A restaurant is often only as good as its reviews. Whether we read an article recommending that new Italian place downtown or one of our friends won't shut up about it, most likely, we will still check out its online rating and read what other people think of it before deciding to go there.
However, the democratization of criticism isn't always a good thing. And the subreddit r/YelpDrama features plenty of reasons why.
A popular category among its posts is ridiculous restaurant reviews that prove the customer isn't always right. We're talking trashing a joint that wasn't even open when you "ordered" your food, or a one star because they wouldn't allow you to order water and eat the meals you brought there yourself.
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Hmm
Ewww! A Gay Waiter!
Another problem is with platforms like Yelp and TripAdvisor is the fact that they're full of fake reviews.
Plus, people are much more likely to leave a review when they've had a bad experience, distorting the overall restaurant's rating.
That can bring disastrous consequences, especially for smaller businesses that have just opened up – one 2020 study found that an early bad review can turn customers away in the long term, and that reviewing platforms actually have an in-built bias towards popular restaurants.
The Food At This Shop Sucked!
I Don’t Know Who You Got Your Food From Tonight, But It Wasn’t Us
A Not So Spicy Life!
No it's not I won't lie I never see this before I had to look it up but I like how they explain it and didn't make fun of the person
Load More Replies...True, but my mom uses them sometimes, and sometimes it's rather hard to find them
Load More Replies...My ex embarrassed me when they found a bay leaf in their food. They shouted at the server saying "you could have shredded my esophagus!". I wanted to dissappear.
"We've had a long talk with the leaf, and it's assured us it will never jump out and surprise anyone again."
Load More Replies...Typically you'd remove the bay leaves after cooking, before plating. But I suppose it depends how the chef wants to present the dish too.
In a big dish, it can sometimes be difficult to find and remove all the bay leaves. I'm not a professional chef, but I use bay leaves often enough in home cooking.
Load More Replies...I am so tired of people freaking out over a *bay* leaf or cardamom pod or whatever. Rant over.
Come on bro, coriander and curry leaves are always going to be there in your food
Wait what's a curry leaf? I'm still learning about spices and thought curry was blends of seasonings, not a specific spice. Is laurel referred to as curry, like we call it bay?
Load More Replies...Once upon a time I wouldn't have believed that someone had managed to reach adulthood without knowing what a bay leaf was, but a few years ago someone I know needed a bay leaf for her son's cookery lesson and went looking for it in the fruit and veg aisles.
I'll give the person the benefit of the doubt and assume they've literally never seen or used bay leaves in their food since it doesn't look like they were trying to review bomb the restaurant over a perceived slight. And, of course, I'm totally on-board with a restaurant appropriately responding to an unfair review. Especially since most restaurants just barely get by and anything little thing can contribute to them failing.
I found a dead dragonfly in my salad once and all I thought was "well, atleast it's fresh and from a clean place" side note: dragonflies are very sensitive to environmental pollution. I told the server, got a new dish. No need to make a mountain out of a molehill and try to destroy a reputation
And now another unnecessary disclaimer is born:"Warning! Food prepared with fresh bay leafs, may contain leafs"
I am not a professional chef, but I always remove bay leaves before serving. They cause terrible diarrhea when consumed.
F**K bay leaf! Stop putting it in food. It doesn't cook, and it certainly won't ruin the dish by being left out. I guarantee it.
I've seen whole threads of people surprised by bay leaves. And of course they decide to be douche-canoes about it, not just ask questions and learn something. (If you have the space, bay trees grow well in pots, and the leaves are even better fresh than dried. Plus they're fun to give away to people; many people have never had fresh bay).
What baffles me the most is that they didn't complain on the shop, of course, they wouldn't have the guts to do it; they waited and complained online, with no chance for the restaurant to respond. I mean, sure if it's pick-up food you can't, but from their words I can assume they literally eat at the restaurant. So why not call the waiter and tell them: "excuse me, there's a leaf in my plate"?
Are we really at a point where people are so used to fast food boxes and canned or microwaved processed crap that a bay leaf is unidentifiable and the immediate response isn’t “maybe it’s an ingredient” ????
Also, they didn't ask the waiter what the leaf was all about, they waited to go home and embarrass themselves publicly.
I am cracking up. "and I'm sorry the leaf surprised you." Tears in my eyes
Most people live in very small worlds. I believe they call them bubbles, these days.
Load More Replies...WARNING! I don't know how to cook, but I'm going to spout b******t that proves me an idiot anyway...
I found leaves in my salsa I'm always finding green bits on my entrees must be blowing in from outside. lol
Customer probably doesn't know you're supposed to take the teabag out of the cup, either.
You use a tea "bag"? YOU PHILISTINE! 😡 Just kidding, they're all I've ever used 😋
Load More Replies...I’ve found whole bay leaves in food before. I don’t like bay leaves. Cannot honestly say I’ve ever mentioned it at a restaurant….🤔
As Giorgia Cannarella pointed out in Vice, the only other alternative, it seems, is reading food articles and blogs, hoping to land on an honest critique.
