Ahh, eating. One of life’s simple pleasures, and a human experience that transcends cultures and language barriers. The pursuit of good food has the power to bring all kinds of people in all kinds of places together in a shared mission….to stuff our faces with the best damn thing we can find to eat!
We should know. Millions of people use Yelp in more than 30 countries to search for and share experiences at all kinds of restaurants, food stands, delis, izakayas, food trucks, and more. Not to mention barber shops, dog groomers, real estate agents…but we’re talking about food here. Focus!
Yelp’s list of Top 100 Places to Eat in the US for 2016 honors businesses that rank so highly in the Yelp community’s opinion that they have earned the status of “must try within this lifetime.” From fancy to casual, long time favorite to new up-and-comer, barbecue to udon, this list runs the gamut of gastronomical experiences. And that’s the way we like it; a list as quirky and interesting and unique as the Yelp Community itself. Sometimes you want a white tablecloth experience, and sometimes a sandwich on the run hits the spot.
Top: A selection of sweets from #1 spot Porto’s Bakery and Cafe in Burbank, CA. Bottom row, left to right: A sandwich from #3 Paseo and the Seattle skyline, pizza from #2 Cheese Board Pizza with Berkeley in the background, and poke from #15 Da Poke Shack on the beach in Hawaii. Delicious food + beautiful view…I’m sensing a pattern.
Friends, bookmark this list. Use it as your guide to food greatness in 2016. For the extra ambitious, maybe you can hit up all 100 before the clock strikes midnight on December 31st. But if you don’t get all the way through this list, rest assured these spots will likely be open for business for a good long time. How do we know? Because Yelp drives customers like you through the doors of businesses that work hard to earn a great reputation.
Did we overlook something stellar? Talk about this list on social using #YelpTop100, and let us know what you think. Remember, we only know how good a spot is if people take the time to review it, so share your wisdom on Yelp, and maybe your faves will appear on a future list!
Head over to Yelp’s blog for business owners to see the Top 100 Places to Eat in Canada, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Australia!
Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat in the US for 2016
Businesses marked with ? are Hot & New, meaning they’ve made our list for the first time and were first listed on Yelp within the last two years.
Businesses that take order/delivery through Yelp are marked.
