Business travelers often don’t have a lot of notice they’re going to Washington. They almost certainly don’t have the months-worth of notice required to secure reservations at dining hot spots such as Minibar or Fiola Mare.
That’s where the Table 8 service and app comes in. Table 8 enables last-minute diners to make reservations at some of Washington’s toughest-to-get-into restaurants — for a fee — starting Monday.
The San Francisco-based company tells The Washington Post it selected Washington as its next expansion market due to a combination of a high number of business travelers and a surging restaurant scene. Diners will be able to secure reservations at 14 top restaurants in our region, including Fiola Mare, Del Campo and Estadio. Fees can range between $20 and $40, depending on the restaurant and timing. It plans to keep the total restaurant number low, to about 25.
Table 8 has raised $7 million and is in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and makes money by retaining some of the booking fees, with the rest going to the restaurants. The company tells the Post it plans to expand in five or six more cities this year.
