When people imagine the perfect restaurant evening, no doubt a great table is part of that image. Whether it’s a secluded booth, a window table with a superb view or a corner table that overlooks all the dining-room action, the right table can turn a lovely evening into an unforgettable one.
Good tables do not make a great meal; good food does. But in a restaurant that already is providing an excellent dining experience, a great table is an undeniable plus.
Imagining the perfect table is one thing, however. Actually sitting down at one is another, because so-called perfect tables are rare and consequently highly sought-after. Thus begins the tricky, and sometimes messy, push-and-pull between customers who want particularly desirable tables and maitre d’s who have three times as many requests as tables.
Here’s a look at some of the best seats in the house in Chicago, and how one goes about acquiring one:
– Vivo. One of the coolest tables in the city is Table 70, the one inside Vivo’s non-functional elevator shaft. Perched 30 feet above the floor, the table offers a view of the dining-room activity while leaving its occupants comfortably and literally above it all. Michelle Pfeiffer dined at this table; so has Julia Roberts.
“It’s romantic,” says manager Danny Legatos. “There’s a big mirror inside, and lots of candles. It seats up to nine people, but it’s usually seated with six.”
Anybody can reserve the table, but it’s seated just once each evening, and weekend reservations typically must be made three to four weeks in advance (during the week, a day or two advance notice is sufficient). And yes, a table of two can reserve Table 70, even if the restaurant prefers larger parties.
– Spiaggia. This may be one of the few restaurants in town that can declare there’s not a bad seat in the house, and mean it. The tiered dining room affords a window view to virtually every table.
Still, according to general manager Arthur Greenan, the nine tables against the window are the most highly requested, followed by the intimate booths a level or two up. You want one of those tables? Just ask.
“We take the request (at the time of reservations), but they’re given out on a first-come, first-served basis,” Greenan says. “We try to remain pretty egalitarian about it, and not hold tables per se. If there’s an indication that a party is celebrating an anniversary or an engagement, that adds something.”
What doesn’t help is trying to bribe the maitre d’, a loathsome practice that, happily, is dying out. “It just doesn’t work here,” Greenan says firmly.
But one man’s lesser table is another man’s dream location. “Some people request the upper-level tables, where you get the view and see the interaction in the dining room,” Greenan says. “We have an open display kitchen, and some people like to sit there.”
– The Signature Room at the 95th. On a clear night or day, the view from the 95th floor of the John Hancock Center is superb. So naturally, everyone who dines at the Signature Room wants to sit at a window table. The Signature Room happens to have a lot of those (though never enough), but even among window tables, there are preferences.
Table 8, a window table on the north side, “is a biggie,” says president-owner Rick Roman. Table 8 is a window table along the north side. “It’s a round table for a party of four to six. And Table 4, right next to it, is very popular; it’s a table for two in the northeast corner.” Tables 111, 112 and 113, all for four, are on the south end and more popular with out-of-towners, Roman says.
You can’t reserve a window table. “We’re candid about that,” Roman says. “But if you want a window table, we suggest you arrive a little earlier, make your request, go relax in the lounge and we’ll do everything in our power to get you the table you want.”
The view from the 96th-floor lounge isn’t bad, either.
– The Pump Room. The famous Booth One is where Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall nibbled on wedding cake. Where Frank Sinatra used to sit (indeed, The Chairman dictated the booth’s location — its original location, by the stairwell, was too public for Sinatra’s tastes). Liza Minnelli ate here with her mother, Judy Garland.
So how do you get a reservation for Booth One?
You can’t. No chance. Fugedaboudit.
“We keep Booth One open for any celebrity that might walk in,” says manager Jayne Giannini. “Celebrities, government officials, local dignitaries can sit there. No one else.”
But there are plenty of requests for other tables.
” `We’d like a booth.’ That’s the phrase,” Giannini says. “They don’t know numbers specifically; any booth will do. I’ve got 11 booths besides Booth One, 300 reservations and they all want a booth. And if you don’t have a booth available, talk about pouting.”
So what do you do?
“Pray.”
It helps, Giannini says, to be a very regular customer. “We have customers who have been coming here for 25 years,” she says. “We have one couple, both doctors, who always sit in Booth 30 at 8 p.m. every Saturday.”
– Riva. The second-floor windows of this Navy Pier Italian seafooder overlook Lake Michigan and the lakefront skyline, so naturally its 18 or so window tables are insanely popular.
“Insane could be the key word,” says general manager Jason Andrews. “We put window tables on a first-come, first-served basis; some customers will wait an hour or more just to get a window table. We try to be as fair as we can, but it’s a challenge.”
The most popular tables are in the Chicago Room, which has floor-to-ceiling windows on the south and west. (Sometimes the room is reserved for private parties.) But tables on the east end of the restaurant are more popular in summer, because they have better views of the Navy Pier fireworks (every Tuesday and Saturday night).
Best strategy for getting a table, suggests Andrews, is to arrive as much as a half-hour early for your table. Check in, request a window table and find a comfortable place to wait.
