The Best Restaurants in the United States — OpenTable Diners Reveal Their Favorite 50 Restaurants

Based on feedback collected from OpenTable diners between April 2008 and March 2009, the following 50 restaurants, listed in alphabetical order, received the highest average “overall” rating, one of the categories on which diners can provide input about their experience at a particular restaurant. For more information about the restaurants on this list, please visit http://www.opentable.com/bestoverall.

The 2009 Winners of OpenTable’s Annual Diners’ Choice Awards

— Auberge du Soleil – Rutherford, CA

— Aujourd ‘hui – Boston, MA

— Binkely’s Restaurant – Cave Creek, AZ

— Blue Hill at Stone Barns – Pocantico Hills, NY

— Boca Cincinnati – Cincinnati, OH

— Bone’s – Atlanta, GA

— Cafe Juanita – Kirkland, WA

— Canlis – Seattle, WA

— Charleston – Baltimore, MD

— Charleston Grill – Charleston, SC

— Chez Betty – Park City, UT

— CityZen – Washington, DC

— Cyrus – Healdsburg, CA

— Daniel – New York, NY

— Eleven Madison Park – New York, NY

— Fearing’s – Dallas, TX

— Fearrington House Restaurant – Pittsboro, NC

— Flagstaff House – Boulder, CO

— Fountain Restaurant – Philadelphia, PA

— Gilmore’s – West Chester, PA

— Gramercy Tavern – New York, NY

— Highlands Bar & Grill – Birmingham, AL

— Jean Georges – New York, NY

— Kai – Chandler, AZ

— La Belle Vie – Minneapolis, MN

— La Grenouille – New York, NY

— Le Bernardin – New York, NY

— Les Nomades – Chicago, IL

— LJ’s & The Kat Lounge – Hagerstown, MD

— Mama’s Fish House – Paia, HI

— Marcel’s – Washington, DC

— Nick & Sam’s – Dallas, TX

— Palace Arms at the Brown Palace – Denver, CO

— Per Se – New York, NY

— Rick Erwin’s West End Grill – Greenville, SC

— Rosemary’s Restaurant – Las Vegas, NV

— Rover’s – Seattle, WA

— Saint Jacques French Cuisine – Raleigh, NC

— Stella! Restaurant – New Orleans, LA

— Stonehouse @ San Ysidro Ranch – Santa Barbara, CA

— Taste Restaurant – Plymouth, CA

— The Dining Room at The Ritz-Carlton – San Francisco, CA

— The French Laundry – Yountville, CA

— The French Room – Dallas, TX

— The North Fork Table & Inn – Southold, NY

— The Precinct – Cincinnati, OH

— The Refectory Restaurant & Bistro – Columbus, OH

— Uchi – Austin, TX

— Vintage Tavern – Suffolk, VA

— White Barn Inn – Kennebunkport, ME

“This list reflects the rich diversity of our diners’ appetites and confirms the vitality of the American dining scene,” said Caroline Potter, OpenTable’s dining expert. “The wide range of cuisines, geographies, and price points indicate that dining out remains a growing part of our culture.”

Among restaurants on the list, nearly 20 percent are based in New York City, making it the most highly-concentrated area of winning restaurants. The state of California also garnered six winning restaurants, primarily located in the Wine Country in Northern California. Representing the Southern part of the country, Texas had the third-highest concentration of restaurants on the list, including three restaurants in Dallas and one in Austin. There was also additional Southern representation from restaurants in Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

The list also reflected a prevalence of French cuisine, the primary style of cooking served at one-third of the restaurants on the list. While a large portion of the award-winning restaurants specialized in American cuisine, there was also a variety of global cuisines included on the list, including Hawaiian, Italian and Japanese.

“The list proves that this current economy has not dimmed diners’ enthusiasm,” Potter added. “Diners still have great appreciation for excellent food and superior service. And, the restaurants on this list have clearly delivered when it comes to both aspects.”

The 2009 annual Diners’ Choice awards reflect feedback from diners provided from April 2008 to March 2009. OpenTable expects to announce the winning list of restaurants for 2010 next April. OpenTable will also begin publishing and promoting its list of annual restaurant winners for a particular category, including “Best Brunch” and “Most Romantic,” next month.

About OpenTable, Inc.

OpenTable is a leading provider of free, real-time online restaurant reservations for diners and reservation and guest management solutions for restaurants. The OpenTable network delivers the convenience of online restaurant reservations to diners and the operational benefits of a computerized reservation book to restaurants. OpenTable has more than 10,000 restaurant customers, and since its inception in 1998, has seated more than 90 million diners around the world. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and the OpenTable service is available throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Japan, Mexico, and parts of Europe.

OpenTable, OpenTable.com, OpenTable logos and other service names are the trademarks of OpenTable, Inc.

SOURCE: OpenTable, Inc.

OpenTable, Inc. 
Shannon Stubo, 415-344-4275 
sstubo@opentable.com