Food is often a large part of why we travel. Tasting local flavors and having dinners at famous restaurants is all part of the allure for food for me when exploring. Certain places have certain foods or restaurants that you just have to try while there. The problem? Many times that involves waiting in lines, sometimes very long lines. I’m not a line person and will pretty much do whatever I can to avoid the wait, so here are my best tips for how to eat the best food around the world without the lines!
Make a Reservation
For big cities, this is a must. When we visit New York or London and want to eat a nice restaurant or a famous spot, we always make reservations. And sometimes, for certain places, reservations must be made months in advance. For example, we’ll be in New York in March and I already have it on my calendar in the next couple weeks to make our dinner reservations as they open 60 days in advance. You’ll get to eat at some of the most delicious restaurants in the world if you can plan ahead and make reservations!
Go to Breakfast places in the Afternoon
I love the beignets at Cafe due Monde in New Orleans but if you go in the morning (when everyone is eating beignets and coffee), you’ll probably experience a long line and a short wait for tables. But, if you go in the mid afternoon, everyone is out exploring New Orleans and you’ll most likely have the whole place to yourself without a wait. I employ this trick often when we travel of going to places most people want to go in the morning, but instead going in the afternoon when it’s quiet and you won’t have to wait.
Eat Dinner Early
Another way to eat at some of the best spots in the world is to eat dinner early right when the restaurant opens instead of waiting until the time when everyone is having dinner. This is especially great when you’re jet lagged and off schedule anyways. Show up at whatever restaurant you want at 4:30 or 5 when they open and you’ll probably have a better chance of getting in.
Leverage your Blog
A few years ago in Barcelona, Nick had watched a show about the famous restaurant Tickets there and really wanted to go. Tickets is notorious for being very hard to get into and often has a months’ long waiting list. On a whim, I sent an email to the restaurant asking if I could visit and review my experience for my blog. One day, a few weeks later, I got on email with a reservation for the two of us. It’s worth leveraging your blog if you have one to see if you can get in to some place because you never know what they’ll say!