The most coveted restaurant reservations in 7 big US cities

27.08.2024 - 18:17 / insider.com

Remember when the hottest spot in town was a club with a line wrapped around the street corner or a swanky bar frequented by Hollywood celebrities or Wall Street bigwigs?

Well, a new after-hours status symbol has emerged: restaurants.

Restaurantshave become hot not just for their food but also for the exclusivity they can offer.Thanks in part to what the New Yorker described asthe gamification of restaurant reservations via platforms like Resy and OpenTable, snagging a reservation at a popular joint is nearly impossible.

As a result, a coveted reservation can be a surefiredisplay of social capital, a way toimpress friends or business partners with the hard-to-get-into places they're able to get into.

With social media, it's easier than ever to broadcast glimpses of your lavish life to the wider public.Millennials and Gen Zers also turn to their For You Pages, the part of TikTok and Instagram where content is recommended based on your interests and engagement, to hunt down the next coveted food joint to add to their bucket lists.

Even though inflation has made restaurants feel more financially burdensome, dining out remains the biggest consumer splurge category among all generations, according to a McKinsey report on consumer sentiment.

The consulting giant's ConsumerWise Global Sentiment Survey of 4,003 people in May 2024 found that 39% said they planned to splurge on spending at bars and restaurants — the most compared with any other type of expense, including big-ticket items like travel, vehicles, and home electronics.

These findings are bolstered by the most recent US Census data on consumer expenditures, which reports household spending on food away from home rose 20.1% between 2021 and 2022.

Part of the increase is a return to normal after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions shuttered many restaurants. Still, a flurry of demand for hotter, buzzworthy restaurants has spurred new players to enter the field. In January, Yelp reported that over 50,000 new food and drink establishments opened in the US in 2023, a 10% jump from the previous year.

As our social media algorithms churn out endless options, it's not easy to stay informed about what spots are hot and actually worth splurging on, especially in a major city.

Here, a travel concierge for high-net-worth individuals and hotel concierges share their recommendations for the buzziest and best restaurants to visit for every occasion in seven of the US' most popular cities, from the perfect restaurant for a romantic evening to the ideal eatery to impress clients.

Take a look, presented in alphabetical order by city.