9 Of America's Best Restaurants Are In Illinois: OpenTable

Time to work up those appetites — nine Illinois 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.

Illinois clearly values a good meal. There are more than 26,000 restaurants across the state, according to the National Restaurant Association, and they see an estimated $25 billion in sales last year. So if you’re looking to treat yourself, here are the best restaurants in the state, according to the report.

• Boka - Lincoln Park, Chicago
• Ema - River North, Chicago
• Gibsons Italia - Fulton River District, Chicago
• Girl & the Goat - West Loop, Chicago
• Maple & Ash - Gold Coast, Chicago
• Oriole - Fulton River District, Chicago
• RL Restaurant - Gold Coast, Chicago
• RPM Italian - River North, Chicago
• Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab - Multiple Locations, including River North in Chicago

Nationwide, restaurant industry sales have increased from $586.7 billion in 2010 to nearly $800 billion last year, so it’s not just Illinoisans 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.

As you might expect, New York had the most restaurants on the list with 24, followed by California and Illinois, with 15 and 9, respectively. 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 with fabulous restaurants such as Matsuhisa Denver, Phoenicia, AgriVino and The Dining Room at Castle Hill Inn.

American and Italian food were the most popular cuisines on the list, OpenTable said, 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, the company said. Eligible establishments were then sorted based on a score calculated from each restaurant's average rating in the overall category.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Image provided by Girl & The Goat.