Reserve, a 'dining concierge,' launches in Philly
It does a lot of what OpenTable does, but it's more nimble.
For online reservations, especially when you're trying to land a restaurant table a few days out, it's hard to beat OpenTable.
But when you're looking for a table at the last minute, and the restaurant is fairly popular, there's a new option in Philadelphia, starting Sept. 1:
Already in New York, L.A. Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, Reserve has signed on 22 restaurants, promising to add more.
It does a lot of what OpenTable does, but it's more nimble. If you're on the go, you can open the app and find an available restaurant in seconds. If your choice is booked at a particular time, the app will suggest an alternate restaurant or time.
Restaurants can also easily fill a last-minute availability - for example, if a party cancels. That's a point that Ryan Mulholland, the general manager of the popular Vernick Food + Drink, said his restaurateur friends in other Reserve cities enjoy.
Reserve also has an Uber-like twist. Users add their credit-card info and tipping percentage to the app, which greatly speeds up the process when the check comes. (The extra-cautious among us will point out that you may be trading security concerns here: While your credit-card number will not end up in a waiter's hand, it will live somewhere in the cloud.) The app also makes check-splitting easy.
This convenience comes at a $5-per-table fee, though as a promotion, Reserve will waive it for any meal in Philadelphia through Oct. 13.
On the plus side for the restaurants, the service is free. OpenTable charges them $1 for a reservation.
Link to Google Play for Android.
The following are on Reserve's initial list in Philadelphia:
Abe Fisher
Alla Spina
Amis Trattoria
Amada
Bing Bing Dim Sum
Distrito
Fond
Fork
Garces Trading Company
Heritage
High Street on Market
Lo Spiedo
Osteria
Petruce et al.
R2L
Sbraga
Southgate
The Fat Ham
Vedge
Vernick Food & Drink
Vetri
Zahav