I just followed the directions and used the US time clock and called at 12:59:56 EST and got in first try for a party of two!

Thank you for the tips.

I successfully used both the phone "barrage" technique - having a few friends speed-dialing - and also keeping a finger on the OpenTable button....

...what ended up working was the OpenTable button. Got in pretty quickly for an early lunch reservation on a Friday while the phone lines stayed busy all throughout the process.

Just actually HAD my lunch and .... wow. So. Worth. It.

[dukecityfood.com]

We just got a dinner reservation for September... my husband and I were both speed dialing on our cell phones and land lines starting right at 10am, and we also had our hotel concierge calling on our behalf. It was tricky because today was the first day they were open after their summer closure so it was particularly busy as they were taking reservations for a backlog of days. Our hotel concierge ended up being the first one to get through at around 10:30 and was able to secure a dinner spot for us! I was nervous considering all the discussion boards I have read about how difficult it is to get a reservation, but I do think it comes down to persistence. We are thrilled and can't wait for our dinner date!

I tried calling right at 10am using both my land line and cell phone. I got through to the recorded message at around 10:45am and was placed on hold for about another 5 minutes. At one point, the "hold" music stopped and the line starting ringing. And it rang and rang and finally someone picked up. I almost panicked at the amount of times it rang, but I just crossed my fingers! Eventually I spoke with an agent, but they were already completely full (I was trying for a Saturday night).

Tried again the next day for a Sunday night dinner reservation and I got it! Same process as the day before, except I got in around 10:25am. When I finally spoke to the agent, she had both lunch and dinner openings and both dinner times available for a party of four. I was stunned. I guess it makes a big difference if you are willing to accept a weeknight reservation.

Thanks for this forum, Aren! It's a huge help!

As proof that it is possible to succeed with just one person dialing on just one phone... I was able to make a 10/16 lunch reservation for 2 this morning! Using my cell phone, I got through at about 10:20 a.m. PDT (by which time they were fully booked for dinner).

Many thanks to Aren and the other forum posters for sharing your tips and advice

at about 9:55 this morning, i dialed from both my work phone and cell phone. I got the same recording that reservations lines weren't open until 10:00 am until about 10:01. I consistently hit redial over and over (just kept hearing the busy signal) until i got through on my cell phone. I got through at 10:05. A recording picked up and prompted me to press "3" for reservations. I pressed 3, got through to some hold music, and then the phone started ringing. It rang several times until a reservations agent picked up. I got my Saturday, 3/26/11 dinner reservation at 5:30. They offered a 5:30 and 9:15 seating, I went for the earlier one. I didn't think I would get through since I've read all the forums and websites about the agony of getting through. This was also my first attempt at securing a reservation. I needed to go on this very date because the Friday before is my 30th birthday. I was determined. The phone call was to be a backup as my boyfriend put a request with his Amex platinum concierge service. We still haven't heard back from them so I am relieved I was able to secure one! Btw, I must have hit redial on my cell phone 45 times, and 45 times on my work phone. It takes determination and persistence!

I used two phones hitting redial one after the other beginning at 9:59AM. At 10:17AM one phone got through. I was put on hold for at least 15 minutes so I thought that I was going to be too late for a dinner reservation but I snagged the last table for 2 at 5:30PM. Can't wait.

Managed to snag a table for dinner in june. We used the multiple phone lines technique and was getting frustrated so on a lark used open table and voila got a table through them. I was pretty pessimistic about open table as I heard that they only get one table per service. So I guess I got lucky. But, the phone barrage does work, as i did get through to the reservation line as I was finishing up securing my table on open table. I would suggest using landline connection to call if available as the redial seems quicker.

Thanks Aren! This website is quite popular. Well I mean pops up near the top when googling. Because of this I figured the lines would be packed and just nearly impossible since there's probably a plethora of people trying these same methods to book a reservation.

Fortunately like others, I started the phone barrage at 9:55AM and that continued on for 20 minutes with 1 land line and 1 cell phone. Finally at 10:15 I got the message machine and knew it to hit 3 before listening to anything and then was put on hold listening to their recordings for another 15-20 min. Finally did the phone ring, and well that was dreadful because it rang and rang and rang.... By the time the attendant answered the line I figured it was full as all the people before me must have gotten through or something, but gladly there was a spot at 5:30 PM on Aug 27. Was trying to surprise the girlfriend for her birthday however, my excitement overwhelmed me and I spilt the beans. Thanks Aren!

