Over half of Valentine’s Day restaurant reservations were in by 7th February 2022 – book now to beat the rush

Over half of Brits will be celebrating Valentine’s Day at a restaurant this year, and over a third are stressed about finding the perfect location. To help make planning stress-free, OpenTable, a global leader in restaurant technology, has released its annual 100 Most Romantic Restaurants list 2023.

The 100 Most Romantic Restaurants list is the ideal place to discover the ultimate spot this Valentine’s Day. The list features spots that diners say deliver on romance – it was compiled by analysing over one million UK diner reviews – and features a variety of cuisines including French, Spanish, British and Japanese. The list spans 33 locations in the UK, with Yorkshire taking the #1 spot with 18 restaurants on the list, closely followed by London, featuring 17 restaurants.

Robin Chiang, VP of Global Sales and Services, OpenTable comments: “As the industry continues to face headwinds, it’s fantastic to see the majority of Brits have plans to dine out for Valentine’s Day. For those planning to dine out for the occasion, the time to book is now: our 2022 data shows that more than half of reservations were in by the 7th February.”

According to a recent survey conducted by OpenTable, on average, Brits plan to spend £65 per person on Valentine’s Day. Gen Z is planning to spend the most (£88 per person) on average and are looking to do something extra special: over half (56%) are planning to celebrate with a dining experience such as a wine pairing, a tasting menu, or a chef experience. To find an experience near you, check out https://www.opentable.co.uk/experiences.

Findings also reveal the top turn-offs and red flags for a dinner date, with all generations agreeing that drinking too much (47%), being a noisy eater (40%) and expecting their bill to be paid for by their date (30%) are the most commonly identified red flags. For Gen Z, ordering meat when your date is veggie or vegan (18%) is one of the biggest no go’s, whilst Millennials (32%) and over 65s (36%) agree that turning up late is a turn off.