This Site Helps You Book Reservations at Japan's Hottest Restaurants
Imagine you've booked a trip to Tokyo, planned out everything you wanted to see and do and the places you wanted to eat, only to find out your culinary wishes can't come true because you don't have one thing: a reservation.
That's where Tableall comes in. Japan is home to some of the world's most exclusive — and notoriously difficult to book — restaurants, like Tempura Motoyoshi, Karyu, Higuchi and Sushi Arai, among others. Created by a former Goldman Sachs banker Takashi Yamada and launched in late-2016, the site offers customers seats at restaurants that are in high demand by buying them out in advance so Tableall's customers will be able to get in.
When looking for your reservation, simply select the date you wish to go and Tableall will display all available restaurants with seats for parties of two. Note that there's a fee of 3,000 Japanese yen (~$26) per reservation. To help curb cancellations, you must pre-pay the price of a full-course meal — usually the best available course — as well as all service charges and taxes. If you order additional food items or beverages while you're at the restaurant, you'll need to pay for those separately.
Finding a reservation at one of Japan's more exclusive and high-end restaurants could be impossible if you don't plan months in advance, speak Japanese or don't use a Japanese-speaking friend or concierge service to do it for you. But with Tableall, you could be on your way to dining well on your next trip to Japan. Check out TPG's own experience with Tokyo's stellar restaurant scene in this episode of TPGtv:
http://vimeo.com/199390049
H/T: Forbes
