Le Bernardin Breaks Danny Meyer's Popularity Winning Streak in Zagat 2012 NYC Restaurants Survey

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Zagat released the results of its 2012 New York City Restaurants Survey today. In an upset, Maguy LeCoze and Eric Ripert's Le Bernardin was named the Most Popular Restaurant, eclipsing Danny Meyer's Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Cafe, which had a hold on the title for the last 15 years. Le Bernardin also topped the Food rankings with a near-perfect 29 out of a possible 30 score for a second year in a row. Time Warner Center residents Asiate and Per Se won for Decor and Service, respectively. The title of Top Newcomer was awarded to Ai Fiori from chef Michael White, who won two years ago with Marea.

"While you have to respect the impressive winning streak for Danny Meyer restaurants, Le Bernardin's Most Popular ranking is richly deserved," said Tim Zagat, co-Chair, Zagat Survey. "Eric Ripert and Maguy LeCoze's team have done a marvelous job, not only with the food but also with their great service and the recent gorgeous makeover of the restaurant's decor."

The new guide, available in bookstores, at ZAGAT.com and via Zagat's mobile products, covers 2,111 restaurants as voted on by a record 41,604 local foodies who dined out an estimated 6.4 million times in the past year. The surveyors ate out an average of three times per week and visited the typical restaurant they voted on 8.6 times during the year. Besides covering all the big-name restaurants in the city, the guide includes 670 restaurants with an average meal cost of $30 or less for dinner and shows an increasingly active dining scene in Brooklyn, with Williamsburg being white hot.  

Restaurant Industry Stabilizes: According to Mr. Zagat, "The new survey shows that the city's restaurant industry has stabilized and may be turning upward." Reflecting that, there were 135 noteworthy openings this year and just 68 closings – the highest openings vs. closings differential since 2007. For the first time post-recession, many leading chefs and restaurateurs seem to be betting on the future: Mario Batali (Birreria), Daniel Boulud (Boulud Sud), April Bloomfield (John Dory Oyster Bar), David Bouley (Brushstroke), David Burke (David Burke Kitchen), Andrew Carmellini (The Dutch), Jeffrey Chodorow (Bar Basque, FoodParc, RedFarm), Tom Colicchio (Riverpark), John DeLucie (Crown), Todd English (CrossBar), Sara Jenkins (Porsena), Danny Meyer (Untitled), Michael Psilakis (FishTag), Marcus Samuelsson (Red Rooster), Sam Talbot (Imperial No. 9) , Michael White (Ai Fiori, Osteria Morini), and Geoffrey Zakarian (The National).

Despite Rising Costs, Dining Frequency Stays Steady:  The cost of the average meal has risen 4.1%, from $41.76 to $43.46, the largest increase since 2006. Among the 20 most expensive restaurants, the average price is $163.34 (up 5.5% from last year), making New York by far the most expensive U.S. city for high-end dining. Still, New Yorkers continue to dine out an average of three times per week, a number that's held steady for the past few years. As further good news, 19% of respondents say that the city's dining scene has improved in the past year, while only 5% say it has declined.

Health Letter Ratings Make the Grade:  Eighty-five percent of surveyors approve of NYC's once-controversial restaurant letter-grading system. Showing how impactful the system is on business, 35% say they will dine only in A-rated restaurants, while 53% more will go to places graded A or B. Only 1% would patronize a C-rated establishment! Eleven percent say they pay no attention to letter grades.

Williamsburg Is White Hot: The neighborhood welcomed an influx of important newcomers including Betto, Fat Goose, Isa and Mable's Smoke House, plus spin-offs of Manhattan favorites such as La Esquina, Meatball Shop and Momofuku Milk Bar.

Takeout and Tipping: When ordering takeout, 32% of surveyors say they refer to online menus. However, old habits die hard and NYers have plenty of paper menus stashed at home – 23% admit to having more than 15. Once the order arrives, 48% tip a percentage (14.2% on average) of the bill, while 43% tip a flat dollar amount (averaging $3.94). When dining out, NYers typically leave 19.1%, on par with the national average of 19.2% but well behind generous New Orleanians, who leave 19.7%.  

Food Trucks on a Roll: Ratings and reviews for 55 food trucks are available on ZAGAT.com. This year's winners are: 1. Nauti; 2. Taïm Mobile; 3. Wafels & Dinges; 4. Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Truck; and 5. Korilla Food Truck.

Service and Reservation Woes: Despite the positive signs noted above, when asked to rate New York's overall dining scene, surveyors gave the back of the house a 24 average, i.e. excellent, on Zagat's 30-point scale; however hospitality received a mere 16, down from 17 last year, while Table Availability fared even worse, earning a 15. A whopping 60% of surveyors named service as the number-one dining-out irritant, followed by crowds and noise, cited by 24%. As for places that don't take reservations, NYers live up to their impatient reputation: 62% will wait no longer than 30 minutes, while 18% avoid those places altogether. Zagat added, "Despite problems in the front of the house, dining in NYC has never been better, more diverse or more affordable, if you know where to go."

Details: The 2012 New York City Restaurants guide ($15.95) was edited by Curt Gathje and Carol Diuguid and coordinated by Larry Cohn. Free access to ratings and reviews of this year's top restaurants is available on ZAGAT.com through October 19th courtesy of Citibank. For information on Zagat's mobile products, please visit http://www.zagat.com/mobile. Both the guidebook and the digital products break out top lists by cuisine type, neighborhood and other special features. Be sure to follow Zagat on Facebook and Twitter @Zagat for daily news and updates.

About Zagat Survey, LLC: Known as the "burgundy bible," Zagat Survey is the world's most trusted source for consumer-generated survey information. With a worldwide network of surveyors, Zagat rates and reviews restaurants, hotels, nightlife, movies, music, golf, shopping and a range of other entertainment categories and is lauded as the "most up-to-date," "comprehensive" and "reliable" guide, published on all platforms. Zagat content is available to consumers wherever and whenever they need it: on ZAGAT.com, ZAGAT.mobi, ZAGAT TO GO for smartphones and in book form. In September of 2011, Zagat was acquired by Google Inc.

SOURCE Zagat Survey