About Our Survey
Opinionated About Dining is the only dining survey that factors experience into its rating system. Both restaurants and reviewers are assigned weights: Restaurants based on the ratings they have been awarded and reviewers based on the quantity and quality of the restaurants they have rated. The 2012 results are based on over 70,000 reviews which were contributed by the more than 3,000 people who have registered for our survey.



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There are a number of firsts in our 2012 Dining Survey:

• For the first time since our survey began in 2008, a restaurant other than the French Laundry has been crowned the best in the U.S.

• There are more restaurants in the Top 100 serving progressive cuisine than serving French cuisine.

• While New York remains the country’s number one location for fine dining, San Francisco is now rivaling Chicago for second place.

• Restaurants featuring Asian cuisines make up more than 20% of the Top 100 list.

• Counter seating where chefs serve their customers directly is becoming more popular, with five non-Asian restaurants on the list employing the format.

• Seven chefs accomplished the amazing feat of earning multiple spots on the Top 100 list: Grant Achatz, Jose Andres, Dan Barber, Sean Brock, David Chang, Thomas Keller and Wolfgang Puck.


Click to See the Slideshow of Our Top 100 List

® Copyright SJP Media, LLC 2012