Patios [General]

2013 May 6
Can someone explain something to me please. Why do so many restaurants not allow you to reserve space on their patio, even for a large group? I recently made a mid-week lunch reservation at a restuarant that has a very large patio. We are a group of 12 and want to sit outside but I was flatly told, "we do not take reservations for the patio"... "no, not even for a large group".

Help please! Thanks.

2013 May 6
I can think of a few reasons why restaurants may not want to take reservations for the patio, particularly if it is generally fairly busy.

Use of a patio is weather-dependent, so how can they take reservations for an area that they don't know for sure if it will be available? Particularly with large patios, if you've fully reserved your place, and end up with an unexpected rain storm, there's nowhere to put the people who were supposed to be outside.

Sitting on a patio can also be a pretty impulse-driven decision. Restaurants want people in seats spending money, and hate turning away people while your reserved table sits empty waiting for you and your group to arrive.