Firsttable Reviews 53

Such a shame they've increased the charge to book through them from £5 to £8 in less than the space of a year. It's almost getting to the point where it negates using it as a platform to save money on dining.

I booked a restaurant using this reservation method, and there were issues with the restaurant regarding the discount offered on the website. They were always available and supportive, and ultimately resolved the issue.

FirstTable asks for reviews. So...I think this is a fantastic concept, giving restaurants the opportunity to showcase to new customers.

I've been able to eat in high-end places I might not have been able to afford without the '50% off food' introduction. This does hike the bill up by £6-£8 just for booking and is not deducted from the food bill.

One of my best experiences has been with Aubaine Mayfair and I've introduced friends to this - once wonderful - place, so I've dined there four times now.

Sadly, our experience last night was pretty grim. The bill came to around £117 including a compulsory add-on tip for two diners including three glasses of (very good!) house wine. The food and service though is not what it was on previous visits.

We ordered a bread basket with smashed avocado, grapefruit pieces and pomegranate seeds, (curiously served in an oven-proof pie dish), followed by medium rare fillet steaks which come with french fries, watercress and peppercorn sauce. We shared an extra side of 'wilted' spinach and then brulee and eclairs.

I was embarrassed for my date. I thought I was taking her somewhere lovely.

The bread was noticably stale, there was no pomegranate. I politely asked the (rather defensive and hostile, if I am honest), manager when the bread had been baked and why it had been toasted and he told me "it is always toasted". Not in my prior experience. I asked why it was not listed as 'toast' as I had ordered the fresh bread basket. He just repeated "we always provide it toasted".

Not wanting to argue, I just let it go. In fairness, the manager did return with an espresso cup of pomegranate seeds which he plonked on top of the avocado on our table without wearing hygienic kitchen gloves, explaining that the "cook" is new.

My steak was so blue it was cold. I did not eat it. My companion's steak was slightly over, but she enjoyed it. Our fries were so over-salted, we could not eat them. The spinach was not wilted, it seemed to have been deep fried? There was no watercress, only pea shoots.

Dessert of creme brulee and an eclair was average.

I wish there was a facility here for me to add photographs.

Asked my girlfriend if she wanted to go for a meal. The restaurant on Firsttable had availability, I went to reserve the table, entered my card, firsttable deducted the money from my card as I had a revolut notification confirming this. On the next page it said table not reserved, no option to rebook. I then had a argument with my girlfriend as I promised something that firsttable couldn't deliver. Why show availability and debit your card, if there is no availability, need to get the website fixed, such a disappointment, I have deleted my account with first table. I got the money refunded after 10 minutes, but my girlfriend was annoyed with me.

Decent but slightly misleading: you won’t save 50%, more like 20-30% depending on how much you order.
That’s because there is an initial charge by the company (£6-£8), and restaurant service charge added to the full menu prices.

Please note, it is better value to go in a group of 4 so as to spread the initial charge (which is not discounted from the bill, as some customers seem to think).

The selection of restaurants is not huge but not tiny either, and some have a “last table” available too, which s good.

Out of 6 bookings, 2 times we found the restaurants closed. This was particularly annoying on one occasion as we planned our day around it. First Table did refund us their charge though.

Overall, great idea, ok execution, and not sure if actually better than Taste Card.

They ask for your email to collect your data then have nothing to show you.

I have used First Table 3 times (twice in Liverpool and once in London) and don’t understand the negative reviews as I think the discounts they offer are amazing. In the past 4 weeks we’ve had brilliant steaks in London (Boxcar Bar and Grill), delicious Greek food (Opa Opa) and Asian fusion (Zen) in Liverpool and each time we received a huge 50% off the food bill no questions asked. We were given the exact same menu as the diners who were paying full price and the portion sizes looked the same too. What’s not to like?

We booked our first restaurant today through this service. They misled us with their scam booking fee. We were charged £8.00 to book for two in a small restaurant for lunch. Our bill came to £40.00. We were discounted £15.00 and charged £8.00 by First Table. In the end, we only saved £7.00 to sit in an empty restaurant, food was decent but we were all left confused that the booking charge disappeared into the First Table app. Don’t do it. The truth is in the fine print that the booking fee is not towards your meal cost. You have to scroll all the way down to find it. We use services like this on the go, to help make better choices…not to be mistreated. They count on people like us to trust in a brand. Don’t trust this one.

Booked a table using first table and paid the six pound deposit asked,later I called the restaurant to confirm the booking and they said that they do not have any reservations under my name do not give 50% discount when booking on line and that they have no affiliation with the website. I was so disappointed as it was my birthday dinner is this a scam website?

I have used them and pointed out that some of the restaurants they use have different menus wherein the price is increased and then a discount applied.
Totally fraudulent and not as they advertise. Sadly firsttable refuse to publish my review as it affects their business model.
Better go direct to the restaurant to avoid being fleeced.

Absolutely love First Table. Their customer service is always so quick and sorted out ASAP. They also have a lot of restaurants not doing deals anywhere else. Love it.

It’s a good idea in theory, hopefully as they become more established they will figure out a way to not charge diners like their competitors. Note they don’t refund you if you are unwell and have to cancel on the day. Make sure you check offers elsewhere first- I have found the same offers a couple of times available on other apps like TheFork that don’t charge you to make a reservation..