New York City Restaurant Survey Results Are Live!

Le Bernardin, Top Food and Most Popular winner

Epic news alert! The results of our 2012 New York City Restaurants Survey are ready to be revealed. This year we compiled ratings and reviews for 2,111 Big Apple restaurants, based on the votes of 41,604 local diners (a new record)! These people know what they are talking about, having collectively dined out an estimated 6.4 million times. With numbers like that, it’s no wonder that the restaurant industry is stabilizing – there were 135 noteworthy openings this year. Not too shabby.

So who earned the coveted top honors on our lists? For the third year in a row, Eric Ripert’s Le Bernardin ranked first in the Food category, scoring an impressive 29 out of a possible 30 score. The Midtown French seafooder also scored an upset in the Most Popular category, unseating Danny Meyer’s Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Cafe, which had a hold on the title for the past 15 years.

The Time Warner Center proved that its restaurants are worth visiting, with Asiate winning Top Decor and Per Se taking Top Service. While there were plenty of places worth visiting among those 135 newbies, Michael White’s Ai Fiori was named the Top Newcomer. Chef White has some experience with this category – his Marea won the same prize two years ago.

Although the restaurant scene seems to be recovering from the depths of the recession, it's not all good news for patrons’ bank accounts. The average cost of a meal has risen 4.1%, from $41.76 to $43.46. That marks the largest increase since 2006 – ouch. Diners looking for a deal might want to hit up the city’s food trucks. Ratings and reviews are available for 55 mobile eateries on ZAGAT.com.

You can purchase the guide online (Premium Members save 25%) or pick up a copy wherever books are sold. You can also scope out free ratings and reviews of this year’s top restaurants on ZAGAT.com through October 19, courtesy of Citibank. Stay tuned to the Buzz this week for more coverage of the results.

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