Table for four opted for the tasting menu, at $50 per person. Most of the food was adequate, nothing special. The chicken dish and the kimchi fried rice were simply awful. The green bean side and the rice were too small for the four of us. Service was inattentive. Kaliwa is phoning it in which, unfortunately, is not an unusual experience at the Wharf.
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First time there was this past weekend.
There were no utensils, nor knapkins, I had to go to the maitre de to get them. The food for the price point was not worth it. I had two servers, the second one actually cared about how I was doing with the food. The dessert, the creme brulee had the consistency of stiff grits-which is the totally wrong way to serve the dessert.The service and the food for the price point are not worth it. Now, it might have been an off day, but I was the only one in my area that did not have basic utensils and a napkin.
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terrible service - rude host who sat us in the corner
terrible service - rude host who sat us in the corner despite the restaurant being empty. same dude also referred to my six year old daughter as "that." also same guy didn't bring us a chair for my daughter and had to be asked to bring her a chair. not sure if he was mentally incoherent and in siesta mode since it was the late afternoon or was just a jerk. ruined the meal from the get-go. place was not busy at all but yet he was unable or unwilling to be helpful.food sucked. relatively overpriced and not tasty. this is coming from an azn dood who mostly eats asian food in his day to day diet. let's finish this meal with a description of the restroom - filthy despite the restaurant having only been open for one hour; mirror was held in place by a roll of tp.just an overall weird underperforming place given its potential. a restaurant should at least be good at serving tasty food. toxic service can only be semi-acceptable if the food's good. Kaliwa sadly had none of the above.
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terrible food terrible serviceExtremely salty, hard old
1/5 by 👻
@S S. on 03/21/2023
terrible food terrible serviceExtremely salty, hard old meat, waitress never came back. Had to track down waitress to pay.
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I went to the warf today with a couple friends and walked
I went to the warf today with a couple friends and walked into kaliwa. The inside has nice decor, but we did have to wait to be seated. We were greeted by our server cidia who was very attentive despite how busy it looked yesterday and gave excellent recommendations. We ended up going with the family sharing option and bottomless drinks. She was able to keep our drinks flowing throughout our time without the wait that I've seen from other reviews. My favorites were the spring rolls and the pad thai. The food was not authentic but still amazing. Overall everything tasted great and the service will convince me to come back.
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Waste of time for mediocre food and poor service
We dined at this “Michelin” rated restaurant yesterday, Saturday, March 18. It was a beautiful day on the wharf in DC, and many of the restaurants had no availability, or at least a two hour wait. We got a 3:15 PM reservation. The only thing I can say good as that they were accommodating to two strollers. We sat at a reservation time and placed our order shortly after. It took 45 minutes to get our first round of drinks, which consisted of 3 cans of Sprite, 2 canned beers, and two cocktails - because the bartender was “busy”. After being flagged down about an hour and 15 minutes into the experience, our waiter was able to bring another round of drinks. However, shortly after, I got up, and cleared the table myself of the old cans and glasses. The waiter did eventually come back only one more time to share that there must’ve been a mixup in the kitchen and our food would be out shortly. We did finally received our meals just about an hour and 45 minutes later. Bottom line, do not waste your time for mediocre meal and poor service.
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Poor service, waited over 45 minutes fordrinks and an hour
Poor service, waited over 45 minutes fordrinks and an hour and a half for food, the place wasn't full, no reason this should have happened - we had kids with us, they made no effort to bring out appetizers or anything. Overall bad experience - wouldn't recommend. It is a pretty restaurant but overall terrible me service. Pad Thai was awful, spring rolls were decent.
With the both of us being from the Philippines we wanted to have some Filipino food with our 1st night in D.C. This restaurant Kaliwa did not disappoint!! We left more than full and satisfied! From the ambiance, friendly staff, how quick the food came out and how attentive the staff is everything was superb! The food was VERY DELICIOUSSSSS!!! Great way to start our vacation!! Also, Make sure to make reservations!! We did through OpenTable. Very smooth and enjoyable night!! We will always make sure to visit this restaurant when in town!
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With the both of us being from the Philippines we wanted to
With the both of us being from the Philippines we wanted to have some Filipino food with our 1st night in D.C. This restaurant Kaliwa did not disappoint!! We left more than full and satisfied! From the ambiance, friendly staff, how quick the food came out and how attentive the staff is everything was superb! The food was VERY DELICIOUSSSSS!!! Great way to start our vacation!! Also, Make sure to make reservations!! We did through OpenTable. Very smooth and enjoyable night! We will always make sure to visit when in town!
