Tables

See which tables are free during rush hour

A full room and an empty table number can both be true if nobody updated the book. Guests feel that before you see it.

Updated 25 October 2026 · W8R, Mumbai

The book in the host's head

Small restaurants skip a table list because the owner can see the room. That works until two groups arrive together, or a captain is hired for the weekend, or the patio is full and the inside room is not. The host says a table is free. The previous guest has not paid. The new group sits on an open bill.

The other failure is the opposite. A table looks occupied because plates are still there, the bill was paid ten minutes ago, and the next guests are waiting at the door.

One open bill for each occupied table

Give every sitting a number, including pavement and patio tables. Open the bill when they order. Add later dishes to that same bill. Mark the table free only after the payment, not when you pick up the plates.

Pay-later regulars need the same rule. Leave their table open and labelled until the money arrives. Do not reuse the number for a new guest on a fresh bill. That is how a tab and a new dinner get mixed.

• Seat from the list, not from memory
• Parcels do not take a dine-in table number
• A split payment stays on the same table until every part is settled
• Weekend staff add items to the open table, they do not start a second slip

How W8R shows the room

W8R shows which tables are free and which are busy. You add a new order to the same table with one more step, instead of opening a second bill and losing the first hour of the meal. The printed bill at the end is that full sitting.

It does not know your floor plan by magic. You still number the tables the way the room is laid out. Once those numbers exist, the screen is the list the host and the cashier share.

Number the room once

Walk the room before service and stick to one sequence. Window tables, inside tables, and any pavement tables should not share numbers. Write the number where the captain and the guest can both see it, even if it is a small card.

On the first weekend, the host seats only from the screen. If a table looks free and the screen says busy, trust the screen until you find the open bill. That single rule stops the double seat that ruins a regular's night.