The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word HESITANCE
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
H
E
S
I
T
A
N
C
E
More clues leading to the result HESITANCE
- Delay is nice — haste foolish
- Pause, take seat before a piercing in future
- Lack of decision in the case under review
- Reservation at Chinese buffet
- Before a perch, stop — so full of self doubt
- . Spinner breaks stand after that man’s indecision
- Doubt, as a result, about model article
- In the case, criminal is wavering
- Busy at Chinese, making reservation
- Ambassador with attitude about India is dithering
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "reservation" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case reservation = hesitance.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does HESITANCE mean?
HESITANCE noun- The act or state of hesitating.