![]() So while you may not want to pay $11 for a plate of tacos and extra for rice and beans, that may be our new reality in the East Bay. While I fully support these increases, restaurants (and I’m sure other establishments as well) have had to pass these increases onto the diner. One thing to keep in mind is that restaurants have been hit hard by the increases in minimum wage. If the spot in question doesn’t, go through the Yelp photos to see if there are menu photos. ![]() Most have websites with menus you can view online. If you don’t want to pay upwards around $40 for a filet, then pick your restaurant accordingly. So when a review is filled with complaints about service, wait times or running out of food during their honeymoon phase I will take note and maybe wait a few weeks to allow everything to settle out or go in knowing that it may not be the smoothest dining experience.Īnother common complaint that I see in Yelp reviews is the price point. There are always wrinkles that need to be ironed out. I can only think of a handful of restaurants that have opened seamlessly. Is the writer describing an actual dish – like “the mac and cheese was made with orzo rather than noodles or shells, which gave the illusion that it wasn’t quite so decadent a choice, although the scale reported otherwise the next morning?” Or are they making generalized statements like “the meat was dry, dry, dry?” The more descriptive people are, the more I tend to believe that they actually ate the food. On the other hand, a lot of times one-star reviews are employees at rival establishments who don’t want to see the new guy on the block cut into their business. Others are generally friends, family or employees who obviously want to see the restaurant do well. I understand that you have to start somewhere with your Yelp reviews, so some of these are legitimate. If it’s under five, I’m a little suspect. What do they mean? I look to see how many reviews the writer has written on Yelp. When a new restaurant opens, there are generally several five-star reviews and occasionally a few one-star reviews. This is where you need to do some reading between the lines. This is updated as people list their establishments with Yelp, so as long as the restaurant has done their work, Yelp helps me to do mine. The alerts are sometimes a little slow (often I’ve already checked the restaurant out before I get the notification), but you can also search “hot and new restaurants” with a location to find out what has opened near you recently. Yelp has a feature called “hot and new” that alerts me when a new restaurant has opened. With that being said, here is how I curate the reviews to determine if I will try a restaurant out. ![]() ![]() This isn’t a sponsored post, and I’m fully aware that Yelp has issues with fake reviews, but you can’t beat it as a search engine for the dining scene. People always ask me, how do you find out about new places? My answer almost always is “Yelp.” As a food writer, I eat out at least once a week to try new restaurants in the area.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |