Odd - since that episode - n/naka has been solidly booked months ahead.
Snagged another 5:45 Saturday reservation yesterday. With practice and persistence this is actually getting quite easy.
Years of buying tix on ticketmaster have prepared me for this.
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You really must be saving a fortune since moving to the Valley 
.
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So I have an upcoming 9:15 reservation. When should I expect to finish? A little after midnight? Or does the late seating move a little quicker?
Kind of depends on how much you drink.
It does not move quicker.
But 1 AM or so is when I have finished.
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we finished about midnight
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Alright everyone, so help me out. I went to in N-Naka last night and the food was fantastic.
But we had a 9:15 reservation and werenât seated until 9:50. When we were finally seated, there were no apologies, no acknowledgments whatsoever that we had just waited for 35 minutes on a street corner. Needless to say, thatâs not the kind of service I want when Iâm spending upwards of 500 dollars for two.
So is it on me as the customer to demand something? How do you go about expressing your displeasure? Should it have been just a simple, âHey Jeffrey, that was a long and cold wait. Is there anything you can do about it?â
It was my first time there, so I didnât want to be the angry customer, etc.
I would have been in there every ten minutes checking on my reservation.
Alternatively, as being seated, âThat was quite a delay.â Let them explain/offer. If no response, send a polite email expressing your surprise that this situation occurred at a restaurant of this caliber.
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By visiting other restaurants in the future - either a restaurant has an understanding of all aspects of good service or not (and at that price levels there are no âoff days in terms of service and cooking)
Did you wait on the street corner b/c there no place to wait inside (Iâve never been).
I do think that, at that price level, itâs totally appropriate to e-mail the restaurant to say something like, âI greatly enjoyed the food I had last night but found the 35-minute delay in being seated to be rather odd, especially since there the staff didnât acknowledge what had happened. And waiting that amount of time wasnât particularly comfortable because thereâs no place to wait inside.â
Honestly, at even a quarter of that price, Iâd be pretty miffed if I had to wait over 30 min for a seat when I had made a reservationâŚ
I do think that any restaurant, at any price point, can have an âoffâ day, but I would imagine that an expensive restaurant would know how to handle it better (and it sounds like your situation wasnât really handled at all).
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I agree. When I went to N/Naka I had to wait 15 minutes. I think it is a somewhat delicate issue for them because when people have paid so much money itâs hard to force them out if they linger. But at least when it happened to us they brought us a free thing of nice sake.
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2/3 times Iâve had to wait 15-20 mins there. Think itâs just an LA thing, nearly everywhere I go at my res time I still have to wait.
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Totally understandable.
Whatâs not understandable, IMHO, is the staff not coming out to simply say, âWe apologize for the wait. We want donât any of our customers to feel rushed, which is why we havenât been able to seat you yet.â And offer at least a glass of wine or something.
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Agreed. That is what they did for us when we were there. I would email politely and explain; my bet is they invite you in with a free drink/sake on the house next time, or do something else to make up for it.
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It is my understanding that you (or your companion) did get comped, and something not insignificant it appears (i.e., more than just a glass of wine).
Itâs unfortunate, but these things happen. And Iâm pretty sure it was not intentional.
The plot thickens
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Da fix: toro w/ white truffle + Montrachet.
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This rings true to me. As does the wait â which sucks, but sometimes cannot be helped, only assuaged (with some sort of freebie). The folks paying the same amount for the early table feel (rightly) that they can stay until they are good and ready to leave. The staff is in an awful position - cannot offend the early table and push them out, but also need to respect the late waiting folks. Surprised it works out as well as it (usually) does.
BE GLAD THE FOOD WAS GREAT.
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Hi @ipsedixit, I am assuming you think I am the Yelper who posted that review about his time being valuable, and all that. I think that assumption is a little unfair to me.
I was with a party of four. Not a table of two. We were not offered anything. We each had the regular menu and, as a table, we had two carafes of Born Gold that cost 44 dollars each. That totaled to 906 dollars before tip. Does that sound comped to you? (Asking sincerely.) We tipped 22 percent because I recognized the fantastic service (once we were actually inside the restaurant.) No mention was made of anything being comped. Is it possible that the kitchen slid in an extra dish for us? Maybe? Though I imagine if they did so, they would have mentioned it?
So please donât assume that Iâm out here posting on Yelp about a negative experience or that I would lie about my experience. I respect n/Naka and what their team has created too much to do that. I posted on FTC because as somebody who doesnât get the chance to dine at places like N/Naka that often, I was honestly unsure what the protocol is in a situation like that.
Hence, why I came here rather than ranting on Yelp.
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Thatâs exactly what I did. Again, it wasnât a huge deal to me and had no effect on my enjoyment of the meal. I just thought it wasnât handled that wellâand was quite frankly unsure of what I should do.