Is OpenTable Worth it?

I also use open table, especially when I go to NY, this way I am guaranteed a table in the hottest restaurants in town. For Instance, Went to Daniel Boulud's DBGB in Bowery, used open table. When I got there it was packed, and folks were waiting!

I used Open Table to make reservations at restaurants in Monterey recently. I liked being able to see the menus and to know what was available at the times I wanted. After each visit, I got an email asking about it. I get the impression that most of the reviews for each restaurant are in response to these emails so I think they may be more accurate than some other sites where a lot of the revews are from people associated with that restaurant or a competitor.

Marybeth, did you go the aquarium? It's pretty boss.

Marybeth I agree with you. On our one week eating odyssey in New Orleans we used OpenTable in ways more than just making a simple reservation. There were some restaurants we excluded after looking at the menus. We also felt the reviews were more "honest" in their assessments and used that in our selection process and finally as I said before there were many times that I changed or adjusted reservations for various reasons and OpenTable made it painless, fast and easy to do.

I can't think of another system that provides more efficiency and rewards the end user for using it!

I did not see the aquarium this time. My oldest son is there at the DLI and I was visiting him. (I hadn't seen him since his graduation from basic training in April.) He had been to the aquarium and wasn't interested in seeing it again. I plan on going back next spring with my daughter and we'll go see it while he's in class.

We are also planning on going to San Francisco during that trip so I'm open to suggestions for restaurants there. My best friend from junior high lives in Berkeley and I'm visiting with her for the first time in decades. I know she'll have suggestions of where to go and what to do but it would be nice to be able to take her out to someplace special.

Our daughter graduated college in San Francisco and we visited often. Here are a couple of our regular favorites in the area.

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Very Special OUR 1st choice-
Wish we could go-
Definitely go to Townhouse Bar & Grill
Make reservations!!!!!!
Yeah we loved it... Consistently great!
Townhouse Bar & Grill
5862 Doyle St.
(bet. 59th & Powell Sts.)
Emeryville, CA
510-652-6151
Californian menu

Fodor's says it best: “As comfortable as an old glove”, this “far-off-the-beaten-path” Emeryville “fixture” is “worth seeking out” say townies who “never get bored” of its “terrific” Californian fare; true, the former speakeasy resembles a “biker bar” from outside, but the valet-parked “BMWs, Audis and Mercedeses” tip off that within lies a “lively” dining spot, enhanced by “lovely” service, “fantastic mojitos” and “character in all the right places.”

http://www.opentable.com/townhouse-bar-and-grill-reservations-emeryville?ref=2366

http://townhousebarandgrill.com/

*******************************************
Great neighborhood restaurant in San Francisco.
Our daughter lived around the corner and it was our favorite in SF.
EVERYTHING IS FRESH and delicious!
Zuppa
564 Fourth St.
(bet. Brannan & Bryant Sts.)
San Francisco, CA
415-777-5900
Italian Southern

Fodors comment a bit cold, does not do the place justice: “Lovely” presentations of pizza, pasta and other “rustic” dishes appeal at this “casual” SoMa Southern Italian where the “high ceilings in a warehouse setting” give it a “cool” “industrial” vibe; “happy-hour bargains” are a plus, but claustrophobes criticize “close-together” tables and say it feels a bit “stark.”

http://www.opentable.com/zuppa-reservations-san-francisco?ref=2366

http://www.zuppa-sf.com/

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...and a few more...
Shalimar (Be careful there are two. This is the best one. Inexpensive, nothing fancy, but great Indian food)
532 Jones St.
(Geary St.)
San Francisco, CA
415-928-0333
Restaurants, Indian, Pakistani

BayWolf- nice place, but a bit pricey
Would much rather go to Townhouse Bar & Grill above
3853 Piedmont Ave.
(Rio Vista Ave.)
Oakland, CA
510-655-6004
Californian, Mediterranean
___________________________

If you're going to Wine Country...
If Napa is on your agenda great place on your way.
Beautiful view. Overlooks the water.
BIG MEAL!
Dead Fish
20050 San Pablo Ave
Crockett, CA
510-787-3323
French: Seafood

If you go to Sonoma.
On your way up or back.
Volpi's Ristorante & Bar
124 Washington St.
(bet. Keokuk St. & Petaluma Blvd.)
Petaluma, CA
707-762-2371
Italian
_______________________________________

Thanks.

I have a feeling this may be another one of those trips where I plan my sightseeing on what's near the restaurants I'm going to.

Our favorite, Townhouse Bar & Grill is in a neighborhood in Emeryville. Nothing to see there. But the Bay Street Shopping Complex in Emeryville is "a diverse new urban neighborhood featuring retail, residential, restaurant, hotel and entertainment offerings designed to serve as a gathering place for Bay Area residents and visitors." We would stay at the Marriott across the street from it and really enjoyed it. That area is also convenient for jumping up on the Bay Bridge into San Francisco and offers beautiful views.

There are areas to be extra cautious in Oakland, it can look nice, but turn dangerous very quickly. Our daughter also lived just on the other side of Emeryville in Oakland for a short period. The area had been GENTRIFIED and there was a lot of resentment toward those who moved into the renovated area, displacing those who had lived there forever. I found out during one of our visits that the "crack house" across the street was "protecting " her. I moved her to San Francisco immediately just around the corner from one of our other favorite restaurants, ZUPPA near ATT Ball Park. By the way, the people at ZUPPA took very good care of her. If you are there in the evening you should also check out Hotel Utah http://www.hotelutah.com. It's a neighborhood friendly bar and restaurant with a lot of history. We never really ate there because ZUPPA was so delicious, but it is a bar in the scheme of the 1970's Washington Street's Eddie Donaldson. Hotel Utah was built in 1908 and has a "sketchy" past.

Having said all this, the hills above Berkley provide majestic views. http://www.wallpaperweb.org/wallpaper/t/san-francisco_1.htm#34204

Be sure you take that drive and while you are in that direction, enjoy Holy Land Restaurant 2965 College Ave (between Ashby Ave & Webster St" in Berkley. Check it out at: http://www.yelp.com/biz/holy-land-restaurant-berkeley another place that we enjoyed making regular visits. It's very small, but it is in an area that you may enjoy walking around too.