How do you choose a new restaurant to try? (4 Viewers)

[gianmarco]

I was thinking about this recently. I've refined my way to pick restaurants I want to try over the years plus things have changed over that time as well.  This goes for restaurants where I live as well as when visiting other cities.

So, what kind of process do you use? Do you start with one and use other methods to refine? Do you have a go to method you use by itself? Does one method trump others (i.e., reviews may not be great but someone you trust recommends it).

Poll included and can vote for more than one.

 

[Captain Cranks]

Opentable

 

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

I usually google the menu and maybe some reviews, then I go where my wife tells me we're going. 

 

[Scoresman]

These days its mostly what comes across my social media feeds.  Instagram and reddit mostly.  

Sometimes we also just drive by a place and think it looks good or it has a long line.  

Reviews are so subjective because of people’s tastes.  An example is Mexican food here in Portland.  We’re from the Bay Area which excels in good Mexican food.  Places in Oregon that are ranked highly have so far been garbage in comparison.  

 

[jamny]

Before moving to Boise and now since, we try almost every restaurant at least once, outside of chains. I have a running list of over 100 places we've been to with 20+ more to try. We're narrowing it down to our favorite, go-to places and have enjoyed the experience finding our new favorites.

We travel a lot and I'll usually do research before the trip to find the top places using best-of lists and tripadviser just to have a few can't miss spots. Especially since the better ones might need a reservation. But as we're walking around a new city, we've gotten pretty good at picking restaurants just by the area (not too touristy), looking at the menu if they have it at the front door and sometimes just going in for a drink to see if it's a place we want to eat. We've gotten especially good at it in European cities where you can find some real hidden gems off the beaten path.

If all else fails while walking around and nothing looks really good, I'll take out my phone a do a Google map search to find something.

 

[MTskibum]

We eat out quite a bit, so all of the above.

 

[jamny]

Opentable

I've never used them to find places but they really seem to have cornered the market on taking reservations. It's a great system they have and 95% of the places I find intergrate them in their websites to make reservations.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

I think we are just trusting the Force.  We are both good at picking out restaurants.  We do check out pictures online if one looks promising.  We use Google sometimes.

 

[jamny]

I'm also in a few Boise Food facebook pages and get a lot of good recs from there. I put them in as a favorite in Google maps for further research and always have the new ones easily visible.

 

[gianmarco]

I've personally never gotten good results from Yelp or TripAdvisor. I find Google reviews to be better. I'll usually use Google Maps to start, use the overall review rating, and then I find myself pulling up actual pictures of the food. I can usually tell if I'm going to like a place based on what the food looks like. 

I've gotten away from taking people's recommendations with exceptions of a couple people that tend to get it right most of the time. I've actually found personal recs to be somewhat disappointing unless I know their track record.

I also have gotten into the online rank lists as a starting point for ideas, but I think the actual selections are hit or miss. They are good at having a gem on the list but the likelihood they are all good is pretty low. 

 

[Gally]

all of the above.  Always open to trying new places

 

[DA RAIDERS]

open table is legit.  you actually have to have dined at the restaurant.  meaning you made a reservation through open table and were physically checked in by the restaurant.  a lot of the negative reviews from all sites, are just bitter d bags.  it's tough to sift through.

 

[Hawks64]

I tend to go to as local as possible non chain places. Typically it's looking at the menu's online but will see what Google reviews has to say. I don't look at Yelp at all.

 

[MTskibum]

I think we are just trusting the Force.  We are both good at picking out restaurants.  We do check out pictures online if one looks promising.  We use Google sometimes.

Phoenician deli

Jinya Ramen

Aga's - get the goat chops

Whiskey Cake cafe

 

[urbanhack]

By height.

 

[nirad3]

Since I travel for work a bit, I use Google maps at first, then check Yelp reviews.  This goes for restaurants as well as bars.  I tend to find places close to where I'm staying so I don't have to walk or Uber far.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Phoenician deli

Jinya Ramen

Aga's - get the goat chops

Whiskey Cake cafe

Thank you!  

What are the mideast pies at the first locale?  They sound interesting.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Local is usually word of mouth or Twitter (follow Eater Detroit and then some other local food people)

out of town I’ll usually check Google maps to see what’s close and then check out the restaurant website 

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Phoenician deli

Jinya Ramen

Aga's - get the goat chops

Whiskey Cake cafe

OMG.  Aga's looks great.  Since we lost our Indo-pak restaurant, we have been searching for a replacement.  Tamarind chutney, here I come!

I have no idea if this is convenient for you, but try Romero's Las Brazas.  The owner is from Oaxaca and learned to cook from his grandmother.  The enchiladas de tomatillo are great, but it's pretty much all good.  I am informed that the mole is excellent.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

I guess we also find restaurants using FBG.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

In my younger days it was driving around at 2:00am looking for an OPEN sign.

 

[AAABatteries]

Word of mouth, restaurant websites (read: menu) - that and Mrs. AAA telling me where I'm going to eat.

 

[Ilov80s]

Kind of all of those really. 

