Best Restaurants In California: OpenTable's 2018 List

CALIFORNIA – Time to work up those appetites — 15 California restaurants have been listed among the top 100 in America.

OpenTable on Wednesday unveiled its "100 Best Restaurants in America" list for 2018. The online reservation site based its list on more than 12 million verified reviews of over 28,000 restaurants nationwide.

California clearly values a good meal. There are roughly 72,387 restaurants in the Golden State, according to the National Restaurant Association, and they had an estimated $82.2 billion in sales last year.

These are the best restaurants in the state, according to OpenTable's report:

• The Arthur J - Manhattan Beach, California
• Auberge du Soleil - Rutherford, California
• Benu - San Francisco, California
• Chi SPACCA - Los Angeles, California
• Frances - San Francisco, California
• Il Segreto - Bel Air, California
• Koi - West Hollywood, California
• Kokkari Estiatorio - San Francisco, California
• Market Restaurant and Bar - Del Mar, California
• Mistral - Sherman Oaks - Sherman Oaks, California
• Quince - San Francisco, California
• Rich Table - San Francisco, California
• SHU - Sushi House Unico - Bel Air - Bel Air, California
• Terzo - San Francisco, California
• Toscana - Los Angeles, California

Nationwide, restaurant industry sales have increased from $586.7 billion in 2010 to nearly $800 billion last year, so it's not just Californians who love eating out. There are more than 1 million restaurants throughout the country and about 10 percent of the U.S. workforce consists of restaurant workers.

New York had the most restaurants on OpenTable's list with 24, followed by California with 15 and Illinois with nine. Texas had eight and Pennsylvania rounded out the top five with seven.

Colorado, Michigan, Oregon and Rhode Island were new additions to the annual list. American and Italian food were the most popular cuisines on the list, according to OpenTable, followed by French, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern.

"The 100 Best Restaurants in America list gives voice to OpenTable's diner community by honoring the restaurants they love to visit and that consistently provide dining experiences that delight time and again," Caroline Potter, chief dining officer at the company, said in a release. "The diversity of this year's list truly showcases how OpenTable helps diners find the right restaurant for every appetite and every occasion."

The reviews used to make the list were submitted between Nov. 1, 2017, and Oct. 31, 2018. All restaurants with a minimum overall score and number of qualifying reviews were considered, according to the company. Eligible establishments were then sorted based on a score calculated from each restaurant's average rating in the overall category.

ALSO SEE:

• Best California Restaurants For 2017: List
• Most Romantic Restaurants In California: OpenTable's 2018 List
• Best Brunch Restaurants In California: OpenTable's 2018 List
• Best Outdoor Restaurants In CA: OpenTable's 2018 List
• Most Scenic Restaurants In CA: OpenTable's List

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images