OpenTable Names Big Island Restaurant to ‘Most Romantic’ List

Ulu Ocean Grill file courtesy photo.

As Valentine’s Day peaks around the corner, restaurant website OpenTable has conducted a survey of the 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in American for 2016.

The list includes one Big Island restaurant, ‘Ulu Ocean Grill and Sushi Lounge, located in Kaupulehu at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, and a total of five restaurants in the state, including Capische in Wailea; La Mer at Halekulani, Honolulu; Michel’s at the Colony Surf, Honolulu; and Tidepools-Grand Hyatt Kauai, Poipu.

OpenTable used the opinions of more than 5 million restaurant reviews for more than 20,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to complete the top list. Verified OpenTable dinners left the reviews between Dec. 7, 2014 and Dec. 6, 2015.

Restaurants that met a minimum overall score and number of qualifying reviews were sorted according to qualifying restaurants. From there, they were sorted according to the percentage of qualifying reviews with “romantic” as a special feature.

The complete list, which is listed in alphabetical order rather than by ranking, spans 33 states

OpenTable says that ambience was a connecting thread between each of the winning restaurants, with establishments serving American and French cuisines dominating the list.

Italian restaurants and steakhouses were also popular among the list, along with those specializing in perennial favorite fondue.

The full list in alphabetical order is below:

Addison Restaurant – San Diego, California
Alizé at the Top of the Palms Casino Resort – Las Vegas, Nevada
Aly’s Restaurant – Solvang, California
Ambience – Los Altos, California
Bistro Romano – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Bouchard Restaurant and Inn – Newport, Rhode Island
Briarhurst Manor – Manitou Springs, Colorado
Cacharel Restaurant – Arlington, Texas
Café Central – El Paso, Texas
Café Matisse – Rutherford, New Jersey
Café Monarch – Scottsdale, Arizona
Café Renaissance – Vienna, Virginia
Canlis – Seattle, Washington
Capische – Wailea, Hawai’i
Carlos’ Bistro – Colorado Springs, Colorado
The Cellar Restaurant – Daytona Beach, Florida
The Cellars – Virginia Beach, Virginia
Chez François – Vermilion, Ohio
Chez Nous French Restaurant – Humble, Texas
Circa 1886 – Charleston, South Carolina
Coco Palm – Pomona, California
Collage Restaurant – St. Augustine, Florida
Different Pointe of View – Phoenix, Arizona
The Dining Room-Biltmore Estate – Asheville, North Carolina
Duling Kurtz House – Exton, Pennsylvania
Edgewood Restaurant – Stateline, Nevada
Eiffel Tower – Las Vegas, Nevada
The English Inn – Eaton Rapids, Michigan
Erminia Ristorante – New York, New York
The Farmhouse at Turkey Hill – Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
Fearrington House Restaurant – Pittsboro, North Carolina
Flagstaff House – Boulder, Colorado
The Flatiron Café – Omaha, Nebraska
Fleurie – Charlottesville, Virginia
Forbes Island – San Francisco, California
The French Room – Dallas, Texas
Geja’s Café – Chicago, Illinois
The Goodstone Inn & Estate Restaurant – Middleburg, Virginia
Harry’s Restaurant – Manhattan, Kansas
The Hobbit – Orange, California
Hugo’s Cellar-Four Queens – Las Vegas, Nevada
Inn at Barley Sheaf Farm – Holicong, Pennsylvania
Iridescence –Detroit, Michigan
Jillian’s – Palm Desert, California
Keystone Ranch Restaurant – Keystone, Colorado
L’Auberge de Sedona – Sedona, Arizona
La Bergerie – Alexandria, Virginia
La Cremaillere Restaurant – Bedford, New York
La Mer at Halekulani – Honolulu, Hawai’i
Latitudes – Key West, Florida
Le Vallauris – Palm Springs, California
Les Nomades – Chicago, Illinois
The Little Door – Los Angeles, California
Mar’sel at Terranea Resort – Rancho Palos Verdes, California
The Melting Pot – National locations
Michael’s-South Point Casino – Las Vegas, Nevada
Michel’s at the Colony Surf – Honolulu, Hawai’i
Middleton Place Restaurant – Charleston, South Carolina
ON20 – Hartford, Connecticut
Orchids at Palm Court – Cincinnati, Ohio
Over the Moon Café – Tacoma, Washington
The Painted Lady – Newberg, Oregon
Palme d’Or – Coral Gables, Florida
Paseo Grill – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Penrose Room-The Broadmoor – Colorado Springs, Colorado
Pepper Tree Restaurant – Colorado Springs, Colorado
Peter Shields Inn – Cape May, New Jersey
Primavista – Cincinnati, Ohio
Rainbow Room Dinner & Dancing – New York, New York
The Refectory Restaurant & Bistro – Columbus, Ohio
The Restaurant at the Gideon Ridge Inn – Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Restaurant Iris – Memphis, Tennessee
Ristorante Massimo – Portsmouth, New Hampshire
River Café – Brooklyn, New York
River’s End – Jenner, California
Russell’s Steaks, Chops, and More – Williamsville, New York
Saddle Peak Lodge – Calabasas, California
Salacia Prime Seafood and Steaks – Virginia Beach, Virginia
SASSI – Scottsdale, Arizona
Seagar’s Restaurant – Destin, Florida
Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern – Raleigh, North Carolina
Shadowbrook Restaurant – Capitola, California
Shearns Seafood and Prime Steaks – Galveston, Texas
Sir Winston’s Aboard the Queen Mary – Long Beach, California
Ski Tip Lodge – Keystone, Colorado
St. Martin’s Wine Bistro – Dallas, Texas
Stonehouse at San Ysidro Ranch – Santa Barbara, California
The Studio, An Artistic Dining Experience – Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
thirty-two – Biloxi, Mississippi
Thomas Henkelmann-Homestead Inn – Greenwich, Connecticut
Tidepools-Grand Hyatt Kauai – Poipu, Hawai’i
The Tree Room @ Sundance – Sundance, Utah
TS Steakhouse at Turning Stone – Verona, New York
‘Ulu Ocean Grill and Sushi Lounge – Kaupulehu, Hawai’i
V.Mertz – Omaha, Nebraska
Vernon’s Speakeasy – Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico
Viande Rouge – Duluth, Georgia
White Barn Inn – Kennebunk, Maine
Yono’s Restaurant – Albany, New York
Zenkichi – Brooklyn, New York