Show HN: HackerTable.com, reservations at elusive restaurants (3-day project) | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: HackerTable.com, reservations at elusive restaurants (3-day project)

hackertable.com

24 pointslerhaupt14 comments

Nice. I like the concept of "best" though it's obviously (purposefully?) vague. What does best mean here?

An idea I like, is allowing eateries to accept reservations for specific tables. After the visit the diner could review the actual table and rate its appropriateness for specific occasions (first date, business meal, group of guys, etc.)as well as a short writeup. There are many places that have different vibes depending on where the table is, of course this can change on a nightly basis depending on crowd, day of the week, and other variables.

Adding this extra level of reservation personalization by allowing the user to choose their own table might encourage repeat visits. Imagine if a couple had "a table" that they always liked to eat at. It would also allow individuals to sort not by "Best" but by "Best for Intimate Conversation" or "Best for Great Bay Views".

Just for fun, Joe (hn: joe6pack) and I decided to code up a 3 day side project. It surfaces the best reservations currently available in the SF Bay Area. Certainly the ranking algorithm could be improved, but we hope you enjoy this little bit of amusement.

Please review and let us know if you find it useful.

Is that real data? You've got reservations at The French Laundry four days from now?!?

Indeed it is - that was the point of the site.

That's fantastic. I assumed that they kept a waiting list in order to keep the restaurant full. This is really interesting.

Does OpenTable have an affiliate program?

Click the 'Reserve' button, and it goes to Opentable. Awesome way to surface availability.

Opentable has a lot of tables for 4 for dinner at TFL, the key is to either get these tables 2 months in advance (the earliest you can get a reservation for a table) or to snag a cancellation in time.

Seriously, I wish I had this (or even thought of it) two months ago when I tried to get a reservation at the French Laundry. I had a specific date and time in mind (tomorrow for lunch for my birthday ;) ), but being able to see availability without constantly looking up reservations at opentable or calling the restaurant is sweet, even if I ended up getting my reservation by calling up amex's concierge with my business platinum card.

exclusive? or are these restaurants constantly hiding?

More like you can never get reservations there. They're constantly eluding you, if you will.

_The_ Abe Froman? The Sausage King of Chicago?

nice. except now i need to take more consulting work to actually afford to go to one of these places.

itsabitpointlessdontyouthink?

At surface value, sure - although if you want a table at one of these places, it's fairly useful.

The backstory is that we used this mini-project to see how we work together as a team. We're working longer-term on NivNav.com, but wanted a short, isolated project where we could feel out our collaboration style. HackerTable.com was born.

I'd recommend this approach to any early-stage startups that are looking for co-founders. Obviously don't distract yourself with side-projects if the timing isn't right, but seek out short, isolated projects where you can get a sense of how you'll work together.

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