If you’re traveling to the Emilia-Romagna region and you’re really into food, you probably know of a little place called Osteria Francescana. Rated the top restaurant in the world in 2016 and 2018, Osteria Francescana is one of the toughest places in the world to score a booking. Here are some tips for how to get a reservation at Osteria Francescana.
Reservation Tips
- Reservations are accepted online at Osteria Francescana’s website at 10 a.m. Italy time on the first of every month, exactly six months prior to the month you want to dine. So if you want to dine there on any date in September, you need to book online on March 1st. There are some exceptions, though (for example, if the first of the month is on a weekend or an Italian holiday). Check the release dates here for the next few months.
- Get on the website well before 10 a.m. Italy time. I successfully logged on from my desktop around 9:45 a.m. and tried unsuccessfully from my laptop a few minutes after 10 a.m. (I was never able to get on to the site from my laptop that morning.)
- Know exactly what date you want to go, keeping in mind the restaurant is closed Sundays and Mondays. Also, try to be flexible with lunch or dinner (the menus are the same). There are only 12 tables at the restaurant, and only one seating each for lunch and dinner.
- If your reservation request doesn’t go through the first time, don’t freak out. Return to the booking calendar and try a different date or meal. I initially tried booking dinner on a couple of different dates, but none of those requests succeeded. On my third or fourth try, I submitted a request for lunch and my reservation was finally confirmed. If I had to guess, dinner seatings probably sell out faster than lunch reservations.
At 10:07 a.m., I received the reservation confirmation email. At 10:30 a.m., I checked the booking calendar and saw that all the dates for May were already sold out. You really do have to be on your computer well before 10 a.m. Italy time to have a chance. If you can’t secure a reservation, you can join the waiting list and pray someone cancels!
Read about our actual lunch at Osteria Francescana, as well as other eats and activities in Modena, here.
Originally written Apr. 10, 2020