Over half of Aussie mums say wanting breakfast in bed is the biggest Mother's Day myth, favouring a dining experience instead as Australia celebrates 100 years of Mother's Day

51% of Aussie mums revealed they would prefer to receive an experience for Mother's Day versus a tangible gift* Of the Aussie mums preferring to dine out for Mother's Day this year, 62% are likely to dine out for brunch or lunch* With the occasion being the biggest dining day in 2023***, OpenTable has announced its diner-backed Top 50 Brunch and Lunch Restaurants in Australia for 2024, just in time for Mother's Day**

SYDNEY, May 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- This Mother's Day marks the 100th anniversary since the occasion was first celebrated in Australia^. To honour the rich tradition around the date, OpenTable surveyed 1,000 Aussie mums and mother figures to understand how different generations are celebrating Mother's Day and found 43% of Aussie mums say Mother's Day has now become less about gift giving, and over half (51%) prefer to receive an experience for Mother's Day over a tangible gift*.

When it comes to celebrating Mother's Day, mums said dining out appealed to them because it allowed them to spend time with their family (72%), and not have to cook (62%) or clean up (49%)*. With close to a third preferring to dine out for the occasion in 2024, restaurant discovery platform OpenTable has unveiled its Top 50 Best Restaurants for Brunch and Lunch list to help Aussie families celebrate the mother figures in their lives. The list is compiled by analysing more than 400,00 diner reviews and metrics, including diner ratings and the percentage of restaurant reviews diners tagged as "brunch"**.

Mum-umental shift in the way Aussie mums celebrate

While Mother's Day is a celebration steeped in tradition, several myths have emerged around the day over the years as the way the day is celebrated and perceived has evolved. Aussie mums debunked some of the longer-standing myths around the day, such as 54% saying that wanting breakfast in bed is one of the biggest Mother's Day myths*.   In addition, 38% of Millennial mums said one of the biggest myths was that mums want to receive flowers, with 37% of Baby Boomer mums and 29% of Gen X mums in agreement.

Insights from Aussie mums this Mother's Day include* :

Cheque, please: 17% of Gen X mums are likely to pay for their own Mother's Day meal, in contrast to Gen Z (63%) and Millennial (74%) mums who stated their partners were likely to pick up the bill, and Baby Boomers (46%) and The Builders/78+ (64%) who anticipate their kids will pay. Times are a changing: 61% of Aussie mums said the way Mother's Day is celebrated has changed and of those who agreed, 44% of Gen X and 71% of Baby Boomer mums stated it has become more about spending time with family than before. Mother's Day menu picks: Of those who dine out for brunch, when asked about their Mother's Day meal pick, avocado on toast ranked favourably among Baby Boomers (31%) and The Builders/78+ (31%) as mum's meal of choice, whereas Gen Z (54%) and Millennial (34%) mums opted for Eggs Benedict.

Mother's Day prime time slot revealed 

Brunch bookings were the prime time slot for Mother's Day meals in 2023, with close to half (45%) of bookings on the day scheduled for between 11:00am -1:59pm****. OpenTable is making it even easier for Aussie families to spoil their mums and mother figures this Mother's Day this year with its Top 50 Best Restaurants for Brunch and Lunch list**.

"Mother's Day was the busiest dining day in Australia in 2023 — so while Aussies typically make dining reservations last-minute, they should consider planning further ahead to secure their top choice of spots," said Drew Bowering, Senior Director Sales and Services APAC at OpenTable.  "Last year, the majority of reservations were made at least five days in advance, so book soon to secure your booking."

The OpenTable Top 50 Restaurants for Brunch and Lunch  highlights include**:

Queensland takes the crown with an impressive 23 venues featured on the Top 50 list, including Mediterranean marvel Tziki Bar in the Sunshine Coast and seaside Rick Shores in Burleigh Heads. This was followed closely by Victoria with 19 restaurants and New South Wales came in third with six restaurants. Modern Australian was the most popular cuisine in the Top 50 list, making up almost a third (32%) of restaurants, followed by Japanese (14%) and Seafood (8%). These ranged from Australia Zoo's Warrior Restaurant & Bar in Beerwah, Queensland to REBEL REBEL in the country's capital.

View the Top 50 Restaurants for Brunch and Lunch list here.

Consumer Research Methodology

*An online survey was conducted by PureProfile among 1000 general Australian consumers, with qualifiers in place for generation (age) and women who were mothers. Within this sample, quotas were applied to major cities for direct comparison. The fieldwork period was conducted over 6 days (15th - 21st March).

Methodology of the Restaurant List

**OpenTable's Top 50 Brunch and Lunch Restaurants in Australia for 2024 is generated from over 400,000 verified OpenTable diner reviews and dining metrics from February 1, 2023 and January 31, 2024. Restaurants with a minimum threshold of diner reviews were considered and evaluated by a compilation of unique data points, including diner ratings, the percentage of five star reviews, the number of alerts set, the percentage of reservations made in advance and direct searches. Metrics were weighted to comprise an overall score. The qualified restaurants were then ranked by the percentage of reviews with the tag "brunch". The resulting list appears A-Z, not in ranked order.

OpenTable Data

***OpenTable looked at seated diners from phone, online and walk-in reservations from January 1 - December 31 in 2023.

****OpenTable looked at seated diners from online, phone and walk-in reservations on Mother's Day 2023 (May 14) per hour.

^Reference - ABC

About OpenTable

OpenTable, a global leader in restaurant tech and part of Booking Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), helps 55,000 restaurants, bars, wineries and other venues worldwide fill 1.6 billion seats a year. OpenTable powers reservations, experiences, payments, guest insights and operations, enabling restaurants to focus on doing what they do best: providing great hospitality.