We monitor about 140 restaurants across New York and San Francisco and re-check each one every 15 minutes. For each restaurant we record the share of tracked days that had at least one bookable table. The restaurants on this page all scored 93% or higher, meaning a table was available on nearly every day we checked. The figures were measured as of August 19, 2026.
No. Every restaurant on this list is strong and well regarded. A high open share reflects supply keeping pace with demand, not weak quality. Minetta Tavern, Per Se, Delfina, and Nopa are all destinations that simply carry enough availability to seat you without a fight.
Yes, in our data. Per Se releases tables at 10 AM on Tock and showed a bookable table on 97% of the days we tracked. It is the clearest example of a celebrated fine-dining room being far more available than its reputation implies.
Usually not. Because a table is open on nearly every day we check, you can book these directly whenever you like. Alerts and release-time sniping pay off for the 42 restaurants we track that sit at 0%, where the only openings come from last-minute cancellations at random hours.
We re-check every tracked restaurant every 15 minutes. The percentages on this page reflect the window measured as of August 19, 2026. The New York and San Francisco trackers show current availability rather than a stored snapshot.
Most of this list books through OpenTable, with a few on Resy and Per Se on Tock. That contrasts with the hardest New York tables, which concentrate on Resy. When a restaurant is not scrambling at a fixed release hour, the platform it uses matters far less.
Most reservation coverage fixates on the tables you cannot get. The more useful list is the opposite one. SnagRes tracks about 140 restaurants across New York and San Francisco and re-checks each one every 15 minutes, and a large group of genuinely good rooms turned up a bookable table on nearly every day we looked. These are the strong, desirable restaurants that still have a seat most nights, so you do not need an alert, a bot, or a lucky cancellation to get in.
The figures here were measured as of August 19, 2026. The open share is the percentage of tracked days that had at least one bookable table. A high number means availability was present on nearly every day we checked, which is the practical opposite of the 42 restaurants we track that sat at 0% across the entire window. Both groups are well regarded. The difference is that these tables come to you.
Here are the New York restaurants that combined a strong reputation with availability on nearly every day we tracked, ranked by open share. Platform and release time are listed where we have confirmed them.
Minetta Tavern (Greenwich Village): books on Resy and showed a bookable table on 100% of the days we tracked, making it the most reliable seat on this New York list.
Essex (Lower East Side): books on Resy and also showed a bookable table on 100% of the days we checked.
Per Se (Columbus Circle): releases at 10 AM on Tock and showed a bookable table on 97% of the days we checked, which is remarkable for a celebrated fine-dining room whose reputation suggests it should be far harder to book.
Cecchi's (Greenwich Village): books on Resy and showed a bookable table on 97% of the days we tracked.
Nubeluz (NoMad): releases at 9 AM on OpenTable and showed a bookable table on 97% of the days we checked.
Casa Mono (Union Square): books on OpenTable and showed a bookable table on 93% of the days we tracked.
San Francisco has the same pattern. These are well-liked rooms that nonetheless held open availability across almost the entire window, again ranked by open share.
Delfina (Mission): books on OpenTable and showed a bookable table on 100% of the days we tracked, the most reliable seat on this San Francisco list.
Nopa (NoPa): releases at 9 AM on OpenTable and showed a bookable table on 97% of the days we checked, despite being one of the neighborhood's most enduring destinations.
Horsefeather (Divisadero): books on OpenTable and showed a bookable table on 97% of the days we tracked.
Hinodeya (Marina): books on OpenTable and showed a bookable table on 97% of the days we checked.
The Anchovy Bar (Fillmore): releases at 12 PM on OpenTable and showed a bookable table on 97% of the days we tracked.
Elena's (Nob Hill): books on OpenTable and showed a bookable table on 93% of the days we checked.
The hardest tables are hard for structural reasons. They release a small number of seats on a fixed schedule, often at 9 or 10 AM on a rolling window, and every prime night is claimed within seconds. The restaurants on this page do the reverse. They carry enough covers, turn tables often enough, or draw a steady rather than frenzied crowd, so supply keeps pace with demand and a seat is almost always sitting open when you look.
Notice how the platforms split. The 0% New York list concentrates on Resy, where rolling and batch drops reward whoever is watching the calendar at the exact minute. The bookable list leans on OpenTable, with Resy and one Tock room mixed in. That is not a coincidence. When a restaurant is not fighting a scramble at the release hour, the app it uses matters far less, because the table is there for anyone who checks.
Per Se is the sharpest illustration. It is a three-star fine-dining room that most people assume is out of reach, yet it released a bookable table on 97% of the days we tracked. Reputation and real availability are not the same thing, and only measurement tells you which is which.
Treat it as the low-effort tier of your reservation plan. For anything here, you can open the app, pick a night, and book, without setting an alert or waking up for a release. Save the harder tools for the harder tables. Alerts and release-time sniping are worth it for the 0% rooms, where a seat only surfaces through a cancellation at a random hour.
Availability also moves, which is why we re-check every 15 minutes rather than publish a static guide. A room that is wide open this month can tighten after a review, and a hard one can loosen. For the current picture, the live New York and San Francisco trackers show what is bookable right now.
Real availability data on great NYC and SF restaurants with a table most nights: Minetta Tavern, Per Se, Delfina and more you can book now.
Strong, well-regarded restaurants in New York and San Francisco that had a bookable table on nearly every day we tracked, drawn from live availability data.
Keep reading: The hardest NYC reservations · Live NYC availability · Live SF availability