‘Tis the season for holiday celebrations – last year, three of the top five biggest dining days for groups happened in December – book your table at one of these diner beloved spots now

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — As 2023 comes to a close, bringing holiday and year-end celebrations, OpenTable is helping diners select the perfect venue with the debut of its Top 100 Restaurants in America list for 2023. Featuring an updated methodology using OpenTable diner reviews and new metrics, the list uncovers some of the most in-demand restaurants by OpenTable diners this year.¹ 

Additionally, OpenTable insights from the year (January 1 – September 30) compared to 2022 reveal shifts in diner behaviors and cravings. Highlights include:

• Dining held steady, with vigor for special occasions: While year-round dining remained flat YoY (-1%),² diners showed renewed interest in dining on special occasions – Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day respectively grew 9% and 6% YoY,³ and diner spend for these holidays was up 15% vs. non-holidays this year⁴ – a positive signal of what to expect for the busy holiday season.
• Solo dining is on the rise: With an increase of 4% YoY, it was the largest increase of any party size. Thursday and Friday were the most popular days.²
• This year, West African, African and Lebanese were among the top trending cuisines: Each saw double digit dining increases, respectively up 72%, 23% and 18% YoY.²
• Menu items with East Asian ties were increasingly talked about by diners: Diner reviews saw increased mentions of crispy rice (27%), omakase (17%), yuzu (17%), lychee (9%), miso (4%), ramen (4%) and kimchi (2%).⁵
• Cocktails were on diners’ minds, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic: Diner reviews also revealed increased mentions of mocktail (48%) and non-alcoholic (8%), likely due to a rise of sober and sober-curious lifestyles. In addition, speakeasy saw gains (25%), as well as cocktails made popular on social media: espresso martini (39%), Aperol spritz (27%) and negroni (4%).⁵

“Diners showed up in full force for occasions like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day this year – we expect this trend will continue through to a strong holiday season for restaurants,” said Debby Soo, CEO of OpenTable.”

Diners Have Spoken: OpenTable’s Top 100 Restaurants for 2023
Three of the top five biggest dining days for groups (6+) last year happened in mid-December, specifically December 10, 16 and 17.⁶ For year-end celebrations, team dinners, family and friends gatherings big and small, look no further than OpenTable’s list of Top 100 Restaurants in America for 2023. Culled from over 12 million diner reviews and dining metrics including diner ratings, percentage of reservations made in advance, and five-star reviews, the list highlights some of the top spots favored by diners this year.

Trends across this year’s list include:

• California and Florida see the largest share of restaurants: California features 14 restaurants on the list, including newcomer Saffy’s and returning favorites Bavel and Bestia in Los Angeles, along with House of Prime Rib and Kokkari Estiatorio in San Francisco. Florida features seven, including new additions like Bern’s Steak House in Tampa and Buccan in Palm Beach.
• Diners loved these MICHELIN-starred spots: The list includes multiple restaurants recognized by the MICHELIN Guide including Providence in Los Angeles (Two Star), Jeune et Jolie in Carlsbad (One Star), The Restaurant at Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford (One Star), Lilac in Tampa (One Star), Stubborn Seed in Miami Beach (One Star) and Girl & the Goat in Chicago (Bib Gourmand).
• Over a dozen new cities featured vs. 2022: This year’s list sees 63 cities (vs. last year’s 47) including Brooklyn, New York (River Cafe); Palm Beach, Florida (Buccan); Anchorage, Alaska (Whisky & Ramen); and Old San Juan, Puerto Rico (Marmalade Restaurant & Wine Bar).

“This year’s Top 100 list features neighborhood gems, hotspots like Bad Roman, MICHELIN-starred venues like Jeune et Jolie, and restaurants new to the list from coast-to-coast,” said Soo. “We also see representation across the culinary spectrum – with cuisines like Mediterranean, French and Japanese included.”

The Top 100 Restaurants in America for 2023 are (in alphabetical order by state/territory):

Alaska

Arizona

California

• Animo – Sonoma, CA
• Bavel – Los Angeles, CA
• Beachcomber Cafe Crystal Cove – Newport Coast, CA
• Bestia – Los Angeles, CA
• House of Prime Rib – San Francisco, CA
• Jeune et Jolie – Carlsbad, CA
• Kokkari Estiatorio – San Francisco, CA
• Musso & Frank Grill – Los Angeles, CA
• Pizzeria Bianco – Los Angeles, CA
• Providence – Los Angeles, CA
• Saffy’s– Los Angeles, CA
• The Dock – Newport Beach, CA
• The Restaurant at Auberge du Soleil – Rutherford, CA
• Youngblood – San Diego, CA

Connecticut

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Illinois

Indiana

Louisiana

Massachusetts

Maine

North Carolina

New Jersey

New Mexico

Nevada

New York

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Puerto Rico

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

Washington

¹ Top 100 Restaurants for 2023 Methodology
OpenTable’s Top 100 Restaurants in America for 2023 list is generated from over 12 million verified OpenTable diner reviews and dining metrics from September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2023. Restaurants with a minimum threshold of diner reviews were considered and evaluated by a compilation of unique data points, including diner ratings, the percentage of five star reviews, the number of alerts set, the percentage of reservations made in advance and direct searches. Metrics were weighted to comprise an overall score, used to rank the list. The resulting list appears A-Z, not in ranked order.

² OpenTable Data Methodology
OpenTable looked at the number of seated diners from online, phone, and walk-in reservations from January 1 – September 30, 2023 and compared it to the same range in 2022, including restaurants that were on the platform in both of these periods. Cuisines reflected had a minimum of 30k diners in 2022, cuisine category is self-determined by restaurants.

³OpenTable Data Methodology
OpenTable looked at the number of seated diners from online, phone and walk-in reservations on Valentine’s Day 2023 and compared it against Valentine’s Day 2022 (respectively February 14); along with the number of seated diners for Mother’s Day 2023 (May 14), compared against Mother’s Day 2022 (May 8), looking at restaurants that were on the platform in each of these periods.

⁴ OpenTable Data Methodology
OpenTable looked at per person average spend for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day vs. non-holidays (all other dates) from January 1 – September 30, 2023.

⁵OpenTable Data Methodology
OpenTable analyzed more than 200 keywords and phrases across more than 2.5M text restaurant reviews from January 1 – September 30, 2023 and compared it to the same date range in 2022. Keywords reflected were featured in the top 50% by number of mentions.

⁶OpenTable Data Methodology
OpenTable looked at the most popular dates for group dining (6+) from January 1 – December 31, 2022.

About OpenTable
OpenTable, a global leader in restaurant tech and part of Booking Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), helps 55,000 restaurants, bars, wineries and other venues worldwide fill 1.6 billion seats a year. OpenTable powers reservations, experiences, payments, guest insights and operations, enabling restaurants to focus on doing what they do best: providing great hospitality.

SOURCE OpenTable, Inc.