When you think of the most romantic cities in the United States, there’s a clear pecking order: San Francisco, New York City, New Orleans and maybe somewhere like Charleston, South Carolina. But according to OpenTable, the most romantic city in the states is … San Antonio.
Based on a formula that took into account the percentage of restaurants rated “romantic” according to OpenTable reviews, percentage of tables seated for two, and percentage of people in the city who dined out for Valentine's Day last year, San Antonio led a pack of four Texas cities that made it into the first 11 spots.
Austin ranks No. 2 on the list of romantic cities, while Houston and Dallas come in at 10 and 11, respectively.
Austin picks up the No. 2 slot. Providence, Rhode Island; La Jolla, California; and Columbus, Ohio round out the top five. Because everyone knows that Columbus is the Buenos Aries of the Rust Belt.
Salt Lake City, long thought to rival Lisbon or Prague on an international level, is just outside the first five. Houston and Dallas come in at 10 and 11, respectively.
And what of San Francisco and New Orleans? Neither made the cut. Milwaukee slides in at No. 12, though, which will probably serve as a topic of conversation when they see No. 19 Indianapolis at the next wine and cheese party.
So where do Texas romantics go? Well, in San Antonio, they go to Ounce Steakhouse and Bella On The River. Austin’s best included the historic Driskill and Carmelo’s Ristorante Italiano downtown.
For romance in Houston, OpenTable suggests Chez Nous and the near-religious Mark’s American Cuisine. The best places to make lovey eyes at your date in Dallas are the French Room, the iconic Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, and Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck atop Reunion Tower.
So don’t worry about making it to the City of Light by February 14. The River Walk is only an hour away.
The River Walk is to San Antonio what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris.
