Reservations and Regulars at Momos and

[Fat Guy]

I guess I should add to the advice above: subscribe to this topic and set your subscription to immediate email notification. There's still an empty seat at Ko tonight for 8:30pm. I hope one of you grabs it.

[jimk]

Finally, although this has never happened to me, I have been told repeatedly by Ko's cooks that seats left empty due to no-shows and late cancellations are filled by offering them to customers at Noodle Bar and Ssam Bar. The aforementioned guy who had been to Ko nine times has, I was told, picked up several of his meals just by being at one of the other Momofukus. So if you're at the Momofukus a lot anyway, I suggest you mention to a manager that you're interested in a Ko cancellation if one comes along. But the credit card policy will make this a less common occurrence, I bet.

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I've witnessed this particular phenomenon. First time there (first weekend Ko was open) the couple seated next to us had been pulled from Ssam bar because someone had flaked on their reservation. They thought they'd won the lottery.

Just to add to FG's comments above - I've been to Ko three times now and have had success making reservations for friends and family. I had pretty good luck for the first couple of months, both at 10am and in grabbing cancellations that popped up. That changed after Bruni's review came out when it became much more difficult. I only started having success again a couple weeks ago when I was able to scoop a two-top as an anniversary gift for my parents-in-law who were visiting from Denver and house-sitting for us. I suspect demand has lightened up for the summer but will probably get tough again in September.

[LPShanet]

Finally, although this has never happened to me, I have been told repeatedly by Ko's cooks that seats left empty due to no-shows and late cancellations are filled by offering them to customers at Noodle Bar and Ssam Bar. The aforementioned guy who had been to Ko nine times has, I was told, picked up several of his meals just by being at one of the other Momofukus. So if you're at the Momofukus a lot anyway, I suggest you mention to a manager that you're interested in a Ko cancellation if one comes along. But the credit card policy will make this a less common occurrence, I bet.

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I've witnessed this particular phenomenon. First time there (first weekend Ko was open) the couple seated next to us had been pulled from Ssam bar because someone had flaked on their reservation. They thought they'd won the lottery.

Just to add to FG's comments above - I've been to Ko three times now and have had success making reservations for friends and family. I had pretty good luck for the first couple of months, both at 10am and in grabbing cancellations that popped up. That changed after Bruni's review came out when it became much more difficult. I only started having success again a couple weeks ago when I was able to scoop a two-top as an anniversary gift for my parents-in-law who were visiting from Denver and house-sitting for us. I suspect demand has lightened up for the summer but will probably get tough again in September.

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Was that recent two top acquired at 10am or as a cancellation? Just curious, as I've still been having an impossible time and haven't been at all yet.

[jimk]

Finally, although this has never happened to me, I have been told repeatedly by Ko's cooks that seats left empty due to no-shows and late cancellations are filled by offering them to customers at Noodle Bar and Ssam Bar. The aforementioned guy who had been to Ko nine times has, I was told, picked up several of his meals just by being at one of the other Momofukus. So if you're at the Momofukus a lot anyway, I suggest you mention to a manager that you're interested in a Ko cancellation if one comes along. But the credit card policy will make this a less common occurrence, I bet.

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I've witnessed this particular phenomenon. First time there (first weekend Ko was open) the couple seated next to us had been pulled from Ssam bar because someone had flaked on their reservation. They thought they'd won the lottery.

Just to add to FG's comments above - I've been to Ko three times now and have had success making reservations for friends and family. I had pretty good luck for the first couple of months, both at 10am and in grabbing cancellations that popped up. That changed after Bruni's review came out when it became much more difficult. I only started having success again a couple weeks ago when I was able to scoop a two-top as an anniversary gift for my parents-in-law who were visiting from Denver and house-sitting for us. I suspect demand has lightened up for the summer but will probably get tough again in September.

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Was that recent two top acquired at 10am or as a cancellation? Just curious, as I've still been having an impossible time and haven't been at all yet.

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It was at 10am sharp on a Saturday.

[jimk]

An excellent dinner at Ko last night - but worth noting that they are now actually now checking ID's of everyone so if you're thinking you can give/barter/sell a resy you can't use to a friend, think again.

[Fat Guy]

The times I've been recently they've only asked for IDs from people who didn't present a printout of a reservation confirmation -- an imperfect system. It makes sense to change it.

[edo]

Anyone heard any rumblings about when the reservations for lunch will go live or how they will work? I think they might start regular service next week, I read that somewhere. I'm kinda guessing that one morning this holiday weekend a line for the lunch seating will appear at 10am.

[Fat Guy]

Lunch reservations are live now.

[Fat Guy]

Mon 9/22 there are two 1-tops available for dinner: 7:10pm and 10pm.

[Fat Guy]

Also a two-top at 10pm same night Mon 9/22.

[LPShanet]

Sun 9/21 lunch for 4 available.

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Thanks, FG...you're my hero!!!! I'd been trying to get into Ko for months with no luck. Suddenly, I was able to do dinner and lunch in the same week. I'm a very happy eater. For those still hoping to get in, I've definitely had more luck checking at random hours for cancellations than trying to beat the 10am traffic jam.

[sickchangeup]

Looks like they need to ditch a 4 top reservation or two. Ko is such a great place to eat solo, they could probably break it up into 2:1:1 and do better?

[Fat Guy]

As far as I know they're still filling almost all their seats at every sitting. To put it in perspective, seven nights a week for the entire sitting Ko is like a popular restaurant on a Friday night at 8pm. There is extreme competition for seats. However, even in that scenario, there are always going to be cancellations.

I think one issue with four tops is that it can be tricky to assemble a group of four people willing to deal with all of Ko's inflexibility. I know when I had a four-top reservation I was only willing to go with eG-type people because none of my non-eG friends would have been disciplined enough to show up exactly on time, eat a set menu, sit on stools just because it's Ko, etc.

[oakapple]

Looks like they need to ditch a 4 top reservation or two.  Ko is such a great place to eat solo, they could probably break it up into 2:1:1 and do better?

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What's funny is that Ko is still the toughest ticket in town, and when a couple of cancellations show up—almost always taken in a short time—people worry that it's not doing well enough.

[jimk]

Looks like they need to ditch a 4 top reservation or two.  Ko is such a great place to eat solo, they could probably break it up into 2:1:1 and do better?

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What's funny is that Ko is still the toughest ticket in town, and when a couple of cancellations show up—almost always taken in a short time—people worry that it's not doing well enough.

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I haven't been trying at 10am lately - been lucky to eat there 4 times and will probably wait a few months to back when they've changed the menu a bit more. Does anyone have a sense of whether the 10am drill is any easier than it was?

[Fat Guy]

My casual observation, not scientifically supported, is that the 10am drill got harder after Labor Day.

[edo]

I don't think I have enough data to determine if it changed (and I try nearly every day), since the success rate is so low. It seems like every time you can usually see a green check but when you click on it, it has already been taken. I was able to go last night after getting a res around 10 am last week, but I got it at 10:01 after refreshing a few times because someone let the time expire or something. Catching the second wave a minute or two after 10:00 is how I've gotten my two most recent hits.

My casual observation, not scientifically supported, is that the 10am drill got harder after Labor Day.

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[Timh]

I was only willing to go with eG-type people because none of my non-eG friends would have been disciplined enough to show up exactly on time, eat a set menu, sit on stools just because it's Ko, etc.

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Those aren't real friends.

[scamhi]

There's been a 4 top for lunch available on Saturday (today) since before 5pm Friday.

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at a base cost of $640.00 plus drinks, tax and gratuity

[sickchangeup]

Friday lunch for 1 available right now