New York’s Restaurant Reservation Law Now In Effect For 2025

Scammers will try to make a quick buck anywhere!

Going out to eat is expensive enough! After appetizers, drinks, and the main course a dinner for 2 in a nice restaurant will easily eclipse $100 to $150. But if you have a great dining experience and some great eats, the price tag is not out of hand for a great date night.

But with those high costs comes the opportunity for those with poor intentions to try to make a quick buck. Hence, the genesis of New York's restaurant reservation law, which Governor Hochul just signed into legislation.

NY Restaurant Reservation Law End 'Black Market' Reservations

According to the governor's office, Governor Hochul recently approved legislation to 'crack down...on black market restaurant reservations.' 

There has been an issue with third parties selling reservations without permission from restaurants has been an issue, and this new bill will ban the practice.

Governor Hochul said "The bill prohibits third-party restaurant reservation services from arranging unauthorized reservations, putting an end to a predatory marketplace that placed a cost on consumers before they even entered a restaurant, and made dining inaccessible to those who refused to pay."

Any third-party websites that take reservations, like for example Open Table, must be authorized to handle reservations for a particular restaurant.