Press Release

OpenTable Reveals the 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America and Swoonworthy Valentine's Day Experiences

February 9, 2022
Among the featured experiences is a pop-up wedding chapel at popular Brooklyn pizzeria, L'industrie

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- This Valentine's Day, OpenTable (part of Booking Holdings Inc., NASDAQ: BKNG), has the perfect venue no matter how you're planning to celebrate, whether your idea of romance is a candlelit dinner, an exotic tasting menu or an impromptu wedding. Yes, you read that right: this Valentine's Day only, you can book your nuptials on OpenTable via a pop-up chapel at popular Brooklyn Pizzeria L'industrie. Eat your heart out, Las Vegas.

After nearly two years of celebrating at home, Valentine's Day outings are much overdue, with survey findings revealing 34% of US adults who celebrate the holiday haven't dined out for Valentine's Day since before 2019.1 To help diners get away for a night of romance and fall back in love with restaurants again too, OpenTable has curated its annual 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America list, which ranks the most intimate culinary destinations based on diner reviews, and a Valentine's Day Experiences hub where diners can discover and book tasting menus, dessert-making workshops, cooking classes, wine pairings and more.

"Our data suggests that Valentine's Day dining is rebounding this year, with reservations up 30% nationwide compared to last year,"2 said Susan Lee, Chief Growth Officer at OpenTable. "We're excited to see this momentum leading up to what has traditionally been one of the biggest dining days of the year for restaurants."

Kicking Valentine's Day Up a Notch with Swoonworthy Experiences

On OpenTable Experiences, a collection of the world's premier dining destinations play host to exclusive events including coveted tasting menus, wine pairings, drag brunches and more:

- AOC - 3rd Street in Los Angeles, showcasing a four-course menu by James Beard award-winning chef Suzanne Goin;
Berber in San Francisco offers experiences throughout Valentine's Day weekend, each featuring a multiple-course tasting menu which combines Moroccan aphrodisiacs and exotic spices for an unforgettable feast set amongst a live cirque show;
- James Beard nominated Yardbird Table & Bar in Dallas serves up an inventive take on its regional Southern fare with a decadent five-course prix-fixe menu featuring crab cakes, surf and turf and chocolate covered strawberry cheesecake;
MIDA in Boston and Newton, MA is spreading the love all weekend long with its Lovers Lane Experience, featuring a special three-course menu with the option to add wine pairings and truffle risotto.

New Yorkers looking to take their relationship to the next level can book a wedding or vow renewal at Brooklyn pizzeria L'industrie, which will turn into a pop-up chapel for the day. The Experience includes a ceremony performed by Honeybreak Officiants, an award-winning, woman-owned business which specializes in modern ceremonies, as well as two pizzas, soft serve and a photographer.

Seeking Romance Coast-To-Coast with the 100 Most Romantic Restaurants List
Back by popular demand is OpenTable's 100 Most Romantic Restaurants list, curated by analyzing more than 12.4M US diner reviews. This year's list spans 33 states coast-to-coast. California dominates the list with 11 restaurants, closely followed by Ohio and Georgia at seven restaurants each.

The list saw a significant number of 'three-peats' including Cafe Monarch in Arizona, Altius in Pennsylvania, Café Provence in Kansas, Carlo & Johnny in Ohio, Flight Restaurant & Wine Bar in Tennessee, Geronimo in New Mexico and L'Auberge Chez Francois and Le Yaca, both in Virginia.

While nearly every cuisine type is highlighted, the "most romantic" may be surprising. Despite the increasing popularity of vegan and plant-based options, steakhouses account for 37% of the list, followed by Italian (13%), seafood (12%) and Contemporary American (11%).

OpenTable's 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America for 2022 is generated solely from diner reviews collected between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021. All restaurants with a minimum "overall" score and number of qualifying reviews were included for consideration. The overall score is made up of unique data points, such as overall diner rating, user klout, total number of reviews, and regional overall rating. Qualifying restaurants were then scored and sorted according to the percentage of reviews, for which "romantic" was selected as a special feature.

Based on this methodology, the 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America for 2022 are (in alphabetical order):

The 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America for 2022 can be viewed here. To see the full list of experiences near you, visit your local experiences hub and be sure to check local public health guidelines and communications about COVID-19.

1 Survey Methodology 
OpenTable partnered with YouGov on January 14-17, 2022 to survey 1,244 adults (aged 18+) online within the U.S. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all U.S. adults (aged 18+).

2 OpenTable Data Methodology
 OpenTable looked at online reservations made for February 14, 2022 from February 15, 2021 - February 7, 2022, and compared against online reservations made for February 14, 2021 from February 15, 2020 - February 7, 2021.

 

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SOURCE OpenTable, Inc.

Jenna D'Aniello, jdaniello@opentable.com