Restaurant Reservations and Waitlists in Korea

Do you need a reservation?

Usually not. Most restaurants in Seoul -- neighborhood eateries, chains, food courts, market stalls -- work the way you'd expect: walk in, and if there's a free table, sit down.

Getting a table takes more at popular places, which work in one of two ways.

• Reservations: you book a date and time in advance. Common at fine dining, omakase and sought-after high-end places
• Waitlist (weiting, 웨이팅): you add your name to a queue on the day and are called when a table frees up. Many famous cafés, bakeries and restaurants work this way, and some take no reservations at all

Both now run through apps. Even the waitlist usually means entering your phone number on a tablet at the door rather than giving your name to staff. That phone number is where a traveler gets stuck.

Which apps can a visitor use?

• CatchTable Global: sign up with email, Google or Apple. Reservations and waitlists both work. The first app to install
• Naver Map: needs a Naver account and passport verification. Reservations work
• CatchTable (Korean edition) and Tabling: sign-up needs Korean identity verification, so the apps are off limits. You can still use their tablets at the door

Identity verification means a Korean number opened in your own name. For why, see the identity verification guide.

CatchTable Global

A separate app from the Korean CatchTable, made for foreigners. It is the easiest way for a visitor to book a restaurant.

• Sign up with an email address or a Google or Apple account. No Korean number needed
• The app is available in English, Japanese and Chinese, and you can search in 20 languages
• Reservations and waitlists both work. With a remote waitlist you join the queue from the app before you arrive
• Reviews are translated automatically
• If a place takes a deposit, you pay it with a foreign-issued card. Waitlists take no deposit

Not every restaurant on the Korean edition appears in the global app. If a place you want isn't there, try Naver Map or the tablet at the door.

Some Korean restaurants on Google Maps show a Reserve button. It opens that restaurant's CatchTable booking page.

Naver Map booking

Naver Map is the app most Koreans use to find restaurants, and many places take reservations through it (Naver Booking). It used to require Korean identity verification, but since June 2026 a visitor can verify with a passport instead.

• Once verified, you can use Naver Map's reservations, orders and payment
• Verification takes a photo of your passport and a face check. The name and date of birth on your Naver account must match your passport. The steps are in the identity verification guide
• If a restaurant isn't on CatchTable Global, look it up on Naver Map

Tabling and the Korean CatchTable

These two run the waitlist at many of the most popular places. Signing up for either takes Korean identity verification, so a visitor can't use the app itself. Tabling has no English or global edition.

That doesn't mean you can't eat there. These restaurants take walk-ins through a tablet at the door.

The waitlist tablet at the door

A typical tablet asks for three things.

1. Party size: how many of you there are
2. Phone number: where to send the call when your table is ready
3. Confirm: you get a queue number, on screen or as a printed ticket

The call arrives as a KakaoTalk message or a text. Many places skip you if you don't come in soon after you are called.

Whether a foreign number works depends on the tablet and the restaurant. Some accept it, some don't.

• If your travel SIM comes with a Korean number (one starting with 010), enter that. The tablet only needs a number to reach you, and the call arrives as a text even without KakaoTalk. Data-only SIMs and eSIMs have no number, so this doesn't apply to them
• Look for a language or foreigner button. NowWaiting (나우웨이팅) tablets have a foreigner mode: choose English, Japanese or Chinese and enter an email address instead of a phone number, and the call comes by email
• If you use KakaoTalk with your home number, enter that number. KakaoTalk notifications can reach a foreign number registered to a KakaoTalk account
• If the tablet rejects your number, ask the staff. Show them this sentence: 한국 전화번호가 없는데, 대기 등록할 수 있을까요? ("I don't have a Korean phone number. Can I join the waitlist?")

Once you are on the list, stay close so you can walk in as soon as you are called.

Deposits and no-show fees

Most restaurants don't take a deposit yet. Deposits are mainly for reservations at places such as omakase and fine dining. Waitlists take none either. The trade-off is that if you aren't near the restaurant when you're called, many places move straight on to the next party, and you lose your turn.

Under the consumer dispute standards the Korea Fair Trade Commission revised in December 2025, if you don't show up, a restaurant that runs on reservations may keep up to 40% of the bill, and an ordinary restaurant up to 20%. The restaurant has to tell you the deposit and penalty in advance.

Other ways to get a table

• Ask where you're staying: hotel front desks and guesthouse staff can often call a restaurant and book for you
• Paid booking services: Creatrip will book a restaurant for you through its staff for a fee. Check the refund terms before you pay
• 1330 Korea Travel Hotline (+82-2-1330): help in your language when you're stuck

Tips for popular places

• Lunch (12:00–13:30) and dinner (18:00–20:30) are the busiest. Arriving just before or after them shortens the wait
• The most famous bakeries and cafés have queues before they even open. If you're going at opening time, arrive early