Reserve App Enters Crowded Chicago Reservation Market Today

Chicago is getting another reservation app with the arrival of Reserve today, which promotes that users will have "a seamless experience," according to its press release. Reserve is launching with 22 area restaurants (including Formento's, Celeste and The Boarding House), its biggest debut in a city yet. The app is also in New York, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Despite an ever-growing list of reservation apps already available (Open Table, Top Top, TableSAVVY, etc.), Reserve's strongest feature would appear to be its all-in-one ability to request a table (it even finds alternative time and dining options), pay for your meal (you can set up payment and tipping preferences) and review your dining experience - all for a $5 "concierge fee." This last part is a particularly good bonus for participating restaurants, since the app books their unused tables without the establishments having to pay Reserve for doing so.

An unusual aspect of Reserve is one that is rarely taken up by restaurants and therefore untapped by users: the ability to pay more than the menu price. This feature is available at less than 3 percent of all participating Reserve restaurants, but not at any of the restaurants launching in Chicago. Even if it were taken up by a restaurant there's no guarantee that offering to pay more will get the user any better treatment.

You can download Reserve for free from Apple in the App Store and for Android devices via Google Play.