Great Falls Restaurant Among Top 100 in America: OpenTable 2016 'Best' List

McLEAN, VA -- A Great Falls restaurant has made OpenTable's 100 Best Restaurants in America 2016 list, the company said this week. The awards reflect the combined opinions of more than 10 million restaurant reviews submitted by verified OpenTable diners for more than 24,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. OpenTable is an online reservation system.

Great Falls restaurant L'Auberge Chez François is one of only three restaurants in Northern Virginia to make the list. The restaurant was founded in 1954 by François "Papa" Haeringer, who died in 2010 at age 91. He started the restaurant in Washington, D.C., and opened the French country inn in Great Falls in 1976. Featuring a casually elegant atmosphere, the eatery is now helmed by sons Jacques and Paul. The dining rooms are filled with Haeringer family heirlooms and murals depicting scenes of Haeringer’s place of birth, Obernai, France.

The restaurant serves lunch and dinner and is closed on Mondays. (The restaurant will be open the last three Mondays in December for the busy holiday season.)

The honor is among many for L'Auberge Chez Francois and comes on the heels of being named this fall as Restaurant of the Year by the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association.

Here's the list of the other restaurants in Virginia that made the list:

• Bistro L'Hermitage – Woodbridge, Virginia
• Bistro San Martin – Arlington, Virginia
• Fat Canary – Williamsburg, Virginia
• Fleurie – Charlottesville, Virginia
• The Goodstone Inn & Estate Restaurant – Middleburg, Virginia
• The Inn at Little Washington – Washington, Virginia
• L'Opposum – Richmond, Virginia

Similar to last year's list, established restaurants account for the majority of winners; however, several restaurants that opened in 2016 earned spots. Fine dining and casual elegant dining establishments make up the majority of the list. Most eateries in the top 100 embrace sustainability, seasonality, and house-made ingredients, including cheese and charcuterie.

While American and French cuisines are the most popular, global flavors are present on many of the menus, from regional Italian dishes to Middle Eastern specialties. "The common thread running through this list of winning restaurants is excellence in hospitality," says Caroline Potter, OpenTable Chief Dining Officer. "Whether creating one-of-a-kind fine-dining experiences or serving up incredible fare in a more casual setting, this year's honorees are consistently earning rave reviews from diners."

The list of the 100 Best Restaurants in America is generated solely from more than 10 million verified OpenTable diner reviews collected between November 1, 2015, and October 31, 2016. All restaurants with a minimum "overall" score and number of qualifying reviews were included for consideration.

Qualifying restaurants were then sorted according to a score calculated from each restaurant's average rating in the "overall" category along with that restaurant's rating relative to others in the same metropolitan area.
Based on this methodology, the following restaurants, listed in alphabetical order, comprise the 100 Best Restaurants in America for 2016 according to OpenTable diners.

PHOTO of L'Auberge Chez Francois courtesy of OpenTable