California, New York, Florida, Illinois, and Texas Restaurants Have Greatest Number of Winners; New Restaurants Are Well Represented
OpenTable has revealed the 100 Hottest Restaurants in America for 2016. These awards reflect the combined opinions of more than 5 million restaurant reviews submitted by verified OpenTable diners for more than 20,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Featuring stylish restaurants from celebrated chefs as well as those popular with celebrity diners, the complete list includes honorees in 27 states, such as The Nice Guy in West Hollywood, Santina in New York, and Talde in Jersey City. California has 25 winning restaurants, followed by New York with 15, and Florida and Illinois with seven each. Texas has five while Colorado and Georgia have four winners apiece. Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Nevada each have three winners. Arizona, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, and Utah count two winners per state. Connecticut, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee are also represented. The winning restaurants are highly regarded for their lively ambience, and many feature vibrant bar and lounge scenes with an after-hours feel. New restaurants made a splash with more than a fifth opening their doors in 2015 alone. While American cuisine was quite popular, Asian, global, Italian, Mexican, and sushi eateries also made strong showings.
“The honorees on this list have each crafted a delicious recipe for a thrilling meal,” says Caroline Potter, OpenTable Chief Dining Officer. “From inventive fare with an international flair and enticing cocktail programs to energetic atmospheres and sexy surroundings, these restaurants have all the elements for a fresh, fun dining experience.”
The list of the 100 Hottest Restaurants in America is generated from more than 5 million restaurant reviews collected from verified OpenTable diners between March 1, 2015, and February 29, 2016. All restaurants with a minimum “overall” score and number of qualifying reviews were included for consideration. Qualifying restaurants were then sorted according to a score calculated from each restaurant’s average rating in the “hot spot” category.
Based on this methodology, the following restaurants, listed in alphabetical order, comprise the 100 Hottest Restaurants in America according to OpenTable diners. The complete list may also be viewed at http://www.opentable.com/m/100-hottest-restaurants-in-america/.
2016 Top 100 Hottest Restaurants in America
40/40 Club – New York, New York
8 Up – Louisville, Kentucky
Acorn – Denver, Colorado
Alley Cat Oyster Bar – Cleveland, Ohio *
AsiaSF – San Francisco, California
B.B. King’s Blues Club – Memphis, Tennessee
B.B. King’s Blues Club – Orlando, Florida
Beauty and Essex – New York, New York
Bestia – Los Angeles, California
Buccan – Palm Beach, Florida
Buddakan – New York, New York
Café Martorano – Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Cassia – Santa Monica, California *
Chino Latino – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cork & Pig Tavern #2 – Odessa, Texas
Culinary Dropout – Tempe, Arizona
Current – Salt Lake City, Utah *
Departure Restaurant and Lounge – Portland, Oregon
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que – Rochester, New York
do Restaurant at the View – Atlanta, Georgia
E.P.+L.P. – West Hollywood, California *
Eight4Nine – Palm Springs, California *
El Camino Mexican Soul Food & Tequila Bar – Delray Beach, Florida
Empire – Boston, Massachusetts
Forno Kitchen and Bar – Columbus, Ohio *
Gato – New York, New York
Girl & the Goat – Chicago, Illinois
Gjelina – Venice, California
The Grey – Savannah, Georgia
Gypsy Kitchen – Atlanta, Georgia
High Rooftop Lounge – Venice, California
The Hudson Room – Peekskill, New York
.ink – West Hollywood, California
The Ivy – West Hollywood, California
Izakaya Den – Denver, Colorado
Juniper & Ivy – San Diego, California
Kettner Exchange – San Diego, California
La Esquina – New York, New York
The Lark – Santa Barbara, California
Linger – Denver, Colorado
Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar – Boston, Massachusetts
Manhattan Beach Post – Manhattan Beach, California
Marble + Rye – Buffalo, New York *
middle fork kitchen bar – Lexington, Kentucky *
Momotaro – Chicago, Illinois
MUA – Oakland, California
The Nest – Indian Wells, California
The Nice Guy – West Hollywood, California
O-Ku – Charleston, South Carolina
Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox – Denver, Colorado *
Palace Bar – Miami Beach, Florida
Palmilla Cocina Y Tequila – Hermosa Beach, California
Peck’s Arcade – Troy, New York *
Perch LA – Los Angeles, California
Pitch Coal-Fire Pizzeria – Omaha, Nebraska
Pitch Pizzeria-West – Omaha, Nebraska *
Prato – Winter Park, Florida
Pump – West Hollywood, California
Red Ginger – Traverse City, Michigan
Red Rooster Harlem – New York, New York
Republic – Detroit, Michigan
Republique – Los Angeles, California
The Rest – Salt Lake City, Utah
Rizzuto’s Oyster Bar and Restaurant – Westport, Connecticut
RoCA – Des Moines, Iowa
Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar – Orlando, Florida
Rose. Rabbit. Lie. at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas – Las Vegas, Nevada
RPM Italian – Chicago, Illinois
Santina – New York, New York *
Shakou Sushi – Libertyville, Illinois
Shakou Sushi – St. Charles, Illinois
Shaya – New Orleans, Louisiana *
SoBe Restaurant & Lounge – Lanham, Maryland *
Spoon and Stable – Minneapolis, Minnesota
STK-NYC-Meatpacking – New York, New York
STK-The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas – Las Vegas, Nevada
Streets-BK – Brooklyn, New York *
Strip by Strega – Boston, Massachusetts *
SumoMaya Mexican-Asian Kitchen – Scottsdale, Arizona
Sur Restaurant – West Hollywood, California
Talde – Jersey City, New Jersey *
Tao Downtown – New York, New York
Tao Restaurant and Nightclub – Las Vegas, Nevada
Tender Bar + Kitchen – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Three Dots and a Dash – Chicago, Illinois
Three Muses – New Orleans, Louisiana
Toca Madera – West Hollywood, California *
Toutant – Buffalo, New York *
The Tropicale – Palm Springs, California
Tsunami Shaw Center – Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Uchi – Austin, Texas
Uchi – Dallas, Texas *
Uchi – Houston, Texas
Uchiko – Austin, Texas
UMI – Atlanta, Georgia
Union 50 – Indianapolis, Indiana
Untitled – Chicago, Illinois
Vitello’s – Studio City, California
Yokozuna-Downtown – Tulsa, Oklahoma
Ysabel – West Hollywood, California *
*Indicates restaurants opened in 2015
Diners can also learn more about the 100 Hottest Restaurants in America by visiting the OpenTable blog.
