Reservation Policy

Reservation Policy at The Salty Pig

The short version: We accept reservations for parties of 6 to 15 people, for lunch and dinner, seven days a week.

The much longer version:

- Reservations should be taken by hosts and managers only, and every reservation should be initialed by the person who accepted it and the date they took it.

- We do not take reservations more than 30 days in advance (to allow for buy-outs or private parties)

- All reservations of parties greater than 8 should be approved by a manager (ideally while the guest is still on hold.)

- All parties larger than 15 should be directed to the general manager. Please encourage guests to email ines@thesaltypig.com for information on private parties.

- While we use “reservation slots” for our convenience and as a planning tool, we never discuss this with the guests. The only language we should use is “we have availability at 6:30 or 8PM that day,” or “unfortunately we are fully reserved.”

- While guests get a text message from TableUp asking them to confirm their reservations, the host is responsible to follow up with any reservations that are not marked “confirmed!” at the beginning of their shift (11:30AM or 4PM)

- For confirmed or unconfirmed reservations we will give the guests the courtesy of waiting 15 minutes for their party. If no guests have arrived and we aren’t able to reach the party by phone, we might make the table available to other guests, at the discretion of the MOD.  

- Due to our space limitations, we aren’t able to take reservations for “drinks and cocktails” or reservations for unclear numbers of guests (“There will be 20 people but not all at once”). Reservations are for lunch/ dinner only and we ask the guest making the reservation that they confirm the number of their party before making or confirming the reservation

- Any request to deviate from these procedures should be directed to a manager.

- On the occasion that a private party has been reserved for a particular day, a manager will make a “place holder” reservation on that date and indicate 99s guests. No other reservations should be taken on a day with a “99” mark

- Current slots (subject to change) are 6, 6:30, 8, 8:30 on weekdays and 6 and 6:30 on Fridays and Saturdays. Again, please don’t mention this to guests.

- When talking to guests who are looking for a date for which we have filled all slots, use the language “unfortunately we are fully reserved.” Do not encourage guests to “try their luck” at the door.

- While it might feel counter-intuitive to discourage large parties beyond the reservations, we are actively taking care of our guests by not over promising. Keep in mind that when we tell guests that “maybe the wait won’t be too long” or anything of the sort, we are in fact Over Promising something we have no control in delivering. Always strive to Under Promise and Over Deliver--That’s they way for the restaurant to shine!

- Taking care of large parties: large parties, particular those of more than 8 guests, or consecutive smaller parties, can throw a wrench in our very small kitchen. Always communicate about such parties with the managers, both FOH and BOH so that we can take care of every guest in the restaurant appropriately.

- SP guests: if a reservation is for known friends of the restaurant, industry folks, family or friends of any employee, or otherwise “special people” we should be marking the reservation notes with “SP”. This should also be communicated to the chefs and FOH managers both when going over reservations and when the guests have arrived.

-  Communication with the chefs in general, and when we are very busy in particular, is a crucial function of the host team. In addition to “open menu” counts, hosts should be communicating when large parties are arriving/ completed (“10 top is partially arrived” “10 top is complete”) as well as any SP guests or information of note.