Millions of dining experiences and reviews later, we’re pleased to share our list of the 100 Best Restaurants in America 2018, according to OpenTable diners. The list is a comprehensive look at the year’s most beloved dining spots culled from more than 12 million verified diner reviews of more than 28,000 restaurants in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

From foodie-favorites with world-renowned chefs to breakthrough hidden gems, the list showcases the platform’s comprehensive network of dining options for every occasion across the country. New York holds the most honorees with 24 winning restaurants followed by California with 15, Illinois with nine and Texas with eight, including Uchi in Dallas (pictured above). Pennsylvania boasts seven winners followed by Washington D.C. with six winners while Florida and Georgia each claim four. New to the list are Colorado, Michigan, Oregon, and Rhode Island, with standout restaurants including Matsuhisa Denver, Phoenicia, AgriVino, and The Dining Room at Castle Hill Inn, respectively. Additional states represented include Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Washington.

Gabriel Kreuther (amuse bouche, pictured below), chef-owner of his eponymous Manhattan restaurant, said of his inclusion, “We were thrilled when we learned the wonderful news. My team and I have worked tirelessly and relentlessly since we began developing our restaurant vision almost five years ago and are overjoyed by this recognition. I have been a chef in New York City for over twenty years and it’s been an amazing journey for me to be here and to have the recognition from our guests is always the reward. I am so honored to head up such a talented, hard-working, kind-hearted, passionate, and skillful team who go the extra mile until we attain the ultimate experience for our guests.” He added, “Going into this field when I was barely fourteen years old, I was influenced and inspired by my mother and then my uncle who always understood and imparted to me that life is fleeting and therefore, our guests are coming to us to help them create memorable experiences, whether consciously or not. By choosing to dine with us, they are entrusting us with these very special moments in their lives. As the keeper of these occasions, we truly hold them with care each and every day.”

While American and Italian proved to be the most popular cuisines, they were closely followed by French, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern. Hyperlocal cuisines including Californian, Hawaiian, and Tex-Mex are also represented in the list. The diversity of the honorees points to an increase in appetite, from coast to coast, for adventurous eats and more exotic flavors, as well as travel-inspired dishes.

So how exactly does a restaurant land on this list? The list is generated solely from diner reviews collected between November 1, 2017, and October 31, 2018. 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 “overall” category. That overall category score is made up of unique data points (read: our secret sauce), such as overall diner rating, user klout, total number of reviews, and regional overall rating to arrive at…ta-da, the final list! It’s a mouthful, we know, but would you expect anything less from a list that’s all about the best restaurants in the country?

Based on this methodology, the following restaurants, listed in alphabetical order, comprise the 100 Best Restaurants in America 2018, according to OpenTable diners:Continue Reading