Yet Talula’s Table owner Aimee Olexy heard the peals recently from those coveted bells a total of seven times when Philadelphia Inquirer restaurant critic Craig Laban awarded 3 to her Center City restaurant, Talula’s Garden, and 4 to her cozy Kennett Square jewel box, Talula’s Table. (If you’re really keeping score then add 4 more for Django, the well-received/sorely missed BYOB that she and former husband Chef Bryan Sikora operated in town from 1999-2005.)
A meal served at the 12-seat farm table in her Kennett Square location is what’s at issue here, having already been recognized by The Inquirer, The New York Times, and countless other publications.
Portfolio, the travel arbiter distributed by Conde Nast, didn’t mince its own words when it reviewed the diminutive gourmet paradise in 2008, anointing Talula’s 12-top for what it is: “The Toughest Table in America”
How much of a challenge is it to secure this one table and those ten gorgeous courses (at $100 a person), each prepared with limitless culinary talent by Chef Joshua Behm?
Think Springsteen; he’s coming to town and performing one-show only for twelve lucky fans; the only way to score those tickets is by incessantly hitting speed dial precisely at 7am, and praying to the phone gods that yours is the one call getting through. Or, maybe even harder than that.
“It’s a big world,” Aimee Olexy admits. “It’s a small table.”
The table at Talula’s now seems even more miniscule, thanks (or no thanks) to Laban’s February tolling of those Four Bells. It used to be, everyone wanted in. Now, ever since The Review, everyone really, really wants in.
Always the ambassador, Aimee remains eager to share tips and a trick or two on how to heighten the chances of obtaining her “toughest table.”
On Reservation Protocol:
“Talula’s Table accepts reservations every day one year in advance at precisely 7 am. To put it into a correlation, one would call ahead on October 15th of this year for a reservation on October 15, 2013.”
Who Gets In?
“It is entirely luck of the draw, first-come, first-served. The caller is responsible for booking the entire table – twelve persons with a minimum of ten.” Once reserved, how does one hold the table?
Can a person show up to hold a table?
“No walk-ups are accepted. One reason is we can’t do two things at once. When we take a reservation by phone, we know the phone is going to ring at seven in the morning. So, we have to keep true to that one [communication] stream.”
Her thoughts on trying to get around the call-in policy:
“Calling for a reservation is our nodding to a tradition that most people are comfortable and used to. Sure, others try loop holes all the time. People try to pay us, gift us, but it is the principle: once we’re not fair to one, we are not being fair to everybody.”
Aimee relates the time when at the crack of dawn, two men suddenly showed up at her restaurant door at the same time and with the same intent (of reserving the table), ultimately getting into a physical altercation; the dust up was a most unwelcoming sight for her early-bird regulars.
When is the table available for bookings?
“Generally, six days a week. We don’t do dinner on Mondays as a rule, but we will do it by request if we can. I teach cheese classes on Monday nights so a reserved table is not common, but it isn’t unheard of, either.”
Is it true there’s another table at Talula’s Table?
“Yes, our Chef’s Table is by invitation-only.
It seats from four up to eight and it is located in the kitchen. It is used for those who have a standing reservation with us, industry people we are helping out, or, a person can email us to solicit an invitation.
With both our tables, essentially, we serve 18-20 every night we’re open.”
Is there a cancellation list?
Any other tips on how to land the table?
“A year in advance sounds so far away to some people. Some try, can’t get in and stop trying. Others will say ‘A year is so far away. I don’t even know if I’ll be alive in a year!’ I say: keep trying.
Call on snow storm mornings when others might be busy [shoveling out] at 7am. Or, be open to dining here on a weekday. If you are a Saturday night person, you are limiting yourself to only so many Saturday nights a year. Also, have a couple people in your group call at the same time as you are. It adds to the chance of one person in your party getting the reservation.”
With its year wait and being the utmost-in-demand, Talula’s Table is, quite possibly, the toughest table to reserve in America. Fortunately and thankfully, it also happens to be located in our own backyard.
Find Talula’s Table at 102 West State Street in Kennett Square. You can reach them by phone at 610-444-8255. They’re also available online at talulastable.com.
Photographs credited to Sarah Reese.