 

[Osaurus]

Google and then word of mouth. Anything less than a 4.5 and it's unlikely I am going there unless it just opened and will be a while until they get their #### together.

 

[MTskibum]

OMG.  Aga's looks great.  Since we lost our Indo-pak restaurant, we have been searching for a replacement.  Tamarind chutney, here I come!

I have no idea if this is convenient for you, but try Romero's Las Brazas.  The owner is from Oaxaca and learned to cook from his grandmother.  The enchiladas de tomatillo are great, but it's pretty much all good.  I am informed that the mole is excellent.

That is a pretty far drive for me, I thought you lived close to the skeeters baseball park off of 6? We tend to eat in Sugar Land, westheimer on the west side, china town, galleria, midtown, or around the museum district/rice.

Driving from Sugar Land to another suburb like Katy, Pearland, or cypress, does not usually happen and would be a tough sell to the wife.

 

[Zow]

Since I travel for work a bit, I use Google maps at first, then check Yelp reviews.  This goes for restaurants as well as bars.  I tend to find places close to where I'm staying so I don't have to walk or Uber far.

Same here. And yelp has generally been pretty reliable. 

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

That is a pretty far drive for me, I thought you lived close to the skeeters baseball park off of 6? We tend to eat in Sugar Land, westheimer on the west side, china town, galleria, midtown, or around the museum district/rice.

Driving from Sugar Land to another suburb like Katy, Pearland, or cypress, does not usually happen and would be a tough sell to the wife.

We live on 99, so pretty close to Sugar Land.  We will travel for food.  And Romero's is worth it.  We are wainting on a cajun restaurant to open in Missouri City.  They are in the process of moving.  Swamp Chicken  The boudin stuffed wings are great.

 

[El Floppo]

I usually google the menu and maybe some reviews, then I go where my wife tells me we're going. 

You left out the initial, "I don't care, you choose" part.

 

[Joe Mammy]

I opened a restaurant in '91. I had a partner and allowed him to buy me out in '93. I had worked hard and we made money but there was not enough there for us both to be happy. The only reviews we dealt with were local newspapers and of course the local word of mouth which carried us.

I often wondered if I ever opened another how I would deal with online reviews. In this day and age everybody has the recourse to review just about anything. I would definitely budget an "online mgr" who would solely deal with online promotion and responding to reviews- to pounce on negs to make them good and also to thank positives. When I see quick response to negs now I respect the business for keeping their eyes open.

 

[MTskibum]

We live on 99, so pretty close to Sugar Land.  We will travel for food.  And Romero's is worth it.  We are wainting on a cajun restaurant to open in Missouri City.  They are in the process of moving.  Swamp Chicken  The boudin stuffed wings are great.

I tried to find out where Swamp Chicken is moving too, but could not find it.

I will try that restaurant when it opens.

 

[jvdesigns2002]

The whole “review” thing has lost some credibility with me the last couple of years.  It’s hard to tell which are accurate and which are a result of solicitations. It’s not that I don’t read them anymore—but I just don’t factor them in as much as I used to when it comes to deciding where to eat.  More often than not—getting recommendations from friends/family/clients is probably the most important factor when trying something new. 

 

[matuski]

I try new restaurants when they are nw.

 

[GroveDiesel]

I've personally never gotten good results from Yelp or TripAdvisor. I find Google reviews to be better. I'll usually use Google Maps to start, use the overall review rating, and then I find myself pulling up actual pictures of the food. I can usually tell if I'm going to like a place based on what the food looks like. 

I've gotten away from taking people's recommendations with exceptions of a couple people that tend to get it right most of the time. I've actually found personal recs to be somewhat disappointing unless I know their track record.

I also have gotten into the online rank lists as a starting point for ideas, but I think the actual selections are hit or miss. They are good at having a gem on the list but the likelihood they are all good is pretty low. 

I agree. My experience has been that Google reviews seem way more legit than Yelp or TripAdvisor. I’m fairly certain that both Yelp and TripAdvisor manipulate reviews/ratings based off of who is paying them. Google reviews usually seem pretty on-target.

open table is legit.  you actually have to have dined at the restaurant.  meaning you made a reservation through open table and were physically checked in by the restaurant.  a lot of the negative reviews from all sites, are just bitter d bags.  it's tough to sift through.

Interesting. I’ve only used OpenTable a few times to make reservations and didn’t really even realize that they have reviews there. But if their system works the way you say it does, that seems like a pretty good review system. I’ll have to check them out.

If I’m heading to an area on vacation, I’ll usually start with Googling for “best restaurants in XXX” to find some lists. If certain places pop up several times I’ll look into them more or if something just sticks out as particularly interesting. Finding them on blogs is usually the best unless it’s clear the blogger was paid to promote certain restaurants. From there, I hit Google reviews to see what the reviews are like for those restaurants and if it’s all adding up I’ll hit the restaurant’s website to see exactly what they have on their menu and if it’s fitting in my budget.

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

It doesn't take much for me to try a new restaurant. If it's a seafood or sushi place and they spell crab with a k, they're eliminated. Otherwise I'm pretty game.