I have my 15 years anniversary coming up Nov.16 so I decided to see if I can get a reservation for Sat Nov.12 and today is Sept 12,2011 (2 months to the date). For 5 years I periodically tried but ususally hung up after 15 minutes. But this time since it is my big 15 years; I was a little more determined and stubborn. So prior to dialing, I had log on to this site and read the different blogs as well as other posts on the internet. So armed with the general concensus of patience and persistence I was ready for "redialing" marathon. Thus at 9:58 I started dialing on my iPhone. As soon as I get a busy signal I cancel the call and hit redial. I average between 6 to 7 dials per minute. By 10:56 I almost call it a day. But for some reason I was distracted by something else that I was doing so I continue to hit the redial button. Guess what, the phone actually ring and this was at 11:05. So after about 469 redials, I got a message that told me to hold for a reservationist. I was then transfer to a staff member that took my reservation. Unfortunately the evening dinner was closed due to a private event, so the only available slot was lunch. I took the last table which was for six. By the way, this is the largest party that they will take. The process took 8 minutes and I received my email confirmation immediately.

Out of curiosity I called again around 3:30 pm to see if I can get through again and to my surprise I did. They told me the same story and said they will take my name(this case I gave them a friend's name) and put it on a waiting list for the same date. Anyways it is not impossible. Just a lot of patience and some luck.

After 47 minutes of calling, I got through and got a reservation for 2 at 9 pm :-) Thanks so much!

Called about 500 times. Started right on the second it turned 10. Got the recording at 10:08. They put me on hold for about 16 minutes. Snagged a table for dinner at 5:30 for two February 18, 2012. Yay <3 Thank you for all the tips.

I made my reservation this morning, after re-dailing like 150 time from my cell phone starting 9:55 AM PT. I finally got through at 10:42, and waiting another 5 mins once reaching the reservation option and listening to the on hold announcement. Today was the first day after their 2+weeks' closure, and as I suspected they seems to have more dates/time or table avaialbe. I was offered a table for 2 at 5:30, 5:45 or 9PM for 3/1, which is less than 2 months away.
My BF and are are so excited that we are going to TFL. I got the email confirmation of the reservation with minutes after hanging off the phone. YEAH.

Reading all these success stories gave me the persistence to keep "redailing". Got through after 30 redails and was told they were booked for dinner for 5/28 but will put me down on their waiting list. Does anyone have any success stories on getting a table on the waiting list? I know it's up to cancellations but just wondering.......thanks!

I'm in the same boat as Jenny - just spent 48 straight minutes speed-dialling The French Laundry before finally getting through to a human voice (albeit a recorded one). I was hopeful that I'd be able to secure a spot for two for dinner on the second last night of my honeymoon but by 10:48am all the tables had been taken. We'll see if the waiting list comes through...

I need some clarification...

On Aren's tips he says that there 3 tables available every day.

Regarding the table for 2, does that mean theres only 1 dinner table (the 9 PM slot) for a party of 2 available the entire day? or does that only apply to whatever is open on opentable.com?

Hi Jenny! Congrats on your success! Ok so I have a dumb question that I think I know the answer for but wanted confirmation :-) So if I want a reservation for Sept 8 and reservations open two calendar months ahead of time, then I need to start dialing at 10am July 8th correct?

Just want to make sure I start dialing on the right day!! Fingers crossed - its our five year anniversary. Unfortunately the OpenTable method doesnt work because both July and Aug have 31 days...

Although this is not "legal" per sa, it is the truth and it worked. A friend of mine was going to S.F. to celebrate her 1 yr anniversary with her b.f. and its been her dream to dine at the French Laundry. She challenged me to get her reservations, which apparently is rather difficult. I'd never heard of the place to be honest. Anyway, I accepted her challenge and got them reservations for lunch on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Turns out all you need is a letter from Nina Zagat, yes THAT Zagat, and I literally had Larry Nadeau calling my friend on her cell phone to ask her when she would like to be seated. All it took was a little creative ingenuity and my friends b.f. got to waste $900 and most of the day eating at the best resturaunt in the world. I'm serious, we pulled off the greatest food caper in known history. And all it took was a Word doc, Google Images, a smartly worded letter and backstory, a third party FedEx account, huge cajones and one lady commited to fulfilling her dream. So what's so hard about getting reservations at this joint? Hehe