So maybe you can´t walk into a popular restaurant on a weekend nigth without reservation expecting to be seated rigth away. And if you show up after 9.00 pm, in all likehood you´ll get the same lousy table next to the swinging kitchen door that you´d have gotten during Christmas. But the off-season slow down does affect every restaurant to some degree, and there are plenty of advantages of which savvy diners should be aware.

Here are a few more tips for stress-free summer dining:

  1. Make reservations. Many of the restaurateurs, including the manager at always-busy China Grill, assert that even during peak Seaton, those with reservations rarely wait more than 15 minutes to get in.
  2. Restaurants in summer tend to imitate life: The rich get richer (though not as rich as in winter), and therefore don´t have to do anything special for you, and the poor get much, much poorer, their tense ambiance of doomed fate probably not what you´re looping for. Try some spots that fall in between, because these are the ones that feature deals and will go all out to try and win you over. They may not be renowned, but many of them are surprisingly good.
  3. Check newspaper and magazine liftings for deals, promotional events, and most importantly, for days and hours of operation, which tend to get cut back and rearranged in the summer.
  4. If sitting outside, bring your galoshes.

My tip for the restaurateurs? Be patient. It´s Orly a matter of time before all those gold cards, people, return.

 

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