 

[Zegras11]

It doesn't take much for me to try a new restaurant. If it's a seafood or sushi place and they spell crab with a k, they're eliminated. Otherwise I'm pretty game.

So you're saying @krista4' s Krab Kakes is out?

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

I tried to find out where Swamp Chicken is moving too, but could not find it.

I will try that restaurant when it opens.

We found out be going to Google Maps and searching for the name.

 

[gianmarco]

So you're saying @krista4' s Krab Kakes is out?

 

[Terminalxylem]

open table is legit.  you actually have to have dined at the restaurant.  meaning you made a reservation through open table and were physically checked in by the restaurant.  a lot of the negative reviews from all sites, are just bitter d bags.  it's tough to sift through.

I know you’re a Deer Valley guy. What are your favorites for upscale dining?

We just went to Cena, which was really  good.

 

[Terminalxylem]

As for the OP, Trip Advisor has been pretty reliable for us. You just have to exclude the greasy spoon diners that frequently are ranked highly. But looking at the menu and pictures is a must regardless.

Agree that most word-of-mouth recs aren’t great, especially if your palate isn’t aligned with the standard American diet.

 

[Judge Smails]

All of the above. I start with top lists and Yelp. Internationally TripAdvisor is better. Always look at the food pictures and can usually see through the haters pretty quickly. I’ll ignore a few bad reviews. Some people can hate on anything. 

 

[DA RAIDERS]

I know you’re a Deer Valley guy. What are your favorites for upscale dining?

We just went to Cena, which was really  good.

we don't do too many "fine dining" options when traveling.  i work in that arena, and am often sorely disappointed.  

precovid, the fireside dining and the seafood buffet were both worth it.  the horse drawn carriage ride, at the fireside dining was awesome.  especially if it was snowing,  it was such a perfect break in the middle of your dining experience.  very cool.  and the the royal street cafe, on the hill, is a great lunch option.  get up early and ski until 1:30ish and have lunch there.  

we stay on main street.  if you want some non upscale options, let me know.

 

[Birdie048]

These days its mostly what comes across my social media feeds.  Instagram and reddit mostly.  

Sometimes we also just drive by a place and think it looks good or it has a long line.  

Reviews are so subjective because of people’s tastes.  An example is Mexican food here in Portland.  We’re from the Bay Area which excels in good Mexican food.  Places in Oregon that are ranked highly have so far been garbage in comparison.  

When I am on a work trip, I drive around looking at places with long lines and many in line were Emergency Service resources (Police, Fire & EMS members).  They know where the good food is from all their experiences around town.  

Locally, I prefer word of mouth since the turn over of food industry is so high right now.  Local Specialty Pizza (Mellow Mushroom) place was a favorite, but owner refused to raise pay and over half kitchen staff walked out the door - they started their own food place!!  Food took a dive in quality and taste.  I will wait a year to see if it works out. 

 

[Joe Bryant]

For me it's word of mouth from real people and then a few sites I trust like Eater and TheInfatuation. They are much better for some cities than others. Thrillist can be good for the list of touristy places but they sometimes have some gems. 

I put less than zero stock in any of the crowd sourced reviews. I've just seen too much of how that works with things like iOS or Android apps. With fake reviews from competitors plus just crazy bad reviews where the place gets crushed because the line was too long out the door. So lame.

If you're good enough, you can mock it. Turkey and The Wolf is one of my favorite spots in New Orleans and they have a big sticker on the door that says "Our reviews suck on yelp". And they're awesome. 

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I've never used them to find places but they really seem to have cornered the market on taking reservations. It's a great system they have and 95% of the places I find intergrate them in their websites to make reservations.

Is calling the restaurant down? 

 

[jamny]

Is calling the restaurant down? 

I'll call if OpenTable doesnt show anything available. Sometimes they still have some set aside.

Otherwise, I can book a table before they would even pickup the phone with OpenTable and at any hour. A lot of times we only plan it the morning of and it's better than waiting for the restaurant to open.

 

[Hastur]

I recently joined a 'foodie' group on FB that focuses on my area.  I'm now hearing about a lot of different restaurants I hadn't heard of before, with reviews, pictures, level of service, etc.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I'll call if OpenTable doesnt show anything available. Sometimes they still have some set aside.

Otherwise, I can book a table before they would even pickup the phone with OpenTable and at any hour. A lot of times we only plan it the morning of and it's better than waiting for the restaurant to open.

You know how that ends right? Eventually you are forced to go through a second party site and then you pay for tables in advance. 

 

[beef]

For small town places I'm driving through, I go by the number of old people I can see through the windows.  If it's packed with geriatrics, it's probably good and cheap.  

 

[urbanhack]

word of mouth, yelp reviews and sites like this:  https://pdx.eater.com/

 

[jamny]

You know how that ends right? Eventually you are forced to go through a second party site and then you pay for tables in advance. 

Then I stop using it. I've never used grubhub or any of the delivery services for that reason. I pick it up myself.