The best time to book a London restaurant
When tables open at the 9 London restaurants we watch, and how long they last once they do.
- 2,127 openings measured
- Last 90 days, refreshed nightly
- Same-day tables
- About 11% of London openings were for the same night: a minority, so book ahead.
- How long a table lasts
- London tables last hours, not minutes, in this sample. The fastest here are still around an hour.
When tables open
These tables count openings: a table that appeared on the public calendar and was later taken. Seating hours are the time of the meal, not the time the table appeared.
Share of all openings by the seating hour (local time).
| Seating | Share of openings |
|---|---|
| 12 PM | 9% |
| 1 PM | 8% |
| 2 PM | 6% |
| 3 PM | 3% |
| 4 PM | 2% |
| 5 PM | 15% |
| 6 PM | 17% |
| 7 PM | 15% |
| 8 PM | 15% |
| 9 PM | 8% |
| 10 PM | 2% |
Share of all openings by the day the table was for.
| Day | Share of openings |
|---|---|
| Sunday | 8% |
| Monday | 11% |
| Tuesday | 15% |
| Wednesday | 15% |
| Thursday | 18% |
| Friday | 17% |
| Saturday | 16% |
Where same-day tables appear most: share of a restaurant's openings that were for that same night.
| Restaurant | Same-day share | Typical table lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Akara | 19% | about 6 hours |
| Impala | 12% | about 11 hours |
| Ikoyi | 9% | about 10 hours |
| Gymkhana | 7% | about 2.6 hours |
| Bouchon Racine | 5% | about 55 minutes |
| The Foyer & Reading Room | 4% | about 1.7 hours |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | 3% | about 9 hours |
| Humble Chicken | 1% | about 4 hours |
| Sushi Tetsu | 0% | about 1.3 hours |
Where you must be fastest: the typical time a table stayed bookable.
| Restaurant | Typical table lasts | Gone within 5 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Bouchon Racine | about 55 minutes | 5% |
| Sushi Tetsu | about 1.3 hours | 3% |
| The Foyer & Reading Room | about 1.7 hours | 6% |
| Gymkhana | about 2.6 hours | 5% |
| Humble Chicken | about 4 hours | 22% |
| Akara | about 6 hours | 0% |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | about 9 hours | 0% |
| Ikoyi | about 10 hours | 0% |
| Impala | about 11 hours | 0% |
Proprietary data: Table Alert checks each restaurant's public booking calendar around the clock; these figures cover the last 90 days, through November 11, 2026, vouched restaurants only, and are refreshed every night.
What the numbers mean for you
London's openings spread across both lunch and the evening, with the evening larger. Openings are for Thursday, Friday and Saturday most, and Monday and Sunday least.
Same-night shares are largest at Akara and Impala, 19% and 12% of their openings, as of November 11, 2026.
The fastest here, Bouchon Racine and Sushi Tetsu, still keep a typical table for about an hour. You have time to react, but only if you hear about it.
What is measured, and what is not
We check each restaurant's public booking calendar around the clock. We count a table from when it appeared to when it was taken. The typical time is the middle one, so a few long-lasting tables do not skew it.
These are the 9 restaurants we watch, a small sample of London. Restaurants that sell mainly by phone are largely invisible to a calendar.
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FAQ
The best time to book a London restaurant: questions people ask
Some restaurants add new dates at a steady time (see the release-times page); others show no pattern we can see. We cannot tell a cancellation from a new release. In our data openings spread across lunch and evening, and the days with the most are Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Sometimes. About 11% of the openings we saw were for the same night, more at Akara and Impala. The same-day table above lists the restaurants where it is most common.
In this sample the typical table stays bookable for about an hour at the fastest restaurants and for hours at the rest. The fastest-table list above ranks every restaurant.
The weekday table above gives each day's share. In London Thursday to Saturday lead and Sunday and Monday are lowest; shares move slowly, so check the table for the current figures.
No. It covers the 9 London restaurants we watch and can vouch for. It is a small sample, and a restaurant outside it may behave differently.
No. Table Alert alerts you the moment a table appears, and you book it yourself on the restaurant's booking page. We never book, hold or resell reservations.
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Sources and how this page is made
Written by Jacob, founder of Table Alert. Facts checked against the sources below on November 12, 2026. The monitoring numbers are Table Alert's own, refreshed every night (latest: November 11, 2026). Out of date? Tell us.
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