Here is the conversation we have every December. Somebody visiting for the weekend asks where they should eat downtown on Saturday night, and they are asking on Thursday. There is no good answer to that question on a Thursday.
Fifty-nine nights, every restaurant within walking distance of the Plaza running at capacity. But locals eat downtown all season long, and it is not because we know a secret door. It is because we know when to go.
Book Earlier Than Feels Reasonable
For the three heaviest stretches of the season, reservations go out weeks rather than days. Those stretches are Light-Up! Night weekend, the two weekends before Christmas, and the week between Christmas and New Year's.
If you want a particular restaurant on a particular December Saturday, book it in October. That sounds like overkill right up until the first year you do not.
Take the Late Seating
An 8:30 or 9:00 p.m. table is far easier to get than a 6:30, and it comes with a bonus most people miss: city street parking goes free at 9:00 p.m.
The lights are better later, too. The first wave of the crowd heads home after the initial rush, the Plaza quiets down, and the district gets considerably more photogenic. A late seating is the move.
Do Not Overlook Lunch
The lights are an evening event, so almost nobody thinks about downtown lunch during the season. Which is exactly why it works.
Eat downtown at midday, walk the shops and the historic sites in daylight, and then you are already in position when the lights come on rather than fighting traffic to get there. Some restaurants build this into their offers directly. 17 King, for instance, applies that credit to Friday lunch the same as dinner, which is a tidy way to make a midday visit cover its own parking.
Go on a Tuesday
If you did not book and you are out of options, this is the answer, and we mean it sincerely.
The lights do not know what day of the week it is. A Tuesday in early December gets you the exact same display with a fraction of the crowd, and you can walk into places that would have a ninety-minute wait on Saturday. It is the single easiest fix available to anybody with a flexible schedule.
Whatever night you land on, ask two questions when you book: whether the restaurant is running seasonal hours, and whether they do anything about parking. That second one is worth five to twenty dollars and almost nobody asks it.
17 King is owned by the publishers of King Street Journal.
Save us a seat!