LA’s toughest restaurant reservations – and how to win at the booking game

Los Angeles restaurants may be dropping like flies, but try securing a table at one of the city’s hottest dining rooms, and you’d think the entire town is out to dinner.

Even as a brutal wave of closures continues to batter the City of Angels’ beleaguered hospitality industry, the city’s most sought-after eateries remain nearly impossible to crack, with reservations disappearing weeks or months in advance.

From the wildly popular Tokyo-inspired pies at Pizzeria Sei to the spectacle of Beverly Hills newcomer Bad Roman and the futuristic Skywalker Grill, snagging a seat can feel like winning the culinary lottery.

But there’s a way to beat the system if you know when to strike. The restaurant-obsessed insiders at The Infatuation have cracked the code at some of LA’s most maddeningly exclusive establishments, revealing the precise times coveted tables are released, when last-minute cancellations tend to appear and which eateries quietly reserve seats for walk-ins.

Pizzeria Sei

The cult-favorite Pizzeria Sei, which recently expanded from its tiny Pico-Robertson original into a second location in Palms, has become one of LA’s most coveted dining destinations thanks to its meticulously crafted Tokyo-style Neapolitan pies.

Reservations for both locations reportedly drop at noon exactly one week in advance. Walk-in seating is limited, but the experts say that diners stand a better chance after 8 p.m.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

Somni

For diners with especially deep pockets, Somni offers one of LA’s most exclusive and expensive culinary experiences.

With three Michelin stars, the WeHo restaurant has just 14 seats, and if you can get a reservation, you must pay a $600 deposit up front — their admission ticket to a nearly four-hour “orchestrated play” of 25 courses.

There’s only one dinner seating five nights a week, and reservations are released at 1 p.m. on the first weekday of each month.

Skywalker Grill

Perched atop the newly opened Lucas Museum, the Skywalker Grill’s futuristic dining room offers sweeping downtown views and spaceship-like interiors that have made it a magnet for curious Angelenos.

Tables are reportedly booked out months in advance, but the restaurant releases canceled reservations on the day of service, giving persistent diners an opportunity to swoop in at the last minute.

There are also a limited number of first-come, first-serve bar seats.

Quarter Sheets

At Echo Park’s Quarter Sheets Pizza Club, the square pies and beloved princess cake have inspired a fierce following.

After years of operating exclusively on a walk-in basis, the tiny restaurant now accepts reservations, but experts recommend logging on at 9 a.m. two weeks before your desired dinner date.

Bad Roman

Over in Beverly Hills, Bad Roman has brought a hefty dose of New York to the city’s polished dining scene with garlic-shaped chandeliers and menu items like pepperoni cups with ranch dressing.

Reservations are released at midnight, 30 days in advance, meaning serious diners should be ready when the clock strikes 12, or opt for a walk-in seat at the bar.

Holbox

At Michelin-starred Holbox, a humble seafood counter inside a South LA food hall, securing a reservation can be maddeningly difficult.

Their eight-course tasting menu is only offered on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and reservations are released at 11 a.m. on the first of each month — and vanish almost right away.

N/Naka

At the ultra-exclusive Japanese restaurant N/Naka, where a tasting menu costs $395 per person before tax and tap, reservations are released on Sundays at 10 a.m., a month in advance. Experts suggest emailing the restaurant about last-minute cancellations if online bookings are already gone.

Bar Di Bello

Bar Di Bello is a swanky Italian newcomer in Solver Lake, where stylish diners sip supersized Negronis and chow down on enormous chicken cutlets. Insiders say reservations drop at midnight two weeks in advance, but same-day cancellations can free up tables. If you’re an early bird, try as a walk-in by arriving around 5 p.m.

Restaurant Ki

Hidden inside Little Tokyo’s Bar Sawa behind an “Employees Only” door, the exclusive Korean tasting counter accommodates just 12 lucky diners at a time. Those who manage to snag a seat are treated to a $300, 12-course culinary extravaganza, but to get inside you might need to set an alarm for noon on the first of each month, when reservations are released for the following month.

Dunsmoor

Dunsmoor has become a Glassell Park hotspot, and a magnet for serious foodies thanks to chef Brian Dunsmoor’s live-fire cooking and famously indulgent cornbread drawing in diners from across LA. Reservations are available a month in advance, but the attached wine bar accepts walk-ins.