I use this app frequently. It makes securing reservations easy. But there is one serious flaw: The points are basically worthless. I have a huge number of points, but the process to use them, the limited number of eligible restaurants and the potential loss of points for needing a change negate any benefit. I'll keep using the app, but not because of the meaningless rewards.
Reviews for OpenTable
← Back to OpenTableIt would be nice if the app gave you a character limit count when writing a review instead of letting you write it all out and then give you a pop up that says "Concise reviews have more impact" and not letting you continue. I'm sorry I was giving a detailed account of my experience and not a blurb you could just as easily throw up on Twitter.
Difficult to use; more steps than bank verification. Verification sent via text then, I have to have it sent to my email. Sit there and wait and nothing happens. Too many steps just to make a reservation at a place to eat! I'm surprised it didn't ask for biometrics or a DNA sample. Feckless app just to make a reservation. If I was a restaurant, I would not allow my customers to use this app.
When trying to make a reservation at a restaurant that requires a credit card to hold a table, the app shuts down without any explanation. I had to make the reservation online an create another Open Table account. What a hassle! I'm lucky the reservation time wasn't taken by the time I went through all the extra work. Plus, I can't seem to access this new account through the app, since when I log off, it prompts me for my phone number and logs me back into my first account.
I finally collected 5,000 rewards points and I was excited to get $50 to spend on a nice dinner. I then discovered my favorite restaurant did not accept points and many restaurants only valued my points at $25. After trying to redeem points for a week, I found a restaurant to take my points and got a $60 gift card for them! When I went to pay for the meal, the gift card did not work, and I wound up in an awkward 10 minute exchange with the restaurant. After going through all of that, OpenTable made no apology for my bad experience and simply credited me back the 5,000 points so that I can go through this all over again.
Horribly designed, not user friendly. They discontinue account if 2-3 reservations are missed, which can happen to anyone, especially during a pandemic. It's easier to call and reserve directly or use other apps like yelp. Lags like crazy when trying to leave a review and says " error". Then sends you a 1000 notifications asking to write a review.
Open Table makes it easy to find a restaurant anywhere I'm going and to make a reservation. I really like that it will add the reservation to my calendar, so all the necessary information is handy. Open Table also has kept me from making time-consuming mistakes. I had planned to go to a particular restaurant tonight, so went to Open Table to book it. I found out the restaurant isn't open on Mondays. I quickly checked for other options in the vicinity and made an alternate reservation. I am on a tight schedule tonight, so was glad not to be searching for an alternate at the last minute.
Horrible experience. I have not been able to book a restaurant because every time I try to I get a "technical error". I've logged on via Google and reset my password, both have failed. Sad to see they are the only real online booking app for restaurants. Want to book a table somewhere? Calling the restaurant works just as well... Even better some might say.
It's annoying that all upcoming reservations aren't listed under "Reservations" like on the desktop site. The app now only lists the next upcoming reservation. You can, however, find the other reservations if you click on "notifications." It's annoying to have to hunt around for the reservations rather than have it simply listed under "Reservations."
App is a struggle to use for making reservations. Suggestions come up as 'uh-oh, nothing found' even when multiple restaurants clearly have availability. Try to change your party size in the search tool... it takes 5 or 6 iterations before it successfully updates. Restaurants don't show up by area in many instances, only if you search for them specifically by name. Not recommended for planning your evening... just reach out to the establishment directly.
The app almost never works. I enter my phone number and code sent and it asks for my email. Then it says "account already exists" and sends code to confirm email, which I do. Then I repeatedly get an error message saying something went wrong. On those occasions where I am able to book a reservation, I can't modify the reservation without going through the same flawed process above. Garbage and a complete waste of time.
Easy to use app with one fatal flaw. I needed to make 2 reservations this evening, one was a business meal (a quick in and out) and the other a social event (to eat a proper meal). I used the app to make both reservations. When I showed up at the first place with my business colleagues, I was informed that the reservation had been canceled and there was no place for us as the place was "reservations only". Wow did I look like an idiot, AND this left us scrambling for a place to eat. Boo!
In general, I LOVE this app. I use it for 80% of my bookings. I only wish more restaurants were on here. The only glitch I've encountered is difficulty editing reservations from time to time. If I need to make a change, or cancel, I usually end up having to call the restaurant instead of being able to do so from the app/online. Other than that, this app is the best!
I love this app for the most part. However, I rate 2 stars because out of over 30 rsvps, the app has canceled 5 of them even though I was at my rsvp! The communication between the app and restaurants needs work. Even at restaurants I am a regular at, I still get an email saying, "it looks like you didn't make the rsvp". And it's tried to deny me my points because of it. It's also hard to find non-chain restaurants in new cities and/or states even using the search button.
The app makes it very easy to check availability and make reservations, including when special requests are necessary. Edit: I will lowered the rating. I liked the app because I was always logged in, but the app no longer remembers who I am and forces me to go through the same login process as I would with a webpage. Therefore, the app is now redundant and unneeded.
Overall app functionality is pretty good. Easy to make reservations and to share them. The map is terrible though. It constantly auto-zooms and makes searching for locations on the map nearly impossible. It's better to use a web browser or Google maps to do the searching and then directly search for a restaurant by name in the OpenTable app.
Nice to make reservations, but not always intuitive. Tried to make a reservation tonight and it wouldn't confirm the reservation until I selected the restaurant from a different location in the app. I had to select it there before the reservation would actually go through. It looked ok, but I tried something else before it confirmed and sent me an email (a little frustrating, but it worked out).
Update 06/28/25: Sometimes works great, sometimes it doesn't. It has not been letting me send messages to the restaurant, so they think we don't show up for a reservation when I actually cancel it through the app. I'm done with the frustration, and deleted the app from my phone. I will not contact customer service because I'm just not going to use it anymore.
I've been using the app for about 4 years. They almost lost me because I was struggling to get into my original account when I accidentally logged in with my Gmail, they lose 1 star due to the hassle of trying to get into my original account, it was not smooth or easy. But I'm back and excited to book more restaurants. Easy and smooth to use for booking. It's a bit clunky with account management.
Why has this app gotten worse over time? There are no longer any filters for my searches and so I have to sort through restaurants that are 60 miles away to find something near me. Places are also presented in seemingly random order. I can't say that OpenTable is worse than the other reservation apps because they have their own issues, but it seemed to be easier to use a few years ago as compared to today.