Whether you’re traveling to Dallas, Houston, Miami or Seattle for business or pleasure — or you’re a resident simply exploring your own backyard — Zagat can now help you find the perfect place for any occasion. Discover notable places through trusted ratings & reviews, curated lists, and all-new blog and video coverage from Zagat's editors.

City coverage will now be complete with:
  1. Full media content including blog posts, video and lists 
  2. Brand new nightlife reviews, as well as restaurant ratings & reviews 
  3. Local insights via city-specific Zagat Twitter handles 
In order to learn more about diners’ profiles in Dallas, Houston, Miami and Seattle, we conducted a dining trends survey in each of these cities. Here are some of the highlights for each as compared with the national average:

Dallas Diners:
  • Eat out often.
    • On average, Dallas surveyors report eating out 2.5 lunches and 2.4 dinners per week, for a combined total of 4.9 meals out per week, higher than the national average of 4.4 meals out per week. 
  • Spend less for dinners out. 
    • They report spending an average of only $31.87 per person for dinner, significantly lower than the national average of $40.53. 
  • Love their Mexican food. 
    • Although still not beating out classic favorites like No. 1 Italian (18% of the vote) and No. 2 American (14%), Mexican ties Seafood at No. 3 with 13% of the vote for favorite cuisine. But while nationally Seafood cuisine is preferred by 11% of surveyors, Mexican cuisine is only preferred by 5% of them, showing that Dallas residents love Mexican food even more than the rest of us. Find the Top Mexican Restaurants List here…and let’s not forget Tex-Mex Tops too. 
Dallas’ Top-Rated Restaurants Include: Saint-Emilion (Top Food), The French Room (Top Decor & Service) and Abacus (Most Popular)

Houston Diners:
  • Eat out even more often (than Dallas diners, as well as the national average). 
    • Houston diners eat out for lunch 2.8 times per week (vs. 2.1 nationally) and 2.7 times for dinner (vs. 2.3 nationally), for a combined total of 5.5 meals per week eaten out. 
  • Spend less for dinners out too. 
    • As previously mentioned, nationally, diners report spending an average of $40.53 per person for a dinner out, but in Houston, the reported average dinner spend is $35.57. 
  • Desire more French cuisine. 
    • French is the top cuisine in demand in Houston. Nineteen percent of Houston francophiles asked to see more restaurants in the area, in contrast with only 12% nationwide. Check out the Top French Restaurants in Houston here! 
Houston’s Top-Rated Restaurants Include: Da Marco (Top Food & Most Popular) and Brennan's (Top Decor & Service)

Miami Diners:
  • Dine out often for dinner, average for lunch. 
    • Even with the average reported spend for dinner in Miami at $43.82 (vs. $40.53 national average), Miami surveyors reported eating out for dinner 2.7 times per week, higher than the national average of 2.3 meals/week. Restaurant lunch dining is at 2.2 meals per week, on par with the national average of 2.1 
  • Take dining etiquette very seriously. 
    • Sixty-three percent of Miami surveyors think it’s “rude and inappropriate” to text, email, tweet or talk on mobile devices in a restaurant, while only 32% feel it’s “ok in moderation.” 
  • Are irritated by noisy restaurants. 
    • The No. 1 dining irritant among Miami diners is the Noise Level. Eighty percent of Miami surveyors actively avoid restaurants that are too loud vs. 73% nationally. 
Miami’s Top-Rated Restaurants Include: Naoe (Top Food & Service), Setai The Restaurant (Top Decor) and Joe’s Stone Crab (Most Popular)

Seattle Diners:
  • Cook/prepare more meals at home. 
    • On average, Seattle surveyors cook or prepare 7.5 meals/week vs. the 6.9 meals nationally. They only eat out 4.2 meals per week as compared with the 4.4 meals/week national average. 
  • Make reservations via Internet. 
    • When Seattle diners do eat out, 60% make their reservations online, with the largest percentage (34%) booking via desktop/laptop. 
  • Are irritated by parking. 
    • Though the No. 1 dining irritant for Seattle diners is Noise Level (26%) and No. 2 is Service (17%), Parking comes in third at 16%, compared with an average 7% nationally. 
Seattle’s Top-Rated Restaurants Include: Nishino (Top Food), The Georgian (Top Decor), Canlis Restaurant (Top Service) and 13 Coins (Most Popular)

We hope you like the new Dallas, Houston, Miami and Seattle additions to our media coverage. Stay tuned as we continue to expand our content to even more locales in the coming months!

Posted by Curt Gathje, Zagat Lead Editor