damnlines.comdamnlines.comNo-reservations 1956 Southern Italian room on East Houston whose celebrity-fueled sidewalk line regularly runs two hours or more.
Emilio's Ballato takes no reservations. You wait on the sidewalk on East Houston Street until a table opens up. The Infatuation notes you can't put your name in and leave for a drink; it is a standing line with no callbacks. The one exception, per Reporter Gourmet, is the private back room held for family, friends, and the most loyal regulars.
Reported waits swing hard on day and hour. Reporter Gourmet says the line out front lasts 'no less than two hours.' The Infatuation clocked a couple at 2.5 hours on a Friday but seated its own Tuesday group of six in about 30 minutes. The Ressies with Mags writeup was quoted 'something ridiculous like three hours' on a Friday, then walked in and sat within 15 minutes on a Monday at 5:45pm.
The crowd grew after the room became known as a Taylor Swift regular. Woman Around Town reports that when Swift left one night there were roughly 2,000 people outside. Part of today's line came to eat; part came to stand near a celebrity.
No camera here yet — but these lines are on camera right now:
Bánh Anh Em · 13 min walkclosedLucinda's · 13 min walkclosedJohn's of Bleecker Street · 14 min walkclosedIt varies widely. Reporter Gourmet says the sidewalk line out front lasts no less than two hours. The Infatuation reports a couple waiting 2.5 hours on a Friday, but seated its own Tuesday group of six in about 30 minutes.
No. It is walk-in only, and per The Infatuation you can't even put your name down and leave for a drink. The single exception, per Reporter Gourmet, is the private back room reserved for family, friends, and the most loyal regulars.
Early on a weekday, right around the 5pm dinner open, before the rush. The Ressies with Mags writeup was seated within 15 minutes at 5:45pm on a Monday, versus a quoted three-hour wait on a Friday.
The no-reservations policy is part of it, but the crowd swelled once the room became known as a Taylor Swift favorite. Woman Around Town reports about 2,000 people were outside when Swift left one night.
No. Per The Infatuation it is a physical line on East Houston Street with no name-drop and no callback, so you have to hold your spot on the sidewalk.