Dinner reservations - how far in advance?

I make them when I get there, usually a day or two in advance, sometimes the day of...now if you are talking about XMAS eve or something like that, at a 'special' place, you need to book a couple of weeks in advance. However I have experienced a problem with that when I booked a month or more in advance and then just a few days before the reservation they cancel it...have had that a bunch of times...and it kind of killed my enthusiasm for booking restaurants a long time ahead of the trip.

The day before or at lunch time the day of. But we aren't usually visiting during important holidays or at the hot new restaurants.

As others have mentioned it depends on what city and even location in the city. In central Rome for Saturday night at a sought-after restaurant, a week in advance is not too far. In Venice, for La Zucca, a month (at least it was last time I went there) because it is unique and (at least it was) very “hot” and tiny.

When we lived in Rome, I could call most restaurants as late as 6 PM on Saturday and get a res for 830 or 900.

Funny I should read this today! Yesterday I emailed a request for a reservation at my favorite restaurant in Ljubljana for lunch Saturday afternoon, May 27. It’s a special occasion (granddaughter’s birthday) and there will be 8 of us so I didn’t want to leave it too long. I wasn’t sure whether or not it was too early but the email confirmation I received reminded us we should plan to be finished by 18:00 as they were fully booked for the evening. I’m happy I followed my instinct and wrote early.

We were able to get same day reservations in Italy last year; that would be Rome, Sienna, and Bologna.

In Reims France a few years ago, though, same day reservations were NOT available; we ended up wandering the streets until we found places that took pity on us and fed us.

I've made same day reservations in Paris, though.

I think it would depend if you are going in high season. For restaurants that we really want to eat at I make reservations about a week before and my favorites I can now just book online through their website or with a partner through a link on their website.

If it’s not a big group (no more than 4) same day, unless it’s a special holiday or Saturday night. Two people often don’t need reservations.

Regarding lunch or dinner reservations, make them. I just returned from Rome. You can’t rely on your hotel. Book on Open Table and Quandoo. Just make sure to cancel it if you can’t make it. Less stress. I saw many people being turned away at the restaurants that I booked. It’s pure luck if you don’t have one. Some places will not take reservations until a week out or less and/or not at all. However, we ate at several hot spots that you could book yourself.