Restaurant Reservation Drop Schedule Database (2026)

Every restaurant that takes online reservations has a drop schedule. This is the specific moment when new reservation slots become available, typically on a rolling basis a fixed number of days in advance. Knowing the drop schedule is the single most effective way to book at competitive restaurants. Be online at the right moment and your odds improve dramatically.

Below is the most comprehensive drop schedule database available, covering restaurants across New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and London. Drop times are listed in Eastern Time (ET) unless noted otherwise.

New York City

Miami

Los Angeles

Chicago

San Francisco

London

What Do the Drop Schedule Columns Mean?

Understanding drop schedules transforms how you approach restaurant bookings. Here is what each column means:

• Advance is how many days before the dining date that reservations become available. A restaurant with a 30-day window releases tables for April 15 on March 16.
• Drop Time is when new tables appear on the booking platform. This is the moment to be online and ready.
• Frequency tells you how often drops happen. Most are daily, but some restaurants only release on specific days. Balthazar, for example, drops the entire following week on Saturday at midnight.

What Patterns Emerge Across Drop Schedules?

• 10:00 AM is the most common drop time. The majority of high-demand restaurants across all six cities release tables at this time. This makes 10:00 AM Eastern the single most competitive moment in the restaurant reservation calendar.
• Midnight drops are your opportunity. Restaurants that drop at midnight face less competition simply because most people are asleep. If you are a night owl, these are your best bets.
• Longer windows mean more planning. Restaurants with 42-60 day windows require you to think further ahead than most people are used to. Mark your calendar.
• Short windows mean frequent checking. A 6 or 7-day window means you need to check every single day to catch the date you want. Miss one day and the date is gone.

Do Restaurant Drop Schedules Change Over Time?

Drop schedules change. Restaurants adjust their booking windows, shift drop times, and experiment with different release patterns. The data above is current as of early 2026, but individual restaurants may have updated their schedules since publication.

Monitoring services track these changes automatically. Rather than maintaining your own spreadsheet of drop times and manually checking at the right moment, you can set up alerts and let the system watch for you. When a table appears, whether from a fresh drop or a cancellation, you get an instant notification.