4 CA Restaurants On OpenTable’s 100 ‘Most Romantic’ List

A new list says four California restaurants are among the nation’s 100 “most romantic” this year just in time for Valentine’s Day. And Southern Californians apparently have more options than their Northern Californian counterparts when it comes to eating out at one of the most romantic spots in the nation — three of the four restaurants are located in SoCal.

The folks at OpenTable, a free online reservation tool, released the 100 most romantic restaurants in a blog post last week. The list, which includes restaurants in 33 states, was compiled based on more than 12 million verified diner reviews of more than 28,000 restaurants.

Valentine’s Day is “the most popular day for dining out,” according to OpenTable, so you may consider making a reservation — if you still can. Here are the restaurants from California:

• Cafe Sparrow – Aptos
• OpenTable refers to this as a "charming country French restaurant" that "combines traditional French sauces with a California flair."
• Le Vallauris – Palm Springs
• Also a French restaurant, Le Vallauris is a top destination in the region since the 1970s. In fact, OpenTable says it "has been the highest rated restaurant in the Palm Springs Valley since its inception."
• Summit House – Fullerton
• Come for the food, enjoy the views. "In front of a crackling fire one can partake of good hearty fare - the tankard is always full - the spit hung with roasting beefs - and a table heaped with sweets and such," OpenTable says.
• Wally’s Desert Turtle – Rancho Mirage
  
  • Located not far from Le Vallauris, Wally's Desert Turtle specializes in "modern Californian cuisine." And in keeping with California's progressive nature, Wally's "proudly supports local Ranches, Farms and Fisheries committed to the smart-stewardship of the planet through sustainable, earth-friendly and ocean-friendly practices."

The overall OpenTable list this year also included luxury spots like Majorelle in New York City and local hangouts such as St. Martin’s Wine Bistro in Dallas. Ohio had the most restaurants on the list with nine, followed by Texas with eight and North Carolina and Virginia with seven each. Prime rib, seafood and exotic desserts permeate the restaurants on the list. And if you do end up dining at one of these spots, bring your checkbook — many meals range from pricey to downright heart-stopping.

The reviews were collected from Dec. 1 2017 through Nov. 30, 2018, so you can be sure they’re recent. In order to be considered the restaurants had to meet a minimum “overall” score and a certain threshold of qualifying reviews. The overall score was calculated using data such as diner rating, user clout total reviews and regional rating. Qualifying restaurants were then scored and sorted based on share of reviews where “romantic” was chosen as a special feature.

Click here to see the full list.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report. / Photo credit: Shutterstock