4 NJ Restaurants On OpenTable’s 100 ‘Most Romantic’ List

A new list says four New Jersey restaurants are among the nation’s 100 “most romantic” this year just in time for Valentine’s Day. The folks at OpenTable, a free online reservation tool, released the 100 most romantic restaurants in a blog post last week.

The list, which includes restaurants in 33 states, was compiled based on more than 12 million verified diner reviews of more than 28,000 restaurants.

Valentine’s Day is “the most popular day for dining out,” according to OpenTable, so you may consider making a reservation — if you still can.

Here are the restaurants from New Jersey:

• Franklinville Inn – Franklinville
  • “The Franklinville Inn continues to delight patrons with innovative cuisine & exceptional service. With the emphasis on presenting only the freshest seasonal ingredients, skillfully prepared & inventively presented, The Franklinville Inn is the destination of choice for exceptional dining.”
• Peter Shields Inn – Cape May
  • “The Peter Shields Inn quality cuisine bursts with freshness and creativity. The PSI is a BYOB establishment that offers a la carte dining along with a four course chef’s tasting menu. Also expect to find weekly menu additions that incorporate fresh and innovative ingredients. The magnificent ocean views are the perfect scenery to celebrate a special occasion or simply enjoy a memorable dining experience.”
• Scalini Fedeli – Chatham
  
  • “Scalini Fedeli was opened by chef-owner Michael Cetrulo in 1995 and very quickly became New Jersey's highest rated Italian restaurant. Rated excellent by the New York Times in 1996 and New Jersey's favorite restaurant in Zagat's Survey in 2001 and New Jersey Monthly's best Italian and top 25 overall in 2007.”
• Washington Inn – Cape May
  • “Built in 1840, this former Cape May plantation residence is now home to the acclaimed Washington Inn and Wine Bar. The Craig Family has carefully preserved the beauty & essence of this distinctive treasure without undertaking major alterations to its original form.”

The list included luxury spots like Majorelle in New York City and local hangouts such as St. Martin’s Wine Bistro in Dallas. Ohio had the most restaurants on the list with nine, followed by Texas with eight and North Carolina and Virginia with seven each. Prime rib, seafood and exotic desserts permeate the restaurants on the list. And if you do end up dining at one of these spots, bring your checkbook — many meals range from pricey to downright heart-stopping.

The reviews were collected from Dec. 1 2017 through Nov. 30, 2018, so you can be sure they’re recent. In order to be considered the restaurants had to meet a minimum “overall” score and a certain threshold of qualifying reviews. The overall score was calculated using data such as diner rating, user clout total reviews and regional rating. Qualifying restaurants were then scored and sorted based on share of reviews where “romantic” was chosen as a special feature.

Click here to see the full list.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

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