Dining reservations: yea or nay?

I always come armed with a list and then never eat at any of them!!Dad and I enjoy a nice meal but are pretty content just finding something as we walk around or asking for someplace close to where we are staying.

How many are “we”?

We, a group of 6, just finished a 3 week road trip through Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France. I made reservations for dinner the first night at each stop (except Venice, where we had reservations each night). After the first day, as we explored we would check out menus along the way. If we all wanted to eat together, we could make a reservation for that evening, usually with no problem. But you don’t have to make reservations months in advance, unless it’s somewhere you REALLY want to eat.

There were times when places were turning people away, especially later in the evening (8:00). If you get there right at opening (6:30-7) you have a better chance without a reservation. They know that Americans eat fast and generally won’t stay at the table all evening. Sometimes they’ll even tell you they will seat you, but need the table by 8:00 for a reservation.

Dont know why you wouldnt. Its a simple phone call, email, or phone app. For a "good" place, no reason not to do 4 days out. For a highly popular place, as far out as possible. You can always cancel ... but do cancel if you arent going to show up.

There's a very good reason not to do it if you don't know when you're going to get hungry and what part of the city you'll be in at the time. Not to mention whether you'll be looking for a full, leisurely meal at a really nice place or something more casual. In addition, I've found that a lot of restaurants don't have a current, accurate menu online, so if you book in advance, that dish you are really excited about may not be available. I'm guessing the latter would be more of a problem for family groups with multiple preferences to satisfy.

That said, there are places (Cornwall, Scottish islands) where you may eat fast food or go hungry without a dinner reservation. I haven't been to any of Linda's destinations recently except Bayeux in 2017, so I have no specific guidance. I'd consider booking something (not nearly this early) if headed somewhere with limited options not targeting walk-by tourist traffic--which might apply to Bayeux, come to think of it.

I do with an app because it's easy to change if necessary. There were a couple of times in Paris and London when there were no seats in a place we wanted to dine, so yes I think a reservation is win-win solution. There is no downside.

I dont plan trips around meals, especially that far in advance. We prefer flexibility and spontaneity. But then we are not foodies for whom that is most important. YMMV

We were in Bayeux last September and we always turned up for dinner right at opening and had no issue but people arriving after us were being turned away. So that's a place where I might want to make a reservation.

Patricia -- any dining suggestions for Bayeux? Was considering a place called Bonbonne...

We generally don’t make reservations for the very reasons already mentioned. We don’t always know where we’ll be when we get hungry. If there is a particular restaurant we know we want to dine at, then we’ll make a reservation.

When we were in Baden Baden in May, we didn’t make any reservations.

If there is someplace that you really have your heart set on eating at, like a specific restaurant in Paris, then sure. Otherwise, what do you know about these places? A few reviews from who knows who? Some star system on an app? I like good local, simple places, and will not make a reservation until I lay eyes on the place, then maybe, I might make a reservation for that evening, or the next day. Most places though, I saw no need to make reservations, there are plenty of options.

That said, I am pretty easy going, love food, but as I said, more on the regional or simple side. If you only consider places with Michelin Stars, then you better reserve well ahead. As for "Not-to-be-missed" restaurants, when I have went to popular places listed in every guidebook, touted on some TV show, or made famous, I have been very underwhelmed and feel I spent too much for the experience in a crowded place more often than not.

I only make dinner reservations for places that are MUST eat places that require them.
Usually when we travel we just tend to find a place to eat based on where we land up when we get hungry. We love food and I really thought we would eat so much more than we did, it just was not the highlight of our trip. I would rather be out doing things than sitting in a restaurant, as the meals take much longer in Europe. Dinner was our only sit down meal of the day, except if the hotel had free breakfast, then we had a proper meal then also.

You see what we have here. We have two ends of a spectrum. One end of the spectrum eats for nourishment to fuel the walking tour. The other end of the spectrum eats as one of the tour events (not that street food cant be a good tour event too).

Any dining suggestions for Bayeux?

If you are looking for an exceptional diner in Bayeux without spending a fortune, try L'Angle Saint-Laurent

http://www.langlesaintlaurent.com/english.html

I'm thinking "gotta get those dining reservations lined up now that we're 60 days out!"

I think reservations at restaurants aren’t that different from the U.S. If you are going to a Michelin star restaurant, you need to make that well in advance. For popular restaurants you might need a reservation but you could probably make that reservation a day ahead or even the day of. For casual restaurants, you probably don’t need a reservation (or they might not even take reservations). If you have a large group, it may be more important to make a reservation than if you are a group of two.

I frequently make restaurant reservations when I travel, but I generally make them no more than a day in advance. Sometimes I will just call (or reserve online) a few hours before dinner.

I research restaurants before I travel and make a list of places of interest to me. The only time I have reserved before leaving for my trip was the one time I made a lunch reservation at a Michelin starred restaurant in London that had a very good lunch deal.

For popular restaurants you might need a reservation but you could probably make that reservation a day ahead or even the day of.

Fyi, this simply isn't true for Paris, and especially in September.

That is not to say that you won't be able to find somewhere * to eat - but if you truly are looking for a *popular place, you are not going to get in by reserving the day ahead or day of.

I would in Bayeux, especially if you are there on a Monday. In the past, because some restaurants are closed on Monday it squeezed the customers into fewer choices.

Kim, you are right. I think Paris is probably more challenging than the other cities the OP is visiting.

Yes, I am definitely only speaking to Paris.