Answer
What happens if my table doesn't fill?
Nothing embarrassing. A Meal Seed that does not reach the seats it needs never becomes a real table: it stays a proposal and then quietly expires. You are never sent to a restaurant to sit alone, and there is no penalty for a meal that did not come together.
A Meal Seed is a proposal, not a booking
Until enough diners have confirmed, the meal is an idea. No reservation exists, nothing is charged, and the meal only becomes real when the table reaches the number of seats it needs.
Interest is not a seat
Tapping “+ Me too” shows interest and never consumes a seat. That distinction is deliberate: it keeps the seat count honest, so a table that looks full really is full. If the proposal offered several times or areas to choose from, matching people are invited to confirm — nobody is ever joined automatically.
If someone cancels after the table is ready
The empty seat reopens through Seat Rescue so another diner can take it. If the table falls below the number it needs, everyone at the table is told before the meal rather than finding out at the restaurant.
If it simply expires
A table that never fills, or goes stale as the date approaches, expires on its own. Nothing is announced to anyone and nothing is held against you.
How to make a table more likely to fill
Specific, easy proposals fill fastest.
- Pick a weeknight a week or two out rather than tomorrow.
- Choose a neighbourhood that is easy to reach, and a cuisine people search for.
- Keep the table small — three or four seats fill far faster than eight.
- Not sure what suits people? Offer a few possible times and areas and let interested diners indicate which work.
- If the date is the problem rather than the idea, fork the meal: the same idea at a new time, leaving the original table untouched.