17 replies to this topic

[Kentan]

I went out for dinner at Chambar over the weekend (amazing as usual - haven't yet had a bad meal there) and booked it through opentable.com. They sent out a feedback form to me today, and after filling it out they provide you with a list of the restaurants most frequently booked through their site. Here's the list:

Chambar
The Cannery Seafood House
Watermark on Kits Beach
The Boathouse - Port Moody
Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House
Blue Water Cafe
Goldfish Pacific Kitchen
Italian Kitchen
Boathouse English Bay
Quails' Gate Estate Winery (Kelowna)

So who thinks these represent the most difficult restaurants to get a reservation for (ie. most popular) in BC? Of course, there are only 163 BC restaurants listed on their site, but I would guess that the busier (and yes, more upscale) restaurants would be the ones using this service.

I would have thought that West would be on the list - perhaps it's an older demographic that doesn't book online as much? And I'm sure Vij's would be near the top of this list if they took reservations.

[kevfoodvan]

Open Table also has just released their Diner's Choice picks.

I went out for dinner at Chambar over the weekend (amazing as usual - haven't yet had a bad meal there) and booked it through opentable.com. They sent out a feedback form to me today, and after filling it out they provide you with a list of the restaurants most frequently booked through their site. Here's the list:

Chambar                                       
The Cannery Seafood House           
Watermark on Kits Beach                 
The Boathouse - Port Moody
Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House     
Blue Water Cafe                             
Goldfish Pacific Kitchen                     
Italian Kitchen                                 
Boathouse English Bay                   
Quails' Gate Estate Winery (Kelowna)

So who thinks these represent the most difficult restaurants to get a reservation for (ie. most popular) in BC? Of course, there are only 163 BC restaurants listed on their site, but I would guess that the busier (and yes, more upscale) restaurants would be the ones using this service.

I would have thought that West would be on the list - perhaps it's an older demographic that doesn't book online as much? And I'm sure Vij's would be near the top of this list if they took reservations.

[styledish]

Chambar and Blue Water I'm not surprised. But like what you alluded to, I don't think this list represents all of the busy / in high demand restaurants. I would also add:

Araxi
Chow
Diva at the Met
Gotham Steakhouse
Tojo's
Fuel

There's probably way more :) And also any good restaurant that serves decent weekend brunches.

Open Table also has just released their Diner's Choice picks.

I went out for dinner at Chambar over the weekend (amazing as usual - haven't yet had a bad meal there) and booked it through opentable.com. They sent out a feedback form to me today, and after filling it out they provide you with a list of the restaurants most frequently booked through their site. Here's the list:

Chambar                                        
The Cannery Seafood House           
Watermark on Kits Beach                 
The Boathouse - Port Moody
Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House     
Blue Water Cafe                              
Goldfish Pacific Kitchen                     
Italian Kitchen                                 
Boathouse English Bay                   
Quails' Gate Estate Winery (Kelowna)

So who thinks these represent the most difficult restaurants to get a reservation for (ie. most popular) in BC? Of course, there are only 163 BC restaurants listed on their site, but I would guess that the busier (and yes, more upscale) restaurants would be the ones using this service.

I would have thought that West would be on the list - perhaps it's an older demographic that doesn't book online as much? And I'm sure Vij's would be near the top of this list if they took reservations.

[nwyles]

These ratings are part of a new upgrade to Opentable.

The above list represents nothing more than the highest frequency bookings through Opentable.

The list is based on volume through Opentable, so West, although an excellent restaurant, because of it's size, would not rate in the frequency.

If you click through to Opentable.com, you will find a few other charts which might give you some of the stats that you are looking for.

[Kentan]

If you click through to Opentable.com, you will find a few other charts which might give you some of the stats that you are looking for.

Thanks Neil - I think this is the one I was looking for, although there's no explanation of how the ratings are calculated: Hot Spot Restaurants

1 - Boneta Restaurant
2 - Italian Kitchen
3 - Sanafir
4 - Chambar
5 - glowbal
6 - Goldfish Pacific Kitchen
7 - Yew
8 - Cobre
9 - COAST
10 - Azia

[Mark Donnelly]

Describing the Boathouse as a restaurant is a trade description offence. It's a chain - just like the Keg is. It uses a formula for everything from the decor to the food. But the Boathouse in Port Moody. That's just plain weird.

[SBonner]

It's an interesting list and says something about the diners who use OpenTable. Chambar makes sense - it is always full. The others I'm guessing are diners who just want to collect opentable points for coupons. The Hot Spot list is bang on in my opinion.

Edited by SBonner, 01 July 2008 - 08:25 PM.

[fud]

It's an interesting list and says something about the diners who use OpenTable. Chambar makes sense - it is always full. The others I'm guessing are diners who just want to collect opentable points for coupons. The Hot Spot list is bang on in my opinion.

