A quaint public house in Bristol, England, has been recognized as the most challenging place worldwide to secure a dining reservation, surpassing even New York’s renowned gourmet establishments.
Nestled in Bristol’s heart, The Bank Tavern has become an iconic destination for culinary enthusiasts, offering an incredible Sunday roast that has catapulted it to global fame. The unpretentious pub has a staggering four-year waiting list, topping a recent survey’s rankings as the most difficult eatery in the world to score a reservation.
This Bristol pub’s home-cooked gravy and generous Yorkshire puddings have made their Sunday offering a sensation, recognized as Britain’s best by the Observer Food Monthly Awards in 2019.
The survey also shone a spotlight on two other UK-based restaurants that made the top 10 list for their prolonged reservation wait times. Heston Blumenthal’s celebrated restaurant, The Fat Duck in Bray, has diners waiting for a table for approximately four months. The ninth slot went to The Cove Club in London, where the wait time is around three months.
The survey’s rankings showed that the United States’ most exclusive eatery is Damon Baehrel in New York. This establishment earned the rank of the second most difficult reservation to secure globally, with a waiting list spanning nearly a year.
These waiting times reflect the duration customers can anticipate before a table becomes available. An interesting trend in the industry is the move by some restaurants to release tables in monthly allocations. Other establishments continue to navigate through backlogs exacerbated by the Coronavirus pandemic.
The study was conducted by Dojo, a business payment provider, contributing to our understanding of global dining trends and customer preferences.
Below is a summary of the restaurants featured in the study, listed with their expected waiting periods:
- The Bank Tavern, Bristol, UK: 4 years
- Damon Baehrel, New York, USA: ~ 1 year
- Masalawala & Sons, New York, USA: ~ 6 months
- La Mesita de Almanza, Tierra del Fuego Argentina: ~ 6 months
- Mesa 1, Punta de Mita, Mexico: ~ 6 months
- Disfrutar, Barcelona, Spain: ~ 5 months
- The Fat Duck, Bray, UK: ~ 4 months
- Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark: ~ 3 months
- The Cove Club, London, UK: ~ 3 months
- Brae, Birregurra, Australia: ~ 2 months