Tell us about your favorite customers. Any celebs been by recently? Yeah. One of my favorite customers is Karolina Kurkova. Jim Courier has been here. Erin, the fashion designer, has been here. Parker Posey had a lot of fun the other night here. Jennifer Aniston was here for the restaurant opening—she had a blast. Molly Simms has been here a lot. I don’t even remember who else. A lot of people like to come here.

How do you deal with VIPs, when there are no tables left to give? We try to get a table ready as fast as possible. But, the nice thing here is that we have a lot of spaces. We have the bar outside and we also have the second floor bar. So if you don’t have a VIP table ready, they go up to the bar and have drinks and an appetizer and we’ll get the table ready as soon as possible.

What's the most outrageous request from a customer that you could accommodate? One time we had the Aston Martin party. They took over all of the outdoor space—the retaurant and the bar. So we only had the second floor bar available. A VIP, whose name I can’t reveal, wanted to have dinner and I couldn’t turn him away. So I set up a table at the second floor bar and sent a waiter up there and we served a four course meal while the party was going on and they had the best of times watching the cars.

What’s a request that you couldn't accommodate? Yeah. Somebody who pretended to be somebody else. And finally I had to say, “no, it’s not going to happen. You’re not going to get that table.” But food and beverage wise, we try to do everything we can. But when somebody wants a table and pretends to be someone else I have to say, “well maybe we’re not the right restaurant for you” and I have to say no.

What's the one Gatekeeper tool you need to do your job? I think the tool is to communicate with your people and understand the guests that are coming in and keep things moving as much as you can. I hate when I am a guest and I’m told that I have a one hour wait even though I have a reservation—why make a reservation? A restaurant is not only about food, it’s about personality. It’s about the personality of the people there and that’s what I’m trying to achieve with table 8 as well. The food has to be great, the service has to be great, but the personality has to be great as well.

Do you have a favorite seat in the house? That table right over there. Table 122. It’s the only table number I know.

When you're not at Table 8, where are you eating? I’m still in love with the Odeon. I also love going to the Mercer Kitchen for a quiet evening. I also like Lure which is a great place. I like The Little Owl, Employees Only. And then I’m done. I’ve done enough eating.

What's up with the champagne in bathroom? Whose idea was that? We open the door on May 6th and the first guests are about to come in. I went downstairs to check on the lights and the music and I said, “something is missing.” I though, “You know, we have couches down there, we have seven bathrooms and we have 150 reservations tonight people are going to have wait.” So I put champagne down there and instead of people just waiting, they’re going to be getting nasty with each other, going to the bathroom, and then have some champagne. That’s why I did it.
— Matt Duckor