SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 4, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- What makes the perfect romantic Valentine's Day evening? Being able to celebrate on the night of your choosing! That's the finding of a survey completed during the week of January 25 by OpenTable (www.opentable.com), a leading provider of free, real-time online restaurant reservations.
"Because February 14 falls on Sunday this year, romantic dinner plans are being spread over the weekend," says Caroline Potter, Chief Dining Officer of OpenTable. "Just as many of our respondents (38%) plan to dine out on Saturday, February 13 as do on Valentine's Day itself (38%)."
"This year is a great year for Valentine's Day diners as the three day weekend means more nights to get into that hard-to-get romantic restaurant and lots of meals to woo your loved one," added Potter.
More than 30% of the survey respondents had already made their restaurant reservations, while another 40% plan to reserve at least a week ahead. Of those who are waiting, 30% said they are certain that OpenTable will help them find a great place for dinner, even at the last minute.
Out of nearly 1000 respondents, four people planned to propose marriage at their Valentine's Day dinner.
"Our survey also found that love is no victim of the weak economy," said Potter. "In fact, more than 63% said they will be dining out with a partner on Valentine's weekend this year and, of those, 85% expect to spend at least as much as they did last year. Clearly, the recession is no match for romance."
When it comes to romantic cuisine, survey respondents were closely divided—ranking Italian first (33%), and French a close second (29%). No other cuisine scored above 10%.
In addition to the right cuisine, respondents say that the perfect romantic dinner requires a private table (28%), exceptional service (16%) and a beautiful view (13%). Surprisingly, candles (5%) and soft music (2%) don't really add to the romance.
For a list of the 50 Most Romantic Restaurants in the United States, visit the OpenTable Blog at http://blog.opentable.com.
Restaurant reservations can be booked on OpenTable.com, OpenTable Mobile Web (http://m.opentable.com) or through smartphone apps on iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Pre. For more information on OpenTable Mobile, visit http://www.opentable.com/mobile.
OpenTable is a leading provider of free, real-time online restaurant reservations for diners and reservation and guest management solutions for restaurants. The OpenTable network delivers the convenience of online restaurant reservations to diners and the operational benefits of a computerized reservation book to restaurants. OpenTable has more than 11,000 restaurant customers and, since its inception in 1998, has seated more than 120 million diners around the world. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and the OpenTable service is available throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
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