When you are traveling and want to find a good restaurant, one of the first stops is Yelp. They curate multiple reviews (in excess of 287 million) from various sources to generate over 178 million unique visitors a month. But the question is are the reviews reliable?
Let’s look at New York City. I picked 2 categories to evaluate. Bagels and Italian Food. For those who do not know. NYC is home to the best bagels and Italian Food in the world. I will acknowledge that the Italian Food we are talking about is American Italian Food. For example, we look for and eat a whole slew of food we call Italian that is not produced in Italy. This includes, Chicken/Veal Parmigiana, Caesar Salad and Shrimp Scampi. Add in Garlic Bread for good measure.
Based upon Yelp reviews totally over 8,000 reviews, Tony di Napoli and Carmine’s are among the best Italian Restaurants in NYC. Tony di Napoli has a Yelp rating of 4.2 while Carmine’s comes in at 4.0. These are pretty high ratings for Italian restaurants in a competitive landscape. I have eaten at both and they are in no way the same league as the top Italian restaurants.
Looking at some really good restaurants like Carbone, Rezdora and Quality Italian you would expect that they would be rated higher. Each of these restaurants are rated a 4.0 on Yelp. As point of reference, Rezdora is a Michelin Star Restaurant. I do not think that anyone would ever confuse Tony di Napoli and Carmine’s with a Michelin Star Restaurant!!
Carbone is world famous for its elevated and creative takes on classic Italian-American dishes with signature items like the spicy rigatoni vodka and tableside Caesar salad.
Quality Italian is an Italian Steakhouse that is known for its innovative take on classic Italian dishes, particularly its Chicken Parm Pizza and Spicy Lobster Rigatoni Alla Vodka. Quality Italian also excels with their Tomahawk Rib steak and Baked Clams.
As to bagels, Yelp rates Liberty Bagels 4.5 while only rating Utopia Bagels (4.1), Ess-a-Bagels (4.0) and My Three Sons Bagels (3.8). How in the world is that possible? Liberty Bagels are more akin to a roll rather than a bagel. Utopia Bagels and Ess-a-Bagels are best in class. They offer bagels that are golden brown that is the right amount of chewy flavor.
Yelp often gets it wrong, especially when it comes to NYC’s most tourist-heavy areas.
It’s a frustrating reality: while incredible, authentic, and truly delicious restaurants thrive across the five boroughs, many are overshadowed on Yelp by establishments that cater primarily to out-of-towners. These tourist traps often boast inflated ratings, not because their food is exceptional, but due to a confluence of factors that skew the platform’s perceived authority.
The Tourist Effect: A Numbers Game
Consider a restaurant in Times Square or Little Italy. It sees thousands of visitors daily, many of whom are first-time Yelp users or infrequent reviewers. They might be impressed by the sheer spectacle, the New York experience, or simply the convenience. Their reviews, often less critical and based on limited comparison, contribute to a high average rating. A 4-star rating from a tourist who’s never had truly authentic Italian food in NYC might mean something entirely different to a local who knows the real gems.
This creates a numbers game where sheer volume of reviews from a less discerning audience can push a mediocre restaurant higher in rankings than a truly excellent, but less trafficked, local spot. Yelp’s algorithm, while designed to filter out fake reviews, still struggles with the inherent bias of a tourist-driven review pool.
The Experience Over the Food
Many Yelp reviewers, particularly those traveling, prioritize the overall experience – the ambiance, the Instagrammability, the perceived vibe – over the actual quality of the food. Restaurants that excel at creating a flashy, memorable (if not culinarily superior) experience often garner higher ratings. This means a place with mediocre food but a great photo op might outrank a humble, family-run eatery serving truly exceptional dishes.
Locals, on the other hand, are often more critical, focusing on the taste, authenticity, and value. They have a deeper frame of reference, having explored countless establishments and developed a more refined palate for what truly constitutes good food in NYC.
The Underrated Gems: Where Locals Really Eat
So, where do New Yorkers go when they want truly great food, away from the Yelp-inflated tourist hubs? They often rely on:
- Word-of-mouth: Recommendations from friends, family, and trusted colleagues.
- Specialized food blogs and critics: Publications and online communities that delve deeper than surface-level reviews.
- Neighborhood exploration: Discovering hidden gems tucked away on side streets, far from the main tourist arteries.
- Google Reviews: While not immune to similar issues, some locals find Google reviews to be slightly less susceptible to the experience over food bias, and they often have more photos of actual dishes.
These are the places that might have fewer overall reviews on Yelp, or lower average ratings because they’re being judged by a more critical, local audience. They’re the unassuming delis, the hole-in-the-wall ethnic eateries, the small, chef-driven restaurants that prioritize flavor and quality above all else.
Breaking the Yelp Cycle
If you’re visiting NYC and want to eat like a local, or if you’re a local frustrated by Yelp’s skewed recommendations, here’s what you can do:
- Be Skeptical of High Ratings in Tourist Zones: If a restaurant in Times Square has a near-perfect 5-star rating with thousands of reviews, approach it with caution.
- Look Beyond the Stars: Read the actual reviews. Do they talk about the food, or just the fun vibe and great photo ops?
- Seek Out Local Recommendations: Ask New Yorkers! Your hotel concierge, a friendly bartender, or even a quick search in local NYC food forums on Reddit can yield far better results.
- Explore Neighborhoods: Venture beyond Midtown, Times Square, and parts of the West Village. Neighborhoods like the Lower East Side, East Village, Astoria, Jackson Heights, and various Brooklyn enclaves are brimming with authentic culinary treasures.
Yelp can be a useful tool for finding basic information like hours and addresses, but when it comes to truly discovering the best food in New York City, sometimes you need to close the app and trust your instincts – or a well-informed local. The real magic of NYC’s food scene often lies just beyond the bright lights and inflated star ratings.