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AVOID THE HYPE! NOT GOOD
Met friends from out of town for a dinner. This is relevant because we are all from different parts of the U.S. All the food was was extremely salty all of the friends (5) agreed. They did not seem to care when we told them our food was not good. If you have never had Pilipino, Korean, or Thai food this place is for you as you will not know how trash it is.
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I saw Kilawa was offering a new family style sharing menu
I saw Kilawa was offering a new family style sharing menu for lunch；it looked really good and I decided to give it a try. We ordered: 5*FILIPINO STREET BBQ: Pork Belly, Housemade banana kerchup: perfect taste, tender and crispy. 3*PAPAYA SALAD included cabbage and papaya, nice salad, but nothing fancy.5*CRISPY PORKBELLY: this is one of my favorite dishes here. I order it every time. Both the pork and the sauce were delicious. 5*LA_GALBI- Grilled Marinated Short Ribs: delicious, perfectly cooked, with a lingering taste. 5*RED CRAB CURRY: real big chunks of crabs, generous portion. Mildly spicy. 3*GREEN BEANS: pretty good vegetable side dish. Nothing fancy but I would order it again.
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The food here was so gross and overpriced.
The kaeng phet was a minuscule portion, like an app it user soup bowls worth. The Bicol Express which is supposed to be one of their most popular was disgusting. Neither my friend nor I could even eat it because of the overwhelming taste of fish which did not go at all with the pork belly. Do not recommend coming here considering how many wonderful places there are at the Wharf.
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We saw Kaliwa in the Washingtonian Magazine, and saw its
We saw Kaliwa in the Washingtonian Magazine, and saw its mention in the Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand section and thought it would be good to give them a try while we were visiting D.C.!We were staying near the D.C. City Center, so we took the Metro to get there by getting off at the Waterfront stop and walking a few blocks. The mixed use area that Kaliwa is located in appears to have a bunch of new venues popping up in it - including the Hell's Kitchen restaurant and it's a really cool district just to walk through!We made a reservation for dinner a few days prior and were seated right away. The server came by a few minutes after we were seated and greeted us and offered to answer any questions we had on the menu since it was our first time there. The server we had started off great and then he vanished and didn't seem to pay attention to our table after a while. Not sure exactly what happened TBH, may have gotten busy with other tables or trying to stay on top of the bar orders? The bar did seem to slow down or lose orders we were noticing throughout our meal.We ordered off of the Bottomless Drinks menu - we both ordered the Gracias Pancho ($37.99 per person) and you can switch up your drinks throughout your meal should you choose to do so. The drink we really liked so we ordered the same thing throughout the meal. But the bar really took a long time to prepare each drink.We also ordered off of the Chef's Sharing Menu ($49.99 per person) and included 2 first bites, 3 main courses, and one side. We mixed a variety of different food options - a few of the standouts we had were the Bibimbap, Thai Basil Beef, and the Filipino Street BBQ - but really everything was outstanding and it was a TON of food! The chef is really outstanding and food quality is apparently a priority, but servicing and the output of the bar clearly wasn't.At one point I was really tired of having to try to delicately get our server's attention for another drink and I stood up and started waving my hand to get our server's attention (lol, that did work, but I was surprised I had to go to that length to get an employee's attention).For the price of the food, with the service levels experienced, I can only rate the restaurant 3 stars. But we really enjoyed the food!
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IT WAS GOOD!!!! Drinks were great.
Ambiance is gorgeous. Service was excellent. If you're expecting a kamayan style and traditional Filipino style food, then this is not it; HOWEVER, coming from a Filipino from CA who's been to many traditional Filipino establishments, this was a pleasantly surprising upscale Filipino infused with Korean and Thai influenced cuisine. Big ups to the kitchen!!!! Adobo and galbi beef ribs were the <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbomb.com&s=bb4f996415a9c2f21137e27cfb68f439a48cec2652b53e9b50dd7e766dbe177e" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">bomb.com</a> - delicioso!!! Haters assuming this was a traditional Thai or traditional Korean restaurant have got to check Kaliwa's webpage prior to going! People, check your expectations! Much love to this establishment!
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The service, food, and ambiance were all reflective of the
The service, food, and ambiance were all reflective of the Michelin Star this restaurant earned. Friends did the tasting menu which I highly recommend. Not only is it extremely cost saving, it allows you to sample a variety of dishes in a relaxed setting. I had the Mother of Dragons cocktail and it was excellent. Fruity but not overly sweet or syrupy. Ever so slight kick at the end. Wish it had been a tad stronger but other than that a fabulous option on the Wharf!
