Reservations

The article on restaurant reservations (“No Wait at the Inn,” by Ruth Reichl, Dec. 20) was interesting, but it begs the obvious question: How many of these restaurants actually honor their reservations?

I had 7:30 reservations (made well in advance) for a Monday evening at one of the “opened in ‘87” restaurants on your list and was not seated until 8:10. The complimentary glass of wine provided to me and my companion did little to assuage our annoyance, particularly when, once finally seated, our waitress informed us that the kitchen had just run out of the special we wanted.

The article is correct in finding that making a reservation is rarely a problem--the restaurants are eager to lure you in because they know that once you’re there you’re stuck. You can’t go anywhere else at the last minute without reservations and if you try, you have to pay yet another valet to ransom your car and have to start waiting all over again.

In short, getting a reservation at a popular restaurant is only half the battle; the battle will only be won when restaurants learn to honor their promises.

SUSAN L. GANS

Los Angeles