Zagat's 2004/05 Chicago Restaurant Survey

Zagat's released it's 19th annual Chicago restaurant guide today, covering over 1,000 restaurants in Chicago and the surrounding area, including 70 in Milwaukee. Zagat's guide uses a 30 point scale to rate food, decor and service also shows the estimated cost for a meal. It comes as no surprise that restaurants like The Ritz, Charlie Trotters, and Tru were rated tops as far as food, service, popularity, and decor. But what we found even more interesting than how our restaurants were ranked, were other statistics on the spending habits and preferences of Chicagoland diners:

» Chicagoans dine out an average of 3.1 times per week
» 62% of diners say they spend more now than 2 years ago
» We tip an average of 18.8%, which is above the US average of 18.5% (L.A. diners only tip 18%, while Atlantans tip the most at 19.1%)
» 78% of Chicago diners cite service as the most irritating issue when it comes to dining out
» Italian is the most popular cuisine in Chicago
» 80% of diners think smoking should be banned entirely from restaurants
» Chicagoans eat out or get take-out for 52% of all of our meals
» The average cost of a meal rose 4% to $31.64