How to get a reservation at Raku
Findable to book. 40% of the 30-day booking window was open at the last check. SnagRes has recorded 65,367 open time slots at Raku across 60,869 calendar checks. Of those openings, 56% were before 6:00 PM and 27% fell in prime time, 7:00 to 8:30 PM.
- Best odds
- 5:00 PM is the slot most often still open at Raku, since prime dinner times go first.
- Source
- SnagRes checks Raku on SevenRooms continuously. Last checked 7 September 2026.
Good news: Raku is usually within reach. About 40% of the next 30 days was open for two when we last looked, so shifting the night or the time is normally all it takes. It books on SevenRooms in East Village, New York City.
Booking statistics last measured 2026-09-07. How we measure this.
How hard is it to get a table at Raku?
27% of the open slots recorded at Raku fall between 7:00 and 8:30 PM, out of 65,367 observed, so prime time genuinely does surface here.
The times we see open run from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM, and the single slot that opens most often is 5:00 PM.
SevenRooms bookings usually run through a widget on the restaurant's own site rather than a marketplace app. There is no consumer feed to browse and often no waitlist, so availability can sit unnoticed simply because nobody thought to look.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Share of the 30-day window open, party of 2 | 40% |
| Share of the 30-day window open, party of 4 | 40% |
| Open slots falling between 7:00 and 8:30 PM | 27% |
| Time that opens most often | 5:00 PM |
| Range of times seen open | 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM |
| Booking platform | SevenRooms |
| Open time slots observed | 65,367 |
Availability figures are measured from our own checks of Raku (65,367 open time slots, 60,869 date checks). No official release time has been confirmed for Raku yet, so the timing notes here are inferred from when tables have actually appeared.
What is the best way to book Raku?
- Check what is open at Raku right now. Start from the live calendar on this page rather than from SevenRooms. It shows every date in the 30-day window with its current status, so you can see at a glance whether anything is bookable before you spend time on the platform.
- Widen your time to include 5:00 PM. 5:00 PM is the slot that opens most often at Raku. The full range we see open runs 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
- Set an alert instead of refreshing. SevenRooms bookings usually run through a widget on the restaurant's own site rather than a marketplace app. There is no consumer feed to browse and often no waitlist, so availability can sit unnoticed simply because nobody thought to look. Cancellations arrive on no schedule at all, which is why refreshing by hand does not work. Star Raku on SnagRes and you get an email the moment a table appears, with a link straight to SevenRooms.
Where can you actually get a table instead of Raku?
These are NYC restaurants close to Raku in cuisine or neighbourhood that were measurably easier to book at the last check. Ranked by how much easier, not by similarity alone, because a list of equally impossible restaurants helps nobody.
| Restaurant | Why it is similar | Window open |
|---|---|---|
| Shinzo Omakase | also Japanese, also East Village | 100% |
| ICCA | also Japanese, Tribeca | 77% |
| Tsukimi | also Japanese, also East Village | 67% |
| Umeko | also Japanese, West Village | 57% |
| Kono | also Japanese, Bowery | 53% |
| Ito | also Japanese, Tribeca | 50% |
Frequently asked questions about booking Raku
- How hard is it to get a reservation at Raku?
- At the last check, 40% of the 30-day booking window had a table open for two at Raku. About 27% of open slots land between 7:00 and 8:30 PM. SnagRes checks SevenRooms continuously and emails you when that changes.
- What time can you actually get a table at Raku?
- The open times recorded at Raku run from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM, and 5:00 PM is the slot that comes open most often. These are the times left available, not the restaurant's full service hours.
- What is the best party size to book Raku?
- Two and four book about equally at Raku in our data, 40% of the window open for two against 40% for four, so party size is not the lever here. Shifting the night or the seating time moves availability more.
- What time do Raku reservations open?
- Raku releases reservations 14 days ahead. We have not yet pinned the exact hour. SevenRooms bookings usually run through a widget on the restaurant's own site rather than a marketplace app. There is no consumer feed to browse and often no waitlist, so availability can sit unnoticed simply because nobody thought to look. SnagRes watches continuously rather than at a fixed hour.
- How far ahead does Raku release tables?
- Raku releases reservations 14 days ahead. A new date appears at the far edge of that window each cycle, and cancellations can surface at any point in between.
- Which booking platform does Raku use?
- Raku takes reservations on SevenRooms. SevenRooms bookings usually run through a widget on the restaurant's own site rather than a marketplace app. There is no consumer feed to browse and often no waitlist, so availability can sit unnoticed simply because nobody thought to look. SnagRes watches SevenRooms for Raku continuously and emails you the moment a table opens.
- Can you walk in at Raku?
- SnagRes tracks reservations rather than walk-ins, so we cannot see a live bar or counter count at Raku. Many rooms do hold a few seats for walk-ins, often early or at the bar, so it is worth calling ahead. If you would rather lock in a table, star Raku and we will email you the moment a reservation opens.
- Is using a reservation alert legal?
- Yes. SnagRes only notifies you when a table opens; the booking itself is an ordinary reservation you make yourself on SevenRooms, under your own name. It does not resell tables, run bots to hold them, or automate the booking, so it does not cross the lines a resale or auto-booking service does.
- Does SnagRes book Raku for me?
- No. SnagRes tells you the moment a table opens at Raku and links you straight to SevenRooms with the date prefilled, then you complete the reservation yourself. It never logs into your account and never books on your behalf, which is what keeps your account in good standing.
More NYC restaurants like this
- Book Raku on SevenRooms
- All 80 tracked NYC restaurants
- Also in East Village: ADDA, Bungalow, Penny, Claud, Naks, Ramen By Ra, Kabawa, Yamada
- More Japanese in NYC: Ito, Ramen By Ra, Kono, ICCA, Umeko, Yamada, Sushi Ikumi, Shinzo Omakase
- Other SevenRooms restaurants we track: Semma, Dhamaka, ADDA, Naks, Chez Fifi, Wild Cherry
- See all: Japanese restaurants in NYC.
- Ranked nearby: the hardest tables in East Village.
- Guides: How to get a table at Raku, How to get NYC reservations, SevenRooms reservation alerts, when every restaurant releases tables, how these numbers are measured