Here’s How to Get a Free Round of Bubbly at Restaurants Now Through New Year's

If you’re ever dining out and hear the words, “Can you go splash that table,” don’t panic. Nobody is coming to toss a glass of water over your head. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. 

The restaurant tradition of “splashing tables” is all about giving patrons the gift of a little sparkling wine free of charge to welcome them in and get the meal started. And now, a new program is helping everyone who wants a little splash get just that.

While traditionally, a free round of bubbles is reserved for friends of the restaurant or special VIPs, Blackbird, a new restaurant loyalty program launched in the spring of 2023 by Ben Leventhal, who helped found the reservation platform Resy, is your ticket to getting splashed at some of New York’s best restaurants through the end of the year. 

At its core, Blackbird’s mission is to help cultivate community between the diners and their favorite restaurant. Diners track their meals by tapping their phone on the chip reader at the host stand to start earning perks, including everything from an extra dessert to special access to hard-to-get reservations as they accrue loyalty status. Blackbird’s newest launch, the Holiday Cheers Pass, includes a free round of bubbles from Une Femme, a woman-owned wine brand, for your entire table. 

The Holiday Cheers Pass is valid at ten New York restaurants, including favorites like Sona, Crown Shy, and Ernesto’s. The participating restaurants range in cuisine from ultra-fresh Vietnamese to Basque tavern fare and seasonal farm-to-table, so you’ll have plenty of options to use your splashes through the end of the year. The pass will also grant VIP access to the restaurants through in-app messaging, so you can snag last-minute reservations at places like Principe, which typically books up well in advance.  

Une Femme’s sparkling wines are not only the perfect way to kick off a meal during the festive season but are made thoughtfully and sustainably in California, making them a good choice no matter the time of year. Since the pass gets a glass of sparkling wine for your entire table, it's the ultimate way to surprise and delight your dinner guests when a chilled glass of bubbly arrives at your table unbeknownst to them. To get in on the fun, simply download Blackbird and purchase the Holiday Cheers Pass for $45 for unlimited bubbly between now and the new year.