If you've ever had difficulty getting a reservation at a trendy New York restaurant, you know how annoying it is to wait patiently for a spot to open up. But over at Fleming by Le Bilboquet, it's reportedly about much more than availability, which is already difficult as there are only 20 covers.
According to The New York Post, staff at the small restaurant are "required to Google any guests they don't recognize, and make sure they’re rich or famous enough to grace their dining room", so better start building up your IMDB page now to guarantee a reservation.
Despite the exclusivity, since word got out about the strict policy the reviews have been less than glowing, with people actively trolling the restaurant's Yelp page so that it currently has only two stars.
"I'm probably too poor and unspecial [sic] to eat here, which is just as well because I don't know if I could keep my food down seated next to Ivanka Trump," one reads. "Self-important arrogant and rude was the vibe... Snob Central. Take your fabulous selves elsewhere," one recent review reads.
Another person posted on Yelp about how they were denied entry despite their good credit score.
Hostesses are apparently required to pull up known guests on Google to make sure they're worthy of a seat at the table.
The Google reviews aren't faring much better, although one person posted, "Fun, casual spot. Staff was super chill. Sharing was not a problem. Surprisingly no dress code. Funny to see some familiar faces in Hawaiian shirts etc," so get your most casual shirt out before you call.
Past restaurant-goers include Robert De Niro, Paul McCartney and Ivanka Trump, who apparently made the cut despite being quite a controversial figure these days.
Of course, to get a reservation, diners don't always have to be famous. They can just be fabulously rich.
