OpenTable rates 100 Most Scenic Restaurants in America
Everyone loves a restaurant dining room with a view, whether it’s looking at the Manhattan skyline from New York City’s legendary Rainbow Room, the stunning waters of the San Francisco Bay from The Caprice in Tiburon, Calif., or the bucolic acreage surrounding the Wyebrook Farm Market and Café in Honey Brook, Pa.
These spots are among OpenTable’s 100 Most Scenic Restaurants in America, as determined by the opinions in more than 5 million reviews of more than 20,000 restaurants around the country.
“Whether they’re perched atop a city skyscraper or nestled on a mountainside, this year’s winning restaurants provide awe-inspiring views that showcase all the beauty of their surroundings for locals and travelers seeking a front-row seat to a city’s natural or manmade splendors,” says Caroline Potter, OpenTable’s chief dining officer, in a statement.
Although some 34 states are represented on the list, California claimed the most scenic spots, with some two dozen — including landmarks like Sutro’s at The Cliff House in San Francisco, site of a restaurant since 1858, and the century-old Yamashiro in Hollywood. Washington placed second, with 10 scenic eateries, while Florida tallies seven and Michigan, Nevada and New York are home to four each.
The list includes three restaurants each from Arizona, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia; two each from Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina and Utah; and one each for Alaska, Alabama, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Utah and Wisconsin.
Many of the most scenic restaurants overlook water and fittingly feature fish- and seafood-centric menus, such as 15 Point Road in Portsmouth, R.I., where you will be “knocked out by the incredible views of the Sakonnet River and Tiverton across the river,” according to a review from hbbja1 of South Carolina. At Duke’s in Malibu, Calif., the lucky diners with a window seat will feel as if “the surf was just breaking” in front of them, writes Rich of Los Angeles, while the Old Oyster Factory in Hilton Head, S.C., offers a “cool view of the Carolina backwater,” according to a diner from Cincinnati.
For dynamic urban views, OpenTable reviewers cited a range of cityscapes, from Las Vegas Strip views at the Top of the World at the Stratosphere to Boston's skyline at the Top of the Hub, plus the 34th story Spindletop, “downtown Houston’s only revolving rooftop restaurant,” and The Roof in Salt Lake City, offering views of Temple Square.
The final list is based on reviews covering the period from July 1, 2015 through May 31, with all restaurants receiving a minimum overall score and number of qualifying reviews entered in the competition, according to OpenTable. Those that qualified were then “sorted,” based on the percentage of qualifying reviews that included “great for outdoor dining” as a special feature.