They have strong momentum in the dining space, solid employee backing, and an ambitious international footprint that makes them an exciting consumer tech player. Founded in Queenstown, New Zealand, First Table operates in the hospitality tech sector and sits comfortably in the small-to-midsize company tier. Their platform connects over 3.5 million diners with more than 4,300 partner restaurants across New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. With fresh private venture funding to accelerate growth in the UK and Ireland, they continue to expand their early-dining reservation model into new global markets.
Is this a good match for you?
Unlock your full match with Apt ProStart with the AI-powered career test to unlock your personal career mentor, full company insights, and a personalized job board designed around your goals.
High-momentum consumer marketplace growthCollaborative and positive team cultureGlobal expansion across UK, AU, and NZ
Why leave
Fast-paced demands of early-stage scalingLimited internal review visibilityRelatively lean engineering team structure
Company Pulse
Headcount
-31%past year
Raised
$10Mtotal
In the News
First Table raises $12 million NZD to fuel expansion across the UK and Ireland - UKTNuktech.news · Sep 14, 2026
Business.Scoop » First Table Raises $12M To Make Dining Out More Accessiblebusiness.scoop.co.nz · Sep 11, 2026
Global dining platform expands into Sheffield as UK footprint reaches 22 citiesretailtimes.co.uk · Aug 17, 2026
First Table opens bookings to solo diners in biggest update yet – Crumb Wirecrumbwire.com · Jun 22, 2026
First Table appoints Payper as PR agency for Australia and New Zealand - stoppress.co.nzstoppress.co.nz · May 19, 2026
Employee Experience
5.0/5
Career Opportunities
5.0
Compensation & Benefits
5.0
Culture & Values
5.0
Diversity & Inclusion
5.0
Senior Management
5.0
Work-Life Balance
5.0
Quick Take
Strengths
Strong funding roundRaised NZD 12 million to accelerate international growth across the UK and Ireland.
Rapid UK growthUK bookings grew over 150% year-over-year with London becoming their busiest city.
Watch out
Unrated CEO feedbackExecutive leadership ratings on public review portals currently lack sufficient public input.
Note
Core booking changesRecently broadened booking eligibility to include solo diners and shifted daily table drop times.
Things to consider
Sparse review data — Public employee sentiment data is extremely limited, making it difficult to fully assess internal work culture beyond high-level leadership feedback.
International scaling pressure — Rapid geographic growth into competitive markets like the UK places high operational demands on a lean engineering and sales organization.
What They Build
First Table builds a high-volume marketplace and reservation engine connecting diners with off-peak restaurant tables. Their engineering team focuses on event-driven architectures, geolocation services, and cross-platform mobile apps to handle daily inventory releases and reservation traffic. They maintain modern cloud and data analytics pipelines to track restaurant performance and consumer diner engagement.