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Perfect Plates
Only one Houston spot makes OpenTable list of 2025's top 100 restaurants
Nov 26, 2025 | 9:30 am
Restaurant reservations and reviews platform OpenTable has examined its data to determine the top 100 restaurants in the country for 2025, and only one Houston restaurant made the list — BCN Taste & Tradition, the one star Michelin Spanish fine dining restaurant in Montrose.
On the other hand, Austin has an enormous slice of the pie with eight representatives. Dallas tied Houston with one restaurant.
OpenTable emphasizes that professional critics didn't compile this list. Instead, it's based on more than 10 million reviews by verified OpenTable diners along with other metrics. A restaurant had to have a minimum threshold of reviews to be considered — so no matter how great a new restaurant is, it might be too early to count it — and further data included the percentage of five-star reviews, number of alerts set, and more.
Some, like percentage of reservations made in advance, mean this list awards points for exclusivity rather than casual dining. However, the number of direct searches could be an equalizing factor.
Most important to readers, the restaurants are not ranked.
In addition to BCN, four restaurants with Houston locations made the list in their hometowns. They are: Clark's Oyster Bar (Austin), Guard & Grace (Denver), Steak 48 (Phoenix), and Uchi (Austin).
The list is very similar to the one in 2024, when Steak 48 was Houston's only representative.
An emphasis on fine or fancy dining isn't necessarily a bad thing. These restaurants live up to their own fanfare, according to reviews, which is no small feat for a restaurant like Uchi. It was named the 60th greatest restaurant in the country this century by luxury lifestyle publication The Robb Report this month. After more than 20 years, adapting to the times and staying fresh is sometimes the greatest thing a restaurant can do.
Although Austin led the way in Texas, two cities had even more representation. New York City has 10 spots on the list, and Chicago has an unbelievable 16.
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