No booking, no problem — usually
Walking in without a booking
Yes. At the bar always, and in the dining room whenever there is room. Here is the honest version of when there will not be, because a page that just says “walk-ins welcome” is not telling you anything you can plan around.
When you will walk straight in
- Any lunchtime. Tuesday to Friday, midday to three. Lunch is never full and anybody telling you otherwise is managing you.
- Early dinner, Tuesday to Thursday. Five until about a quarter to seven. This is the easiest table in the week and the kitchen is at its sharpest.
- Brunch at half past ten or after two. The middle of a weekend brunch is the busiest service we run; the ends of it are quiet.
- The bar, any night. Twelve seats, never reservable. On a full Saturday it is where the last two people through the door eat.
When you will probably wait
- Friday and Saturday, seven to nine. The dining room is usually full. We will take your telephone number and call you rather than have you stand in the doorway, and the wait on a Saturday can genuinely be an hour.
- Weekend brunch, half past eleven to one. Same story, shorter waits.
- A party of five or more, any evening. Two people can almost always be squeezed somewhere. Five cannot, and the honest answer at the door will usually be no. Book that one.
Ninety minutes, or two hours for five or more. Your table is booked for ninety minutes, or two hours if there are five or more of you. That is not a hurry-up; it is arithmetic. Eighteen tables, two sittings on a Saturday evening, and a kitchen that cooks to order — if the first sitting runs long, the second sitting stands in the doorway. We would rather tell you the number when you book than discover it together at nine o'clock. If the table after you has not arrived, nobody will move you, and if you want a longer booking, ask and we will often say yes for an early one.
We do not keep a fake list
If we cannot seat you, you will be told so at the door rather than added to a list that goes nowhere to make the refusal feel softer. If there is a real chance within the hour, we will say roughly how long and take a number so you can go for a drink rather than stand about. Those are different answers and you are entitled to know which one you have been given.