Restaurant reservations in Houston and nationwide were up in Q1 according to data from OpenTable.

Reservations made and seated in Houston during Q1 rose 18% compared with the same period in 2024. Nationwide, reservations made through OpenTable rose 6.2% in the quarter.

Other Texas cities also saw an increase in reservations, with Austin rising 10%, Dallas up 15% and San Antonio up 20%.

OpenTable is just one of several reservation platforms popular in the U.S. that also includes Tock and Resy. But with more than 30% of the market share, OpenTable remains a good proxy for overall industry trends.

The latest data seems to indicate a resiliency in dining out despite declines in U.S. consumer sentiment as measured by the University of Michigan. That sentiment index has been on a downward trajectory since December. But rising prices tied to inflation—a major concern throughout most of 2024—may have contributed to lower reservations last year. It remains to be seen how consumers will react to recent turmoil in the stock market and broader economic uncertainty as Q2 gets underway.

Cities elsewhere across the South also saw increased reservations in Q1. New Orleans reservations grew 1.6% last quarter compared with a year earlier, while Atlanta experienced a 1.5% increase and Charlotte reservations increased 8.5%. Nashville, meanwhile, experienced an incredible 40% increase compared with Q1 2024.  

Written by A.J. Mistretta