A pair of Palm Beach County restaurants have landed on OpenTable’s newly released list of the Top 100 Hotel Restaurants in America for 2026, a collection of hotel dining destinations the reservation platform says are “worth planning a trip around.”
Repeat winner Akira Back at The Ray Hotel in Delray Beach and newcomer Sushi by Bou at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens were among the establishments recognized this year.
They are Palm Beach County’s only entries on the national list, which also includes restaurants in Florida tourism hubs Orlando and Miami Beach.
How OpenTable chose the restaurants
OpenTable said the list was generated from more than 10 million verified diner reviews and dining metrics collected between May 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026.
Restaurants meeting a minimum review threshold were further evaluated using ratings, the percentage of five-star reviews and other data points. The list is presented alphabetically rather than ranked.
Meet our local winners
Akira Back is inside The Ray Hotel in downtown Delray Beach. The restaurant serves contemporary Japanese cuisine influenced by chef Akira Back’s Korean heritage and global travels.
Sushi by Bou operates inside PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens and specializes in Edomae-style omakase dining.
Hotel restaurants are becoming travel destinations
The ranking arrives as hotel restaurants play a growing role in travelers’ decisions about where to visit and stay, according to research released alongside the list.
OpenTable found that 61% of Americans have chosen a destination because of its food or restaurant scene. Among respondents planning summer travel, 60% said they’ve booked a hotel specifically because of its restaurant.
The company also reported that hotel restaurant dining by travelers increased 13% year over year, while overall hotel restaurant dining rose 7% compared with last year.
“Restaurants aren’t just an itinerary line item anymore; they’re the anchor,” Matt Davis, head of North America hotels at OpenTable, said in a statement announcing the list.
“This year’s Top 100 list spotlights the hotel hotspots worth traveling for.”
The recognition places Akira Back and Sushi by Bou alongside hotel restaurants in some of the country’s best-known dining and tourism destinations, including New York City and Chicago.
Other Florida winners
Joining Palm Beach County’s winners are 14 other Florida hotel restaurants, including:
Diana Biederman is the Palm Beach Post’s food and restaurant writer. Connect via dbiederman@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: 2 Palm Beach County hotel restaurants land on OpenTable’s Top 100 list
Reporting by Diana Biederman, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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By Diana Biederman, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
