Trying to beat the heat and the dinner rush? Dine later.
Summer nights are one of the season’s great joys. As someone who will take 90 degrees and full humidity over a crisp, autumn day any time (so much layering), I’m never more excited to dine outside. Because I know not everyone shares my enthusiasm, I try to be sympathetic to loved ones who wilt in the sun whenever I’m searching for restaurant reservations that can accommodate everyone. Summer nights are what we can all agree on. The temperatures are cooler but still comfortable enough to enjoy the outdoors sans-sweater. And if you’re willing to use the heat and timing to your advantage, they’re a great opportunity to snag tables or reservations. Resolve to eat late in the summer, and watch the season open up for you.
There are two reasons to aim for this window of opportunity. First, there is the matter of sheer comfort. At summer’s peak, I often find myself incapable of eating much until the sun goes down anyway. I often start my day with an iced coffee and maybe a smoothie, but having a heavy meal in the middle of the afternoon or an early dinner just makes me want to lie down indoors — and when I do have a meal that early in the afternoon or evening, I often can’t bring myself to enjoy dining since not enough time has passed between meals. Waiting to have dinner once it’s dark means my appetite has usually returned, and the weather has also cooled enough that I can stomach something more substantial than a cold salad or crudo. And a late-night reservation allows you to eat outdoors, if available, at a more crowd-pleasing temperature.
Second, dining later makes it more likely you’ll get into restaurants that might be difficult to book otherwise. Reservations between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. are the most in-demand at popular, buzzy restaurants, and even more so in the summer, when an indoor seat comes with air conditioning. But when it doesn’t get dark outside until 9 p.m., and the weather stays hot until the sun sets, waiting until later allows you a better chance to snag one of the restaurant’s last reservations of the day.
As you may have noticed, restaurant reservation culture has become sort of maddening. “The later the hour, the easier it becomes to get into some restaurants,” writes the New York Times, though they note that at the most in-demand places, there may be no way to game the system. Still, if the restaurant closes at 10:30, you can likely find a 9:30 reservation easier than one at 7:30 p.m.
Of course, you can show up late to a restaurant during a January blizzard, too, but why are you trying to squirrel yourself inside a restaurant on a summer Friday? The sun is still out! You should be in the park, or at the beach, somewhere outside enjoying how the day stretches on, the way you don’t even notice it’s “dinner time” until the shadows have lengthened. Only then should you arrive at the restaurant patio, maybe still a little sweaty and sun-dazed, as a light breeze blows through the sidewalk. Summer is for feeling every hour to the fullest with loved ones. Dinner will still be waiting when the sun goes down, and everyone sharing the meal will enjoy the experience more then too.
Additional photo illustration credits: Group of friends toasting photographed by FilippoBacci/Getty; Scenic sunset photographed by Ionut Petrea / 500px/ Getty.
