When giving restaurant (or other venues) suggestions

[Crowe]

The thread on restaurant suggestions in Monterey got me to thinkin'. It would be very helpful to say why you don't like a particular restaurant, i.e, too much salt in food, slow service, menu choices, etc. One poster made the following comment: and have the good places figured out. Remember that "good" is subjective and without explaining why you dislike a restaurant (campground, store, etc.) it's almost meaningless. I am guilty of this myself when I've made suggestions. I've gone to many places that have 4 or 5 star ratings yet I dislike them. It can be anything from how the food is prepared, to it's quality, or it's too loud for me to handle. Just a thought to hopefully help us all make a more informed decision.

[dedmiston]

I write a lot of Amazon reviews. I've been a top ranked reviewer for years (at one time in the Top 100 out of 80M+ reviewers).

It feels kind of narcissistic, but I begin a lot of my reviews with a little info about myself in a way that pertains to the thing that I'm reviewing. I do this to add some context to my opinion and I also do it to give the reader a chance to decide whether they should identify with me or not. When I review an item "as a father of three adult kids", then readers can either tell themselves "I'm a middle-aged dad too" and assume that I'll have a viewpoint similar to theirs or "I don't have kids and never liked kids" so they can filter my opinion through their own point of view. The point isn't for them to agree with me, but figure out how to apply the opinion of a complete stranger and decide whether they should go along with me or do the complete opposite. Either viewpoint is OK.

Being a dad is just one example. If I'm reviewing an RV product, I'll mention my years of experience with RVs so they can decide whether their POV as an experienced RVer or complete beginner makes more sense. Same with homeowner vs. renter, suburbanite, etc.

I figure that this context gives the reader the info that they need to figure out how to interpret my opinion.

[ken56]

On here we share opinions about equipment from hitches to suspension upgrades to anything RV related so why not restaurants too? Some people let their emotions do the writing at times and some give objective opinions...but the word here is OPINION. I like to read what others have to say about a place but I don't put too much weight on any of it. Trip Advisor is a good place to refer to also and I do but again I do not base any decision solely on any posters opinion. If I go and its garbage then thats my fault for believing a certain post or not.

[ghooos]

we are looking for a refrigerator for the restaurant with a large kitchen. we need the case to consist of sandwich panels (This is a layer of heat-insulating material, polyurethane foam between two sheets of metal) since the energy efficiency of the camera directly depends on its thickness. can they https://ianboer.com.au/commercial-refrigeration/ help me?? who bought it there?

[colliehauler]

I don't even look at restaurant reviews very much, I'm old school and look at the parking lot and by word of mouth. I search out the Mom and Pop places that still cook fresh food that's high quality (usually at a reasonable price).

So many reviews can be manipulated .

[spoon059]

I absolutely hate restaurant reviews from the general public. They complain about way too many things that aren't relevant to food.

It took 45 minutes to get my food, negative review... Well, did it take 45 minutes because the place was packed because the food was great? After your 45 minute wait, was the food delicious? They almost never mention the quality of the food, but give a 1 star review because of the wait. You can still give an adequate or good review and warn people of the wait times so they can plan ahead.

The waiter was rude, negative review... I'm going to a restaurant for delicious food, not to cure any potential loneliness. How was the food? Give a review of the FOOD and mention that the wait staff wasn't great. I don't know about y'all, but some of the best food I've eaten in NYC has been served by a surly staff. I'm not there to be treated like a king... I'm there for delicious food. I don't need pleasant conversation from the wait staff, I don't need recommendations for food, I don't need groveling. I need someone who can take my order, bring my food, refill beverages and eventually leave me a bill. Unless they punched me in the face, I'm not sure if I would ever leave a review complaining about service.

Delivery times, negative review... Giving 1 star because you waited an hour for delivery. Again... HOW WAS THE FOOD? Was the food horrible because it sat in a car for an hour? Was the food delicious because they waited 45 minutes to cook it and deliver it fresh? I'm checking reviews to learn about the FOOD.

I use Yelp and have learned how to pick through reviews and ignore the people that are reviewing things other than the food.

[rr2254545]

Crowe wrote:
Google is pretty good for giving reviews on restaurants.

I use TripAdvisor as well. I don't use Yelp because I don't trust it due to previous issues with false reviews.

Yep trip advisor is the place to go for restaurants not here

[mdcamping]

My wife and I are both Gluten Free, tough to find any reviews that will work for us, usually we will find 1 or 2 bland plates that is GF and that will be it. We had a few exceptions though, one restaurant at Cooperstown NY, the chef substituted the ingredients for us and the meals turned out fantastic, another a seafood restaurant called Claws and Rockport,ME they had a large GF section on their menu, one item in particular was New England Clam Chowder, we actually did 2 lunch stops and 1 meal as the place was that good! :C

Mike

[Crowe]

Google is pretty good for giving reviews on restaurants.

I use TripAdvisor as well. I don't use Yelp because I don't trust it due to previous issues with false reviews.

[Roy_Lynne]

Google is pretty good for giving reviews on restaurants. When we are in a new town, as we travel through, we look for restaurants that have lots of cars in the parking lot and we also check ratings on Google. Both ways seem to work for us.

[toedtoes]

I agree knowing why someone says no to a particular restaurant is helpful.

In that thread, the particular poster pooh poo'd all places on Cannery Row in general. That to me was enough clarification for me to make a decision on their recommendations: if I want to stay away from the tourist area, consider the recommendation. If I want to visit the tourist area and eat there, ignore it.

[colliehauler]

I've found some good food restaurants that are to loud for me to handle, so yes a more informed review would be helpful.

[DutchmenSport]

There's a very old saying that goes something like this: "One man's junk is another man's treasure." This is true with everything on this planet, including restaurants. (campgrounds, grocery stores, internet providers, school bus drivers... you name it!)