NEWTON, Mass., June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor®, the world's largest travel site*, today announced the winners of its 2012 Travelers' Choice® Restaurants awards.  The inaugural awards recognize favorite dining establishments in popular cities worldwide, based on millions of valuable traveler reviews and opinions on TripAdvisor.

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In total, 576 restaurants around the world were honored, including travelers' overall favorites, plus travelers' favorites in the U.S., Europe and popular travel destinations. Restaurants that offer dinner and table service were eligible for the awards.

"We're thrilled to highlight some of the TripAdvisor community's most beloved eateries to help travelers plan their next trip or night out," said Barbara Messing, chief marketing officer for TripAdvisor.  "We found that travelers' favorite restaurants range from well-known, casual chains to upscale fine dining options — the common thread for these award-winners being a consistently remarkable dining experience with outstanding service and quality."

Travelers' Choice Overall Favorite Restaurants:

1. Le Bernardin, New York City
2. Restaurant Gary Danko, San Francisco
3. Le Cirque (Bellagio), Las Vegas
4. Girl & The Goat, Chicago
5. Le Gavroche, London
6. La Pergola, Rome
7. Ciya Sofrasi, Istanbul
8. Guy Savoy, Paris
9. Europea, Montreal
10. Toulouse Petit, Seattle

Travelers' Choice Favorite U.S. Restaurants:

1. Le Bernardin, New York City
2. Restaurant Gary Danko, San Francisco
3. Le Cirque (Bellagio), Las Vegas
4. Girl & The Goat, Chicago
5. Toulouse Petit, Seattle
6. Fruition Restaurant, Denver
7. Alinea, Chicago
8. Island Creek Oyster Bar, Boston
9. Uchi, Austin
10. Screen Door, Portland, Ore.
    

For the complete list of 2012 Travelers' Choice Restaurants winners, go to http://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Restaurants.

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor® is the world's largest travel site, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 50 million unique monthly visitors*, and over 60 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to TripAdvisor's millions of monthly visitors.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 19 other travel media brands, and together the sites attract more than 69 million unique monthly visitors**. TripAdvisor's travel media brands include www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.sniqueaway.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travel-library.com, www.travelpod.com, www.virtualtourist.com, www.whereivebeen.com, and www.kuxun.cn.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, Worldwide, January 2012

**Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Inc. and its subsidiaries, Worldwide, January 2012

©2012 TripAdvisor, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE TripAdvisor