Is there a reason that a party of two cannot get a reservation earlier than 9 pm?

Go early, sit at the bar

It's a popular place with excellent food and good service. You need to make reservations well in advance.

You need to make reservations well in advance for the prime hours. This place stays booked.

I'm not sure, but I'd guess that they were full. We made our reservations a month in advance to make sure we got them.

I didn't have reservations when I went in on a Sunday. And it was 5 of us. I think it was a roll of the dice for us.

Good question; Hall’s is very popular so one usually has to make a reservation well in advance in order to score a dinner reservation.