What are you proposing him to do turn away his regulars? Not allow a diner to dine more often than once at his restaurant? Leave seats empty for first timers? Open a second branch?
You’re paying 350 for a meal it’s elitist either way lol. I’m sorry it’s been difficult for you to book but railing against a 350 pp 7 seats per night restaurant for being elitist due to your inability to book just seems to be like yelling at the clouds. The restaurant doesn’t owe it to the public to be accessible it’s just a business and the business model and capacity constraints make it difficult to get in.
Demanding the restaurant change their business model and railing against them for being “elitist” seems highly unwarranted.Like don’t go if you’re so mad about it. That’s the best way for a consumer to vote in a capitalist society if enough people agree with you then the restaurant will eventually be bookable or go out of business.
Patrons don’t have an inherent right to visit a restaurant under the terms dictated by said restaurant. If the restaurant was invite and referral-only (as many high-end restaurants are in Japan), then that’s their prerogative. The places that operate under this model do it mostly to manage overhead and guarantee that the diners who do visit are rewarded for their efforts and repeat patronage (and that trust is established over time). Like @butteredwaffles said, sure they could be missing out on new blood that can prove to be financially worthwhile, but restaurant operators will take the sure thing 100/100.
That being said, why would you want to keep chasing someone who’s just not that into you? This obviously isn’t the case here, but sounds like these emotions are being conveyed. Plenty of FTCers have gotten reservations the traditional way, and plenty others who’ve established “regular” or “friend” status over time with repeat visits and being an early adopter. While I was an early visitor of Hayato and know Brandon, I don’t consider myself having such status and will go through the normal Tock process when I want to visit (waitlist as a solo diner has a decent % of getting in), or just wait for @PorkyBelly’s invite.
Not sure I understand this complaint. Most established restaurants have regulars who they reward for their loyalty. Why would said regulars cutback on visiting a restaurant they love because a stranger they don’t know wants them to?
I’m proposing that given the reservation system, perhaps there is a system in PLACE that only allows someone to dine there once a year. If people make a big stink of it make it 2-3 times a year in 4 or 6 month increments based on the site.
No seats would be left empty, aren’t there rules in place they are still charged without a cancellation policy?
The issue is not paying $350, the issue is them making REGULARS allowed to go multiple if not at least from this board 4+ times a YEAR meanwhile hundreds of people can’t even get in once. That’s ridiculous.
I’m saying I personally would feel bad if I kept bragging about going somewhere multiple times a year to a VERY special restaurant meanwhile hundreds of people have not been given that chance. It’s a very “let them eat cake” moment.
What the business does is up to them, you are arguing the invite/referral only method in Japan is not elitist? Why are we moving goal posts?
I used the phrase “means/interest” and within that sentence meant “able/choosing to spend a lot of money on alcohol”.
I’ve seen guests drop hundreds to thousands of dollars drinking at Hayato most times I’ve been. That’s an important relationship, regardless the size of the restaurant. Plenty of people can afford to eat at Hayato, not everyone drinks like that.
I’ve also seen people not drink, or just have beers, a pour of sake. And that could be for any number of reasons, there’s no judgment. But that’s still less money spent.
Hayato’s balancing act is more difficult and visible because there’s only seven seats but all kinds of places make these decisions.
Sure it’s hard to argue that this isn’t elitist, but such places often operate at a razor-thin margin, and again I’m sure they rather have the sure thing. It’s not moving goal posts, but rather not having the leg to kick between the uprights to begin with. This isn’t being refused service on the basis of discrimination, nor on public grounds where everyone has the right be, but rather a choice by a private operator where said choice is still technically accessible by all.
On the flip side, what do you think about businesses that are credit card-only? Is that discriminatory to people who prefer to carry and pay with cash, or does it imply that the business is elitist because “elitist” clientele are more likely to pay by card?
I’m trying to do you a favor but telling you this isnt a “once in a lifetime” meal so get over it and find a new restaurant.
I’ve dined at restaurants that have been considered best in the world and I dont think there is any meal that I would consider once in a lifetime because restaurants come and go and they will keep coming because we all love them so much and crazy idiots keep opening them with risk of failure.
You seemed so fixated on this restaurant that I bet once you dine there you might even feel a slight disappointment like a dog finally catching the car after chasing it for so long. I dont know how experienced of a diner you are at high end restaurants but let me tell you something. If Hayato is your mount everest, you know what may happen once you dine there? You’ll see a new mountain you want to climb and sometimes its a neverending quest, at least for me it is. I had the opportunity to dine at Faviken once and I passed on it the year before I knew it would close and its been one of my white whales but to be honest every time I go back to Japan the sting lessens and I realize, I’m still gonna be privileged to eat well in this world. But if you want to keep torturing yourself for not being able to get in so be it.