1. Porto’s Bakery & Cafe, Burbank, CA (1)
2. Cheese Board Pizza, Berkeley, CA
3. Paseo, Seattle, WA
4. Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, Kansas City, KS
5. TKB Bakery & Deli, Indio, CA
6. Gary Danko, San Francisco, CA
7. The Morrison, Los Angeles, CA
8. Mama D’s Italian Kitchen, Newport Beach, CA
9. Franklin Barbecue, Austin, TX
10. Marukame Udon, Honolulu, HI
11. Cream Pan, Tustin, CA
12. Dametra Cafe, Carmel, CA
13. Little Miss BBQ, Phoenix, AZ
14. Ono Seafood, Honolulu, HI
15. Da Poke Shack, Kailua-Kona, HI
16. Los Agaves, Santa Barbara, CA
17. Tacos El Gordo, Chula Vista, CA
18. Bogart’s Smokehouse, Saint Louis, MO
19. Alinea, Chicago, IL
20. Joe’s Falafel, Los Angeles, CA *Yelp Eat24 Order/Delivery
21. Baguette Cafe, Las Vegas, NV
22. Halls Chophouse, Charleston, SC
23. Aviva by Kameel, Atlanta, GA
24. Ike’s Place, San Francisco, CA *Yelp Eat24 Order/Delivery
25. Adobo Taco Grill, Lakewood, CA ?
26. Kokkari Estiatorio, San Francisco, CA
27. Mr BBQ, Fullerton, CA ?
28. El Dorado Cantina, Las Vegas, NV *Yelp Eat24 Order/Delivery
29. Pappy’s Smokehouse, Saint Louis, MO
30. T Deli, San Diego, CA *Yelp Eat24 Order/Delivery
31. Oscar’s Mexican Seafood, San Diego, CA
32. Gramercy Tavern, New York, NY
33. Screen Door, Portland, OR
34. Le Bernardin, New York, NY
35. Mama’s Fish House Restaurant, Paia, HI
36. Gaucho Parrilla Argentina, Pittsburgh, PA
37. Gen Korean BBQ House, Cerritos, CA (2)
38. Girl & the Goat, Chicago, IL
39. Langer’s, Los Angeles, CA
40. Los Tacos No.1, New York, NY
41. Bakery Nouveau, Seattle, WA
42. Sushi Ota, San Diego, CA
43. Istanbul Grill California, Fountain Valley, CA
44. Mr. Mamas, Las Vegas, NV
45. Arun’s Indian Kichen, Coral Springs, FL *Yelp Eat24 Order/Delivery
46. Cochon Butcher, New Orleans, LA
47. Coop’s West Texas Barbeque, Lemon Grove, CA
48. Kenny’s Wood Fired Grill, Dallas, TX
49. Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, Miami Beach, FL
50. Beach Break Cafe, Oceanside, CA
51. Johnny Pacific, Winnetka, CA
52. Outlaws Cafe, Van Nuys, CA *Yelp Eat24 Order/Delivery
53. Lou’s Cafe, San Francisco, CA
54. Los Andes Restaurant, Providence, RI
55. Arizmendi Bakery, San Francisco, CA
56. Lahaina Grill, Lahaina, HI
57. The French Laundry, Yountville, CA
58. Gus’s World Famous Hot & Spicy Chicken, Memphis, TN
59. Uchi, Austin, TX
60. Rockfire Grill, Mission Viejo, CA *Yelp Eat24 Order/Delivery ?
61. El Chato Taco Truck, Los Angeles, CA
62. Zahav, Philadelphia, PA
63. Helena’s Hawaiian Food, Honolulu, HI
64. Sal, Kris, & Charlie’s Deli, Astoria, NY
65. Providence, Los Angeles, CA
66. Zacatecas Restaurant, Hawthorne, CA
67. Monell’s Dining & Catering, Nashville, TN
68. Phil’s BBQ, San Diego, CA
69. Per Se, New York, NY
70. Daniel, New York, NY
71. Yoshino Japanese Deli, Carlsbad, CA
72. Eleven Madison Park, New York, NY
73. Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong, Los Angeles, CA
74. Cafe Rolle, Sacramento, CA
75. Chama Gaúcha Brazilian Steakhouse, Houston, TX (3)
76. Musubi Cafe Iyasume, Honolulu, HI
77. Wally’s Cafe, Emeryville, CA
78. Mastro’s Steakhouse Beverly Hills Penthouse, Beverly Hills, CA
79. Neptune Oyster, Boston, MA
80. Oyster Bar, Las Vegas, NV
81. Pike Place Chowder, Seattle, WA
82. The Halal Guys, New York, NY
83. The Codmother Fish and Chips, San Francisco, CA
84. Shark Pit Maui, Lahaina, HI
85. Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch, Saint Helena, CA
86. Genwa Korean BBQ, Los Angeles, CA
87. Little Lucca Sandwich Shop & Deli, South San Francisco, CA *Yelp Eat24 Order/Delivery
88. Bobby Q, Phoenix, AZ
89. Umeke’s, Kailua-Kona, HI
90. Root Down, Denver, CO
91. Tar & Roses, Santa Monica, CA
92. Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop, Lahaina, HI
93. The Waffle Window, Portland, OR
94. Café Besalu, Seattle, WA
95. Roxie Food Center, San Francisco, CA
96. Blues City Deli, Saint Louis, MO
97. Uchiko, Austin, TX
98. Bavette’s Bar & Boeuf, Chicago, IL
99. 39 Degrees, Long Beach, CA
100. DishDash, Sunnyvale, CA
Footnotes
(1) Two other Porto’s locations ranked in the Top 100: Porto’s Glendale, and Porto’s Downey
(2) One other Gen Korean BBQ location ranked in the Top 100: Gen Korean BBQ Rowland Heights
(3) One other Chama location ranked in the Top 100: Chama Gaúcha Brazilian Steakhouse Downers Grove
Let’s review the nuts and bolts of how this thing got made by Yelp’s data science team, who combed through millions of data points to make it possible for us to share this list with you.
Methodology:
To determine Yelp’s Best Places to Eat in 2016, we analyzed which places were the all-time most popular and well reviewed on Yelp. Businesses from across the country were compared using a ranking that looks at both the ratings and the number of reviews while accounting for quality, popularity, and statistical fluctuations. To localize the list, only reviews written by users whose profiles list their home location as within the reviewed businesses’ country were factored into the ranking. Businesses must be primarily a restaurant or place to eat a meal to be included on the list and must abide by Yelp’s Terms of Service and Content guidelines. If a business with multiple locations appears more than once on the list, we keep the highest ranked location and mention the others in a footnote. Unlike our list from last year, which unearthed the best places to eat on Yelp based primarily on their performance in recent years, this year’s list looks at performance since the founding of Yelp in 2004. This list is a combination of classic favorites and new up-and-comers that garnered lots of positive attention. Businesses marked as “Hot & New” both made our Top Places to Eat list for the first time and were added to Yelp within the last two years.
