OpenTable and Visa Join Forces to Launch Exclusive Dining Collection

By Brian K. Neal

OpenTable, a global leader in restaurant technology, and Visa, a world leader in digital payments, have announced a collaboration that will offer eligible Visa cardholders exclusive access to sought-after restaurant reservations and events at hundreds of local restaurants across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. This new initiative, the OpenTable & Visa Dining Collection, launches today in Los Angeles and Chicago.

Primetime reservations at select restaurants in these cities will be exclusively available to OpenTable diners who book with eligible Visa cards. The Collection, which features restaurants ranging from MICHELIN-starred venues to local favorites and beloved culinary destinations, aims to grow to more than 500 restaurants across 34 North American cities by 2025. Initially, the program will be available to holders of Visa Infinite® cards in the U.S. and Mexico, and Visa Infinite Privilege® cards in Canada, with plans to expand the benefit to more Visa cardholders in the future.

“We are welcoming hundreds of the most sought-after and award-winning restaurants to OpenTable this year,” said Debby Soo, CEO of OpenTable. “We are thrilled to work with Visa to introduce their cardholders to amazing dining experiences and support the growing number of incredible restaurants on our platform in the process.”

Kim Lawrence, regional president of North America at Visa, added, “The Visa Dining Collection rewards diners for paying with their Visa cards while bringing the restaurants in the Collection additional business and new customers. We are excited to collaborate with OpenTable to support the award-winning, local, and independently operated restaurants on the platform by offering this new benefit for eligible Visa cardholders.”

Participating restaurants will regularly update as more partners join the program. Among the inaugural establishments are:

• Chicago’s Rose Mary: “Top Chef” winner Joe Flamm leans on bold, vibrant flavors that celebrate his Italian heritage and his wife’s Croatian roots.
• Chicago’s Virtue: More than a restaurant, it’s a community champion. James Beard Award-winning Chef Erick Williams goes all in on lifting up the Black community through delicious soul food and top-notch hospitality.
• Los Angeles’ Bestia: Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis’s acclaimed California-Italian haunt is known for its excellent cocktails and wood-fired pizzas. Housed in a former warehouse, the industrial-chic restaurant ushered in a new era of Arts District dining.
• Los Angeles’ Kato: Chef Jon Yao’s Taiwanese-inspired, LA-filtered tasting menus, acclaimed wine selection, and one of the most inventive zero-proof beverage programs in LA are a few reasons why Kato is one of the most sought-after reservations in town and one of the most celebrated restaurants in the nation.

Eligible Visa cardholders will also have access to exclusive culinary events and experiences featuring noteworthy and rising star chefs throughout the program term. Those eligible for the program can now take advantage of early access to primetime reservations in Chicago and Los Angeles by adding their eligible card to their OpenTable account or opening an account at OpenTable’s Visa Dining Collection site, with more cities rolling out in the coming weeks.

Ryan Bailey, co-owner of Kato, expressed his excitement about the collaboration: “Our ambition is to be one of the best restaurants in the world, and OpenTable is the perfect partner to help us realize that vision with the best in restaurant tech, hands-on support, and access to unique initiatives like the Visa Dining Collection. Kato is a restaurant that aims to be synonymous with Los Angeles and we hope to continue to properly represent this city’s incredible hospitality industry for everyone who lives here and those that are visiting.”

This collaboration between OpenTable and Visa promises to offer cardholders unparalleled dining experiences while supporting local restaurants across North America.