Yes, my only argument was people saying this wasn’t elitist which is ridiculous. The rest of your post is understandable, but the credit card only analogy is meh.
perhaps the intention is not to brag, but it can obviously come across that way. It’s like someone posting on a sports board the 10 times they went to a game and had courtside seats… umm thanks? congrats?
Ok then wrong phrasing if that bothers you then. “Best restaurant allegedly in LA”?
The point being there is something “off” (from a non owner/restaurant perspective) about some people going multiple times in the same year to the “best restaurant in LA” that only seats 7 people while others find it impossible to even come close to getting to go.
If you can’t understand that can’t help you there.
I hate to tell you that dining out and certainly high end places like Hayato are almost inherently exclusionary. So saying they are elitist is kind of an unavoidable truism. They have a limited capacity to serve people, and when they are super successful the number of people who want to dine there exceeds their capacity to serve. This happens even in low end places, consider any number of asian hawker stands that sell out every day. Charging $350/head for dinner definitely excludes a lot of people who may otherwise have been interested! In the same way that it does for Taylor Switft tickets. Unfortunately restaurants experiences can’t scale to stadium sizes like a concert can, so ability to meet demand can be even more constrained. It sounds like you saying that all reservations should be up for grabs on Tock because that would be more egalitarian… I mean sure, maybe it is, but ultimately Hayato would still be elitist and exclusionary to a large extent. Only people with the ability to spend that kind of money can even consider it, you need to be available at a specific time to attempt a reservation, you must live in LA or be able to travel there, etc. It’s inherent to the type of restaurant it is. If you wanted to be perfectly egalitarian you’d have a lottery that anyone could enter for a nominal price that anyone interested could afford, and you win a free dinner at Hayato as your prize, but I don’t think you could actually run a business like that in our capitalist system.
You seem to be angry that you can’t get a reservation at Hayato … I get it, but none of us are actually entitled to go there. And, what you propose doesn’t meaningfully make Hayato less of an elitist experience, plus I’m not sure it would really help your odds of getting a reservation. There’s plenty of good advice above on how to increase your chances of getting a reservation if you are determined, persistent, and flexible enough.
I appreciate it when people post their experiences, even “regulars”. It helped me decide that it was worth the high price of admission when I got the chance to dine there. I find it a valuable record of the seasonal rhythm of the menu and the evolution over the years, which is kind of central to the concept of a restaurant like Hayato.
Tock seats are available every month and the reservation system works fine for a normal-non-robotic human like me. I’ve booked through tock multiple times**. I also shared what I usually did on the restaurant’s thread. I hope it is helpful to some extent.
But I think I forgot to share something important.
When I cannot get a seat through Tock, there are two simple things I usually do.
Move on. Nothing to be salty about. The next month will come soon enough - if I really want it, I’ll try my best next time and eventually I’ll get it. This also applies so multiple aspects of life.
Join the wait-list. I’ve gotten on the wait-list once after trying this several times. It helps to have a lot of availability days just in case anyone drop out at the last minute. This requires commitment and a little luck. *If I don’t get it again and again, I’ll go back to #1 and try it next time.
**To me, Hayato is a very good restaurant beyond the league around here. I don’t feel bad about coming back to book again anymore. Every meal there has never been the same. The food is consistently getting better in every aspects imaginable, and the experience itself genuinely makes me happy. If you understand all the hard work (and hardships) behind this tiny restaurant, I think you will love it even more. On the price of happiness, no one has the right to stop others from being legally happy. I would highly recommend everyone to do more of the things that make you happy – only when it feels right to you!
Simply put, everything requires efforts and everyone will have something to complain about. The good thing is I (or we, to whoever has the same mindset) don’t have to worry about the negative complainers so much - not like those will add anything nice to our life. Might as well just move on from all the negatives and enjoy a good meal whenever the chance comes again
To be honest, I didn’t read this thread words to words. It seems quite lengthy. I don’t usually spend that much time to complain or meddle in anything non-constructive nor knowing who is who. I just feel like jotting down my thoughts and some tips, hoping that it will be helpful. If I offended anyone, don’t take it to heart and please… go do more of the things that make you happier. Happy Monday!
