go explore the barrio -- loads of places to eat, drink and be cheerful. It's Barcelona - be happy. Regards

[bluedog67]

I requested to be wait listed by email, and they replied they do not have a wait list, and that canceled reservations would show up online. I did get a res at 41 by an email request.

[Aleta]

The problem is that many people don't bother to cancel, so the online reservation system is not always updated. In a recent interview, the Adrias did express some frustration with the no-shows. I wish they would switch to the policy of charging a penalty on a credit card for that.

When we went to Tickets over the summer, I saw people coming to the door -- probably to ask about walk-ins or cancellations. The ringmaster shook his head and the people walked away.

We had a very nice meal, btw. Saw Ferran in the corner with his family. Got to meet Albert, who was running around and really working. He asked us where we were from and when I told him, "Canada", he began speaking to us in French. ha ha ha. His French was pretty good.

[estnet]

Thanks to everyone - should have been a reminder on my calendar for the 90 days....but
Anyway I guess maybe there's a slim chance - it's for Feb.

[Aleta]

Keep checking the reservations website around Barcelona 12:30 am.