I'd almost call that a list of Restaurants popular with tech savvy people. Chambar being so popular with the Yaletown crowd, it makes sense as I bet half of these people can make a reso via web browser over cell phone rather than calling them directly :)

[Samimi]

I bet half of these people can make a reso via web browser over cell phone rather than calling them directly :)

On a side note, even though the companies been around since 1999, this feature is new (making reservations from their phone’s browser).

[bill_n_opus]

Describing the Boathouse as a restaurant is a trade description offence.  It's a chain - just like the Keg is.  It uses a formula for everything from the decor to the food.  But the Boathouse in Port Moody.  That's just plain weird.

Yes, but it's still a "restaurant" ... and Port Moody is top 10 because the Boathouse chain is extremely popular for the demographic that are a teeny bit adventurous but are not able to wrap their minds around venues like Chambar or even Sandbar.

The average person who thinks the Boathouse is a "destination place" may offend the sensibilities of people in the biz ... or people who frequent forums like eGullet ... but let's face it, forumites from eGullet represent the minority of the "average" diner out there ... and the Boathouse is grateful for that otherwise they wouldn't have the business as it would be diverted to other restaurants.

They are popular because they got the formula down pat ... and our society is a formulaic-driven animal to a large degree. I would try to divert my in-laws to a decent restaurant ... but they say stuff like "why don't we go to the Boathouse? It's a nice place ..." It's tough to fight my friend.

[Mark Donnelly]

Yes, but it's still a "restaurant" ... and Port Moody is top 10 because the Boathouse chain is extremely popular for the demographic that are a teeny bit adventurous but are not able to wrap their minds around venues like Chambar or even Sandbar. 

The average person who thinks the Boathouse is a "destination place" may offend the sensibilities of people in the biz ... or people who frequent forums like eGullet ... but let's face it, forumites from eGullet represent the minority of the "average" diner out there ... and the Boathouse is grateful for that otherwise they wouldn't have the business as it would be diverted to other restaurants.

They are popular because they got the formula down pat ... and our society is a formulaic-driven animal to a large degree. I would try to divert my in-laws to a decent restaurant ... but they say stuff like "why don't we go to the Boathouse? It's a nice place ..." It's tough to fight my friend.

I would agree with all of the above. Btw, my brother lives in Port Moody and I went to high school there.

[Vancouver]

It's an interesting list and says something about the diners who use OpenTable. Chambar makes sense - it is always full. The others I'm guessing are diners who just want to collect opentable points for coupons. The Hot Spot list is bang on in my opinion.

I wonder how much of it is driven by hotel concierges that utilize opentable for bookings? Anyone know what percentage of Opentable reservations are the actual guest themselves vs. a concierge?

[mangez]

It's an interesting list and says something about the diners who use OpenTable. Chambar makes sense - it is always full. The others I'm guessing are diners who just want to collect opentable points for coupons. The Hot Spot list is bang on in my opinion.

I wonder how much of it is driven by hotel concierges that utilize opentable for bookings? Anyone know what percentage of Opentable reservations are the actual guest themselves vs. a concierge?

Sounds like a perfect project for a hotel management course study group, I'll ask around.

[Knightafter]

I eat out quite often and have never used Open Table (nor will I ever) , I go for the phone call to the place , whicj IMO gives you a much better feel of what your experience will be like

[mangez]

I eat out quite often and have never used Open Table (nor will I ever) , I go for the phone call to the place , whicj IMO gives you a much better feel of what your experience will be like

I don't use Open Table myself, but find it interesting they specifically target hotel staff members with their OTconcierge.

Not sure how current the following article is, submitted to us by one of our students:

OpenTable.com Launches OTconcierge; First Full-Service Concierge Solution Offers Personalized Online Access to Restaurant Reservations Nationwide

OpenTable.com (www.opentable.com), the leading supplier of Internet-enabled customer relationship management, yield management and reservation management tools to the restaurant industry, today announced the launch of OTconcierge, the first interactive online solution to give hotel concierges direct access to the reservation books at hundreds of the country's top restaurants. The launch of OTconcierge advances OpenTable.com's goal of bringing the conveniences of real-time online reservations to everyone that makes dining reservations, whether they are reserving for themselves or for others.

OTconcierge -- a highly interactive and personalized online interface connected via real private network to the electronic reservation books (ERBs) at OpenTable.com's member restaurants -- has been in beta testing at four of San Francisco's busiest hotels for the past four weeks and is being progressively deployed throughout the OpenTable.com restaurant network, beginning in San Francisco, Chicago and New York. The new interface was designed and developed by OpenTable.com with continual input from concierges at the Hotel Palomar, Pan Pacific Hotel, Galleria Park Hotel, and The Fairmont.

"OTconcierge is an incredible concept," said Thomas Wolfe, head concierge at San Francisco's prestigious Fairmont Hotel and OTconcierge beta user. "It virtually eliminates mistakes. Never before have I been able to make dinner reservations at 6:00 in the morning, which I did three times this morning using OpenTable.com's system. OTconcierge is easy to use, and I can access my hotel guests' reservations from any Internet browser, which makes it incredibly convenient. OpenTable.com gives me instant online access to the best restaurants in the Bay Area, and it's my feeling that the restaurants that are not offering reservations on OpenTable.com yet will be doing so within the next year, or they will miss out on business not only from dining consumers but from hotels as well."

