13-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Booking a restaurant table in New York? Online trade in reservations faces a crackdown
Fancy some pasta at New York's posh Italian restaurant Carbone or maybe a whisky at The Polo Bar, Ralph Lauren's first New York restaurant?
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Hold on to your wallet, because some folks are shelling out hundreds of US dollars just for the privilege of booking a table, not even for the food.
In a city that never sleeps, money talks – especially when it comes to dining out.
As it is often impossible to get a table in the city's most popular restaurants weeks in advance, an online marketplace for table reservations has developed.
A view of Prince Street Pizza, a restaurant in New York, with a queue of people waiting to get in. Photo: Shutterstock
On these portals, people with deep pockets can bid for reservations that others have previously bought.