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Just came back from dining at this Thai restaurant at the
Just came back from dining at this Thai restaurant at the Wharf. Most of the restaurants at the Wharf are not known for great food. It's the scenic view and location you pay for. I was skeptical of this place based on the 3 star rating. But I was pleasantly surprised. This is not your traditional Thai place. The veggie options are limited. They are not even flexible to make the Panang Curry on the menu vegetarian, which was a bummer. It's because the sauce is cooked with pork they said. I wish they had more vegetarian options. But the three things I ate were delicious. - Papaya Salad - this was delicious. It was a bit different from the regular Papaya salads I've had. Loved it. - Kare Kare (peanut sauce curry) - this is NOT Panang curry. It's a bit different. But I actually loved it. The flavors and seasoning was amazing. - Pancit Canton (veggie noodles) - this was surprisingly very good. I was expecting some bland egg noodles. But this was flavorful and well seasoned. Loved it. This restaurant is pricey. They offer $49.99 course menu but we chose ala carte as we had a mix of vegetarians and non vegetarians. I just wish they had more veggie options as appetizers. For example, they have meat spring rolls. Maybe add a veggie version of it. We could just get the salad. Overall, great food. Our server was amazing. But the lady at the reception was very rude. We had a great time. And I highly recommend it. Just remember, the price is high.
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The service and ambiance were fine but the food was
The service and ambiance were fine but the food was overpriced and over greased. Too bad, it's a great location.
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I've been meaning to try this place for a while now because
I've been meaning to try this place for a while now because of its Filipino dishes in particular. I visited with a friend on a Mardi Gras weekend (2/18/23) and they had a special menu for the event, they weren't serving their regular menu. It's a little pricey for a small portion of food you get, not sure if it's pricey because it is a special menu or just cause it is located in Wharf DC and it is considered an upscale neighborhood. However, the taste and quality of the food is really good, you wont regret! There was not too many filipino food in the menu so i ended up ordering pork bbq and Thai fried rice, both taste good!The service was a little slow and our server was i guess busy with other table, he never came back to check on us. We needed refill on our drinks but couldn't find him so we asked another server. He then came back towards the end of our meal to bring us our check. Ambiance is classy, I love the interior design and love the fact that it is by the water. They have outdoor seating which would be nice in the summer.
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Do not waste your time at this restaurant
We made our Saturday night reservations months in advance knowing that the Wharf would be crowded and finding a table would be difficult. When we arrived we were told that only the (limited) Valentine's menu was available at twice the normal rate and if we didn't like it we could leave. No prior communication. Again, Saturday night at the Wharf and it was crowded so we were stuck, thanks. We stayed and our food was fine at best, entrees arrived at different times and there was at least 20 minutes between courses. If this restaurant ever had a Michelin star those days are long gone and so are we, there are too many other restaurants to frequent in the neighborhood.
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Excellent DC Restaurant Week Experience
We were looking for a place to have lunch on MLK day in Washington DC at the Wharf. Most of the places with the best ratings were booked, so we sort of "settled" for Kaliwa and it's hard-to-define combination of Filipino - Korean - Thai food. I was also apprehensive at some reviews stating that, while the food was good, it was overpriced. But you do have to realize you are at a posh location in Washington DC. It turns out it was Restaurant Week in DC! And that means many restaurants were offering set 3-course menus for lunch and dinner. That worked out well for us as the idea of 3 courses for $25 sounded like a deal, even if the menu and portions might then be limited. There were three of us and we started out some good Bellini cocktails, and a rather meh pineapple Margarita (where's the pineapple? my daughter thought). Then we had mango salad, which was just OK, and some lumpia (Filipino spring rolls) which were crispy and meaty. I had the vegetarian Kare Kare, which was a first for me. It had a lot of veggies and fried tofu, but I must say it was sort of a bland peanut soup to me. The fried rice my wife got was tasty, but not exceptional (I can cook a mean Uncle Roger fried rice myself). Our daughter got the Panang curry, which was very tasty. We finished off with a small piece of caramel cake for dessert, which hit the spot. So maybe it was lowered expectations, but we had a very nice experience at a great location right on the water. Service was very good and efficient (not exceptional). The value for Restaurant Week was great, though we might not have felt the same ordering from the full menu. I would say the mix if Filipino - Thai and Korean SHOULD make more sense, but I am not sure it works. Maybe just say pan-Asian which opens up takes on Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, etc. as well to be creative. Anyway, it was a very nice surprise, and a good experience.
