"Trying to book a Friday 7 p.m. reservation at Portale, I found that while OpenTable showed no available slots between 5:30 and 9 p.m., booking directly on the restaurant’s website (controlled by SevenRooms) offered same-day options between about 6:45 and 9 p.m. and allowed me to choose my seating area, illustrating how the platform can surface different inventory and seating choices that third-party platforms might not show." - Melissa McCart