Longshore Transforms the Guest Experience with OpenTable

Fast facts

	Restaurant name: Longshore
	Type of restaurant: Independent
	Locations: Chippendale, Sydney, NSW
	Year founded: 2023

Longshore is a one Hat restaurant opened in 2023 by Executive Chef Jarrod Walsh and Restaurant Manager Dot Lee. Known for populating Sydney’s fine-dining scene with successful hot spots, Dot and Jarrod envisioned a new, seafood-driven restaurant built around modern Australian cuisine. Longshore is all this and more, featuring a free-style menu that keeps the excitement alive for regular and first-time diners.

Executive Chef Jarrod has developed a minimal-waste program, finding innovative ways to use every element of every ingredient in the kitchen, such as sending fruit trim to the bar for cocktails. With such a high value placed on efficiency, Jarrod knew Longshore could rely on OpenTable’s table management system. Before using OpenTable’, he says the kitchen was “effectively blind in what we were doing in service. We were reliant on FOH and what was coming through the docket machine.” This left them with limited ability to plan and prepare.

Moving from Reactive to Proactive

According to Jarrod, OpenTable for Restaurants instantly transformed the dynamics of the kitchen. The chefs had no trouble learning the app, and they can now check the day’s bookings and ensure everything is covered without overpreparing.

Fast facts

	Restaurant name: Longshore
	Type of restaurant: Independent
	Locations: Chippendale, Sydney, NSW
	Year founded: 2023

Longshore is a one Hat restaurant opened in 2023 by Executive Chef Jarrod Walsh and Restaurant Manager Dot Lee. Known for populating Sydney’s fine-dining scene with successful hot spots, Dot and Jarrod envisioned a new, seafood-driven restaurant built around modern Australian cuisine. Longshore is all this and more, featuring a free-style menu that keeps the excitement alive for regular and first-time diners.

Executive Chef Jarrod has developed a minimal-waste program, finding innovative ways to use every element of every ingredient in the kitchen, such as sending fruit trim to the bar for cocktails. With such a high value placed on efficiency, Jarrod knew Longshore could rely on OpenTable’s table management system. Before using OpenTable’, he says the kitchen was “effectively blind in what we were doing in service. We were reliant on FOH and what was coming through the docket machine.” This left them with limited ability to plan and prepare.

Moving from Reactive to Proactive

According to Jarrod, OpenTable for Restaurants instantly transformed the dynamics of the kitchen. The chefs had no trouble learning the app, and they can now check the day’s bookings and ensure everything is covered without overpreparing.

“During service, we all have the app open,” Jarrod explains. This ensures everyone knows when tables arrive or when they can start preparing snacks for the set menu – all with the goal of staying ahead in service. This is particularly helpful for restaurants like Longshore that have upstairs dining areas staff can’t see at a glance. The app gives them extra eyes, helping them efficiently manage service and table turnovers.

Streamlined Service and Happy Customers

According to Dot, OpenTable “allows us to streamline service and know exactly what guests want as soon as they arrive.” This is vital in Longshore, where everything is designed to be inviting. “We want people to feel really comfortable when they walk in here,” Dot explains. OpenTable has been pivotal in helping them maintain this welcoming atmosphere.

The kitchen team utilises the restaurant management software’s POS integration for coursing, saving them time and avoiding unnecessary interruptions for the FOH team. Diners love the add-ons they can choose from when booking, while Longshore creates effortless additional revenue, making it a win-win for everyone involved.

Table Management Made Easy

Beyond the ease of OpenTable’s table management system, Dot is perhaps most impressed by the service she receives. Her account manager created the entire floor plan in a single Zoom call, and this was pivotal to their successful launch. As a veteran of Sydney’s restaurant scene, Dot is also well aware that many of the best local hot spots use OpenTable. “It’s really comforting to go into a system I know a lot of good restaurants are using. It’s another good sign to be in that community.”

That sense of community is heightened by the personal care delivered by OpenTable’s team. Dot says her account manager regularly drops in to see how Longshore is doing. “As a small business, it really means a lot.” Indeed, Dot says it’s a key reason why Longshore won’t go with any other restaurant management software. “I don’t think we’ll ever get the same personal touch.”

In Dot’s words, “Opening a restaurant is stressful, and I feel like going with OpenTable is one less thing I need to worry about. It makes my life so much easier. I’ve been using OpenTable for eight years, and it just keeps getting better.”

“During service, we all have the app open,” Jarrod explains. This ensures everyone knows when tables arrive or when they can start preparing snacks for the set menu – all with the goal of staying ahead in service. This is particularly helpful for restaurants like Longshore that have upstairs dining areas staff can’t see at a glance. The app gives them extra eyes, helping them efficiently manage service and table turnovers.

Streamlined Service and Happy Customers

According to Dot, OpenTable “allows us to streamline service and know exactly what guests want as soon as they arrive.” This is vital in Longshore, where everything is designed to be inviting. “We want people to feel really comfortable when they walk in here,” Dot explains. OpenTable has been pivotal in helping them maintain this welcoming atmosphere.

The kitchen team utilises the restaurant management software’s POS integration for coursing, saving them time and avoiding unnecessary interruptions for the FOH team. Diners love the add-ons they can choose from when booking, while Longshore creates effortless additional revenue, making it a win-win for everyone involved.

Table Management Made Easy

Beyond the ease of OpenTable’s table management system, Dot is perhaps most impressed by the service she receives. Her account manager created the entire floor plan in a single Zoom call, and this was pivotal to their successful launch. As a veteran of Sydney’s restaurant scene, Dot is also well aware that many of the best local hot spots use OpenTable. “It’s really comforting to go into a system I know a lot of good restaurants are using. It’s another good sign to be in that community.”

That sense of community is heightened by the personal care delivered by OpenTable’s team. Dot says her account manager regularly drops in to see how Longshore is doing. “As a small business, it really means a lot.” Indeed, Dot says it’s a key reason why Longshore won’t go with any other restaurant management software. “I don’t think we’ll ever get the same personal touch.”

In Dot’s words, “Opening a restaurant is stressful, and I feel like going with OpenTable is one less thing I need to worry about. It makes my life so much easier. I’ve been using OpenTable for eight years, and it just keeps getting better.”

“Opening a restaurant is stressful, and I feel like going with OpenTable is one less thing I need to worry about. It makes my life so much easier. I’ve been using OpenTable for eight years, and it just keeps getting better.”

Dot Lee, Restaurant Manager
Longshore, Sydney

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