There is a lot of good eats at the wharf. Please do yourself a favor and eat at other places. Dirty chairs and floor, dirty bathroom. I lost my appetite. Dark and dingy inside while its very bright outside at the wharf. Our bill came to $176 with just 4 orders and 3 drinks.
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A Gas Station Sushi Experience
A totally underwhelming dining experience! With a sign posted at the entrance designating this place worthy of a retail tire travel guide mention, SMH how the committee arrived at bestowing such a prestigious award. Perhaps a new category for simply participating in the restaurant industry? This was an after dinner stopover just to see what a dining experience of fusing Thai, Filipino, and Korean cuisines might be like. Typically found in remote places in the southeast USA where gas stations substitute for fusion dining spots, simple curiosity brought me and my wife to this establishment. Having had the privilege to live in those three nations, can categorically declare that this is where authenticity came to take its last breath. The pork rib adobo was dry and the thick soy syrup was overly salty. As of it sat under a lamp all day. Cocktails were advertised on the menu as $12 creations of fine crafted works of alchemy. At least that’s what I expected from an establishment that a retail tire company deemed worthy to mention. Instead, I was served an UNINSPIRED glass of gin, aperitif, and sweet vermouth with tiny cubes of ice that I typically get from a motel ice machine. I asked for an orange twist but instead got a slice of orange with the peel stripped off. Attached is a picture of a real handcrafted Negroni from a bar next door. Take note. When the invoice arrived, I evidently paid $21 for this treat! I checked the menu to make sure I did not misread $12/cocktail and sure enough, I was overcharged. I brought this to the server’s attention but after conferring with the manager, the ruling on the floor stood! As a consolation, I was offered a drink of choice. On the house. I passed on an opportunity to drink sugar water. For those travelers craving for Asian cuisine, this is not the place. You can do better elsewhere. For those 3rd genners — treat yourself to food worthy of your heritage and visit Seoul, Manila, or Chiangmai. There’s no substitute for the real thing. See the world outside this zip code. Jussayin’
The food was good but one of our dishes (Pad Thai) was never delivered. When we asked our (very nice) server, she said it had been given to another table by mistake. It was delivered after the rest of us had finished eating. We called the manager and informed him. He was condescending and almost rude, basically asking what we wanted him to do. Terrible attitude. He should be reprimanded.
My wife and I read that The DC Warf project was complete and decided to visit. We saw this nice looking restaurant that offered Thai, Korean, and Philipine food. My wife is an islander, so we gave it a try. We had lumpia for an appetizer-$18, which was really good. I had Thai fried rice with chicken and egg. She had fried noodles with pork belly. I asked for three different beers, but they were not available. I settled for the server's recommendation, an $11 bottle of Thai beer. Overall our food was OK, but I was expecting something that was different than a typical bowl of fried rice, especially for $20. We expected touristy prices, but expected something memorable for the price. Very nice scenery though and we had a pleasant visit overall.
We had an amazing time! The food was tasty and was one of the fastest service given how packed the restaurant was. Nice ambiance - good for a business meeting or just hanging out with friends. Highlight of the evening was our amazing server Kory! It’s obvious he loves his job and is excellent at it. It was our first time and he definitely made us feel at home. Thanks Kory!!!
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Food, service, cleanliness POOR , management doesn’t care. No star for this so called Michelin star 2021. HORRIBLE
Food cold, no ice in cocktails, Asian restaurant with no spices to accent the poor flavored food. Ate in the dark, no table light . Ate outside with broken glass all around us, server who dropped it never came to clean it up. Bathrooms were not maintained. Asked 4 folks for soy sauce never came. Don’t know how it got a Michelin star, really
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Kaliwa is definitely overpriced.
A small serving of rice and red curry is $31. The curry was extremely runny and was extremely mild in flavor. Nice place, but food should be the star of the show, not the other way around.
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So we ordered pad see ew, pad thai, green curry and drunken
1/5 by 👻
@G G. on 08/06/2022
So we ordered pad see ew, pad thai, green curry and drunken noodles and all were too salty and not flavorful. Raw oysters and lumpia were fine. For a Michelin rated restaurant this was unacceptable. The waiter was kind and attentive and apologized for the situation. I also explained our experience to the manager and he listened and tried to make it right. In my opinion the cooks need to be fired or be retrained asap. Total bill was $148.50 ( excluding tip). I don't recommend this restaurant at all.