OTconcierge brings concierges all of the tools that are available to consumers on OpenTable.com's original interface -- including 24/7 access to tables at restaurants around the country with no busy signals or waiting on hold, instant online confirmation of reservations, and a restaurant reservation search engine that allows them to search for availability according to preferences including city, neighborhood, cuisine type and price range -- or by a customizable list of favorite or nearby restaurants.

OTconcierge goes beyond this basic offering to bring concierges the ability to easily make, cancel, modify and manage multiple reservations for their hotel guests from one online page. The new offering enables better communication between restaurants and concierges, including the ability for restaurants to distinguish between hotel and other reservations, instantly recognize the hotel and the specific concierge that made the reservation, and to compile reports on the number of reservations made by specific concierges within any given timeframe. Concierges are also able to compile reports on guest cancellations or no-shows, as well as on the number of reservations delivered to particular restaurants. OTconcierge also enables concierges to view and modify reservations made by other concierges at their hotel, in order to easily provide hotel guests with the best service possible.

"OTconcierge is a tremendous time-saver," said Kathy Cady, concierge at San Francisco's Galleria Park Hotel. "The fact that I no longer have to call all over town in search of availability gives me more time to focus on my guests, which is what this job is really all about. Even when the guest knows exactly where they want to dine, and the restaurant has availability, I know that I can save time by making the reservation on OTconcierge. OpenTable.com has found a way to streamline the restaurant reservation process, and my hotel guests are always impressed that I can make their reservations without picking up the phone."

Mark Belhumeur, chief concierge at San Francisco's Pan Pacific Hotel, said, "OpenTable.com has been very attentive to the needs of concierges in the development of OTconcierge. They have incorporated our suggestions and considerations into the product from the beginning of the development process, and the result is a system with a user-friendly interface that is not only a valuable time-saver, it's easy and enjoyable to use."

"OTconcierge is a win-win proposition for both the hotel and the restaurant industry," said Jeff Edwards, OpenTable.com's CEO. "We're enjoying working with the concierge community to deliver out-of-town guests to our partner restaurants. Concierges make significantly more reservations on a daily basis than the general public; the concierges in our beta test make up to 65 restaurant reservations per day. OTconcierge gives us the ability to deliver business and pleasure travelers to our member restaurants, which will ultimately help us achieve our goal of helping OpenTable.com member restaurants increase revenues and improve the bottom line."

[Kentan]

Here are a few of the latest diners' choice lists from opentable.com. Looks like there's a lot of overlap with urbandiner.ca's community pages list.

Best Overall - BC:

1. Rimrock Cafe - Whistler
2. Quail's Gate - Kelowna
3. Five Sails
4. Araxi - Whistler
5. Cannery
6. CRU
7. Hy's Encore
8. Hart House - Burnaby
9. West
10. Connor Butler

Hot Spot Restaurants:
1. Chambar
2. Goldfish Pacific Kitchen
3. Boneta
4. Italian Kitchen
5. Salt Tasting Room
6. Glowbal
7. Cobre
8. Lift
9. Sanafir
10. Chow

Neighbourhood Gem:
1. Gramercy Grill
2. Bistrot Bistro
3. Smoking Dog
4. Parkside
5. Tapastree
6. Steveston Seafood House - Richmond
7. Bistro Pastis
8. Yuji's Tapas
9. Vault - Surrey
10. Quattro

[Kentan]

Just in time for Valentine's Day - opentable.com's top 10 romantic restaurants in the Vancouver area.

1) Lumiere
2) Observatory at Grouse Mountain (N. Van)
3) Connor Butler
4) The William Tell
5) Five Sails
6) Parkside
7) Cannery
8) Quattro
9) La Terrazza
10) The Salmon House (W. Van)

[Kentan]

I decided to take another look at the most popular restaurants booked through opentable.com. Here's June 2008:

Chambar
The Cannery Seafood House
Watermark on Kits Beach
The Boathouse - Port Moody
Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House
Blue Water Cafe
Goldfish Pacific Kitchen
Italian Kitchen
Boathouse English Bay
Quails' Gate Estate Winery (Kelowna)

And here's today:
Chambar
Coast
Market
Blue Water Cafe
db Bistro Moderne
Joe Fortes
Italian Kitchen
Araxi - Whistler
Boathouse - Port Moody
Rimrock Cafe - Whistler

Quite a similar list - the Cannery is now closed, and some new restos like Market and db Bistro Moderne have muscled into the top 10. From this list anyway, it looks like Coast is now 'hot' while Goldfish Pacific Kitchen is 'not'.

Chambar is still #1. But why is Port Moody's Boathouse so consistently popular???