Plus Victoria, Whistler & Okanagan Survey

Zagat has released the results of the 2012 Vancouver Restaurants Survey. The new content, available at ZAGAT.com and via Zagat’s suite of mobile apps, covers 299 restaurants as reviewed by 2,255 local diners in the Vancouver area, as well as Vancouver Island, Victoria and Whistler. Highlights are as follows:

Winners:
Vancouver: Pear Tree in Burnaby (Food and Service) with a near-perfect 29 on Zagat’s 30-point scale for Food; Downtown’s Five Sails(Decor); Keg Steakhouse & Bar is Most Popular.

Victoria/Vancouver Island: Brasserie L’Ecole in Downtown Victoria (Food); Empress Room (Decor); Camille’s (Service); Sooke Harbour House is Most Popular.

Whistler: Rimrock Cafe (Food); La Rúa Restaurante (Service); Araxi (Decor and Most Popular).

New: The Survey welcomes a selection of restaurants in the Okanagan Valley wine region, located 200 miles east of Vancouver, where restaurants – some open seasonally – feature local wines and regional cuisines.

Top Newcomers in Vancouver (in order): 1. Nicli Antica Pizzeria (Gastown), 2. Ensemble Restaurant (Downtown), 3. Meat & Bread(Downtown), 4. Hawksworth (Downtown) and 5. Tableau (Downtown).

Best Buy: Sandwich shop Meat & Bread in Downtown Vancouver is this year’s Top Bang for the Buck.

Dining Out: Vancouver survey participants report dining out an average of 2.8 times per week.

Spending and Tipping: When it comes to spending, 37% of diners report spending more compared to last year vs. 7% who say less. Diners report leaving an average tip of 16.5%.

Digital Dining: The percentage of surveyors making online reservations nearly doubled in two years, from 21% in 2009 to 39% this year. When it comes to mobile manners, 48% say it is “rude” to text, tweet, call or e-mail at the table while 88% consider it “ok” to take pictures of food, companions, etc.

Letter Grades: 79% agree that restaurants should be required to post department of health inspection reports.

Celeb Chefs: For 57% of surveyors, a celebrity chef in the kitchen has no effect on their dining decisions.

Favorite Cuisines: Italian (22%), Japanese (20%), French (16%), Chinese (10%) and Canadian (9%).

Green Dining: 79% of surveyors say locally sourced, organic or sustainably raised food is important and 62% say they are willing to pay more for these ingredients.

About Zagat Survey, LLC: Known as the “burgundy bible,” Zagat Survey is the world’s most trusted source for consumer-generated survey information. With a worldwide network of surveyors, Zagat rates and reviews restaurants, hotels, nightlife, movies, music, golf, shopping and a range of other entertainment categories and is lauded as the “most up-to-date,” “comprehensive” and “reliable” guide, published on all platforms. Zagat content is available to consumers wherever and whenever they need it: on ZAGAT.com, ZAGAT.mobi, ZAGAT TO GO for smartphones and in book form. In September of 2011, Zagat was acquired by Google Inc.