Going out to eat in Calgary is one of my favourite things to do. 

Especially since the city seems to be going through a little bit of a food revolution lately. We’ve seen countless new restaurants open up, all of which continue to be so pleasing to our palates. 

But along with many of these new restaurants has come an odd new trend that’s making going out to eat more annoying than ever. Have you noticed that an increasing amount of establishments are saying no to reservations? 

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve tried to call some of the hottest places in town, only to find out that I wouldn’t be able to book a table. And it’s not like I’m calling a few hours before. I’m a planner, so I’m talking weeks in advance.

Places like Una, Model Milk and The Coup all have a strict no-reservation policy. This approach often means that you end up waiting in line, sometimes for more than hour, just so you can eat food that you’re paying for. 

I don’t care if you’re serving deep-fried McLobsters, no restaurant is worth a wait that long.  These places might not respect their customers’ schedules, but I know lots of restaurants that do.

After some investigating, I now understand that if restaurants have people lined up around the block, they’ll never have an empty seat.  But I won’t be one of those people in line, especially now that it’s cold.  And I’m not the only one. 

I can’t imagine being an over-worked, time-starved parent that finally gets a night off, and then ends up spending most of the night waiting for a table.  What about those of us with plans after supper? I’m not going to miss a movie or concert because you don’t want to take reservations.

With so many different restaurants in Calgary, why would you choose to wait in line, when you can walk across the street and eat somewhere just as enjoyable?

For me, when I go out to eat, it’s something that should be relaxing, whether it’s with close friends or even by myself. (Yup, that’s me in the corner of that restaurant reading The Hunger Games.)

I’ve worked in enough restaurants to know that even the most popular place, no matter how cool it is, eventually needs to evolve to adapt to a changing clientele.

It’s just too bad that when they come looking for that clientele, we’ll already be getting dessert at that place that happily took our reservation.