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First of all, Peter (one of the owners) is an awesome
First of all, Peter (one of the owners) is an awesome person! He took care of me and my family like family. Secondly, the food was incredible!! If there are any bad reviews, ignore them. The food is extremely flavorful and the ambiance is so warm and cozy. And finally, the staff are full of amazing and energized people. Would recommend this restaurant to anyone!
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It was a great experience, food was amazing 5 stars hands
It was a great experience, food was amazing 5 stars hands down
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Service was excellent and food was even better.
I got the pad se ew and it was delish, came out hot and spicy. Great drinks, great vibe! Highly recommend
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"Alexia, play "Drunk in Love"!" This is my 2nd time here
"Alexia, play "Drunk in Love"!" This is my 2nd time here within a year and they are 2 for 2. I dined outside last time so I wanted to check things out inside today. The setting was super chill, they were playing Sade tunes and smooth jazz, and a great server. Personality is hard to find these days but he was super engaging without being annoying.But let's get to the reason you're here...the food. They opened at 11:30am for lunch and I was first in line (judge away). I ordered the drunken duck noodles and Thai tea. The noodles were fresh and cooked to perfection, the duck was tender but not greasy, and the flavors were perfect nothing overpowering.I would say this, dine inside if you can. I love a good people watch session but I get like we were forgotten about outside. There are a ton on choices on The Wharf but if you like "warm hugs" aka good Thai as comfort food, this is your place.
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I rarely give anyone less than 3 stars, but the fact they
I rarely give anyone less than 3 stars, but the fact they have a Michelin Star means they can take the extra constructive criticism. Storytime: my friend (a Baltimore local) and I (tourist) take the train from Baltimore to Alexandria. We stroll through the waterfront and at this point the heat starts to feel like another level. We see a sign that says "Thai, Filipino, Koran". In my eyes this is the holy trinity of cuisines. The next thing we know we're at a table. The sun being her beautiful self is shining right into my eyes, no matter what seat at the table I choose. Out waiter forgets to give us drink menus and throughout the meal we have to ask for water. At some point we just asked for him to leave the entire pitcher at the table. My friend gets the Pad Thai and they refuse to substitute the shrimp for chicken. There is no option to choose spiciness. I get the burger on pan de sal bread. Basically a regular bun. As a Filipino granddaughter, my grandma would be mad confused if I called that pan de sal. The bun was dry and crumbly. The burger comes with nothing but lettuce and grilled onions. I had to ask for extra mayo because it was dryer than cardboard. They also do not have tomatoes- I asked. But to top it all off, I asked for a medium rare burger, and tell me why it was extra well done to the point of black char (see the photos, I ain't lying). I would have sent it back but we did not have time to wait another 30 minutes. I hate giving bad reviews and hardly ever do it :( but we were just straight up disappointed. My burger came out to $25 and the Pad Thai was $30 (like in what world?!)
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We were at Kaliwa yesterday with the family and we got a
We were at Kaliwa yesterday with the family and we got a table indoor. it was really warm inside my kid was also feeling really warm. we asked the waiter if there is any table outside and at that moment, there weren't. We then saw an empty table for 6 outside about 15 minutes later and asked the manager, Peter, if we can get that table. He was really professional, understanding, and humble. He agreed to it and had us move outside. He alsobought our drinks and food outside after some of it was served in the table inside. Thank you Peter for your great hospitality and food!
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Food is good but not top notch.
Apps are too small for the price. Service is horrible.Table water was warm almost 100 degrees. Had to beg for serving more water multiple time and got a nasty look when we asked for iced water. We were group of 6. Half of us got food first another two after 5 minutes and another one 7 minutes later. They forgot to bring rice for the ones that they supposed to and we had to ask them to bring it. Bar was okay and they were nice, but they were Out of all beers and out of grey goose and Tito's vodkas. Charged us $18 for a single shot of belvedere which is 50% above average.
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Great location awesome vibe.
I just wish the food was a little better. I had the pad see ew and my friend had the drunken noodles. The PSE had waaaaay too much salt made it almost inedible. And the drunken noodles was just bad. It didn't even taste like drunken noodles.
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Last Reply by 🍀 @EarlyAnswer20 (04/27/2023 5:41 pm)
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It can be under your name or a name you choose! Some reservation offers already include the AppointmentTrader Transfer Service which will transfer the reservation in to your name. If its not included you can add it on after buying the reservation for a small fee. One thing on that though: As many reservations become available at last minute, taking a reservation in someone else name is quick and great for privacy. Most reservations on AT are listed with a virtual phone number, so all you need to do is present the phone number at the hostess stand and you are good to go!
Best answer by 🥷🏻 @ColorfulRod45 (07/09/2021 8:17 pm)