Depending on how busy the restaurant is, Adega will keep one or both off the reservation map to accommodate the odd walk-in, though staff always get the OK from diners before seating them there.

"I think that every restaurant designer and manager should have to eat a four-hour multicourse meal in whatever seating they devise ... for pictures before booking and have written off some ...

Outback Steakhouse is streamlining the reservations and waiting ... wasting time waiting for their table. The restaurant is launching Click Thru Seating just before the holiday season begins ...

The fees also encourage guests to honor their plans. The rise of restaurant reservation platforms including OpenTable, Resy and others, also make it easy to collect and manage customers' credit ...

Chances are you've been a diner in a restaurant where, when sliding your chair back, you were annoyed by the crack of the chairs hitting and you still didn't have enough room to stand up.