Hounds to the Rescue?

[hubies]

Two weeks out from this Saturday 12/17 I began calling restaurants for a reservation. I know, I know, its NYC but the trip is a last minute thing. It just occured to me to ask for help. We are staying at a hotel on Rivington Street between E. Houston and Delancy. No reservations to be had at Emilio's Balloto, Babbo, Nolita House or Locanda Verde. They all had some limited open seating but I don't want to drag my party of 3 (maybe 5 or 6) around to all of those places at 7pm and not get in any.

I was generally thinking Italian but not completely adverse to another cuisine. Can anyone recommend a restaurant in the SoHo or Nolita or NYU area where you think I can get a reservation but the food would be great?

[uwsister]

I don't have specific places in mind, but I would concur that being flexible with your time would help, and check for last-minute cancellations on the day of, especially if it's party of 3. Have a back-up res, of course, but I've had pretty good luck calling on the day of at popular places.

[hubies]

Thanks all, this was very helpful and I will use the OpenTable idea for sure. Just wanted the names of some other places in my pocket. I am dealing with 20-somethings who will grace me with their presence for dinner on my dime but at the last minute if they don't find something better to do.

[sgordon]

First, if you plan on making a reservation, you better figure out if you're going to be a party of 3, 5, or 6 ASAP. There may be openings for 3-tops but not 6-tops, and if you book a 6-top and only show up with three the restaurant is gonna be plenty pissed, especially on a Saturday night.

Have you checked Opentable.com? Easy way to see what's available. Right now I see 6-tops at (or around) 7:00 next Saturday at a few decent places:

10 Downing Food & Wine
Sorella
Rayuela
Vandaag
The Monday Room (the lounge annex to Public, where you can order many things off the Public menu)

...and a few others if you're not married to 7:00 - Hearth is excellent and has a 9PM opening.

If there are only 3 of you (or 4, I guess - three would be seated at a four-top) you could add:

David Burke Kitchen
Hearth (at 7:00)
JoeDoe
Public (main dining room)
Soto

....all of which would provide a good, fun meal.

If there's six of you, make a reservation somewhere, or head down to Chinatown, which isn't very far from your hotel and we (or at least I) could provide all kinds of good options for.

If there's three of you and you can't make a res, I'd say go to either:

WD-50 - open seating in the bar area, usually doesn't fill up until 8:00 or so, so you'd be relatively safe. if it fills up, it might not be TOO long a wait - hard to say. They might even be willing to take your number, you can go chill back at the hotel until something opens.

Momofuku Ssam Bar - for 3 people there'll be a wait, but not a ridiculous one. Maybe a half-hour on the outside.

Babbo - if you're willing to dine earlier, like 5:00 - 5:30 or so. Have someone stake out the line around 4:00 and the other two can meet them at 5:00.

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WD-50
50 Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002

Soto
357 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10014

Babbo
110 Waverly Pl, New York, NY 10011

Momofuku Ssam Bar
207 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

Hearth
403 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10009

Rayuela
165 Allen Street, New York, NY 10002

Public
210 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY 10012

The Monday Room
210 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY 10012

JoeDoe
45 East 1st Street, New York, NY 10003

10 Downing
10 Downing Street, New York, NY 10014

Sorella
95 Allen St, New York, NY 10002

Vandaag
103 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

David Burke Kitchen
23 Grand St, New York, NY 10013

[DeniseB]

Agree with sgordon - dine earlier or much later. Bettre chance of getting in then. If you're open to non-Italian suggestions, Momofuku is a great experience. Would also recommend you take a look at Robataya and Annisa not too far away from your hotel - both excellent in different ways. Robataya is casual and fun, Annisa is finer dining (with Michelin star). Also, Chikalicious for desserts is great, but you will likely have to wait to get in.

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Momofuku Ssam Bar
207 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

Annisa
13 Barrow Street, New York, NY 10014

ChikaLicious
203 E 10th St, New York, NY 10003

Robataya NY
231 E 9th St, New York, NY 10003

[SamanthaNYC]

+1 for both Annisa and Chikalicious. Both are excellent.

[foodwhisperer]

Chikalicious has god dessert. I thought the OP wanted Italian food.
Anyway, Osteria Morini is the place i would recommend in SOHO/NOLITA area. They have the best lasagna I've had in a restaurant in the U.S.

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ChikaLicious
203 E 10th St, New York, NY 10003

Osteria Morini
218 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012

[Bkeats]

I think you will have to settle for what is available. Asking for a res at a top notch Italian place on a Saturday night at 7 a week before you want to go In a trendy neighborhood and not having to wait a long time is a tough one. My suggestion is to look at opentable for the areas and time you want and see what comes up or get a snack and eat later.

[cubanat]

send one person to each resto and text eachother as to who gets a table then jet over and enjoy!