However, if you're familiar with the complex world of culinary criticism, you’ll know these things can also be hit or miss. Sometimes a new spot will get stellar reviews only to disappoint once you get there.
Business Owner Claps Back On Yelp User For Leaving A Negative Comment On His Restaurant
You Wouldn’t Bring Mcdonalds Into An Olive Garden?
My Food = More Important Than Your Life
Different people value different aspects of a restaurant – the decor, the ambiance, the price, the surprise factor, but, according to Slovenian food and travel blogger Kaja Sajovic, there’s actually more to the story.
"We all know that food journalists don't get paid enough to cover the cost of a restaurant dinner, so press trips have become a necessity to do our job," Sajovic said. "And this creates a lot of ethical dilemmas. Can you really give a bad review of a restaurant you've been invited to, with flights and hotels covered? I think it's difficult, and maybe even a little bit unfair."
“Influencer” Goes Out To Dinner
“Politely Restrained”
“The Customer Is Always Right!!”
User Writes 1 Star Review For Competing Restaurant
Of course, Sajovic is mostly talking about freelancers and bloggers. Journalists who get a steady salary and their expenses are always covered can be a lot freer when writing their reviews, but they are certainly the exception rather than the rule in the industry.
Food writer Paola Miglio, editor of Peruvian website El Trinche, said she's always made a point to be uncompromising with her opinions.
"If I don't like something, I say so. And I write it down, even when I’ve been invited [to the restaurant]," Miglio said. "In my three years as a food critic at a newspaper, I have only been bullied a handful of times by a restaurant owner or chef on social media. I've never felt the pressure to praise anything or anyone."
He’s Just Enjoying His Meal, Karen
”wtf, I Didn’t Want This Food, Why Would You Make Me Eat It??”
The Post That Started It
A*****e must’ve smelled his own booze breath blowing back in his face.
Some People Have No Shame
"There are few chefs who respond well and in-kind to criticism," food journalist Gabriele Zanatta, who writes for the Italian web magazine Identità Golose, explained.
Zanatta thinks that’s because cooks have historically been mostly hidden figures. It was only with France’s nouvelle cuisine movement of the 60s, which revolutionised international cooking, that chefs have become famous and “even achieved celebrity status over the last two decades,” Zanatta explained. "No wonder they’re intolerant to criticism! They had never been on such a pedestal."
3 Stars, Got Caught Shoplifting
Chicken Tenders Heal His Broken Heart (And Home)
I Applaud The Dj
One Star Because The Server Wouldn't Reveal Her Address
However, Zanatta also believes this chef-centric approach to food writing is slowly dying out. "We’re now paying more attention not only to the food but to all the other aspects that make a restaurant a restaurant," he said. In his experience, chefs nowadays are more willing to listen, provided that the criticism they’re receiving is not just a pretext for a food critic to flaunt their knowledge.
Thank You, Kathie
“It’s Not Their Fault”...gives Them 1 Star
“I’ve Been Coming Here For Years And It’s Literally The Best, But During The Pandemic They’ve Sucked! Also I’m Racist”
Chiara Cavalleris, editor in chief of the Italian food news site Dissapore, thinks that food journalists are not to blame for the state of things, but rather the food press in general.
She believes that news outlets are guilty of colluding with restaurant owners, an issue that has also come up in a scandal involving three-Michelin-star Florentine restaurant Enoteca Pinchiorri. In October 2021, its 77-year-old owner Giorgio Pinchiorri was sentenced to 4 months in prison for stalking a former employee, peeling back the veil on his restaurant’s toxic work culture. But none of the mainstream food press in Italy reported on it.
So is there such a thing as an accurate restaurant review? Who knows. But there's no shortage of absurd ones.
You Can’t Even Make Out In Public During A Pandemic
Bagel Drama
She Was Mad Her Tartare Was Undercooked
Not a great idea to order food if you don't even know what it is. Just ask!
Guy Got Booted After Throwing A Fit Because He Was Asked To Turn His Phone Volume Down. He Was Streaming A Football Game In A Nice Restaurant Full Blast. But The Server Was The Inconsiderate One. His Partner Looked So Embarrassed
Someone Reviewed My Workplace
Red Robin Needs To Wise Up
Trendy Asian Burrito Restaurant Near Me
Note: this post originally had 44 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I think the internet would be a much better place if everything was done under our legal names. People would think twice about what they say and do.
Or if you could get socked in the lip, I bet 99.9% of all the disrespect would go away
Load More Replies...I like the ones where the businesses identify the reviewer and call them out.
Some of these are funny but in general, I'm not a fan of that. Businesses can lie just as much as customers. A number of times I've been pressured to change a review or had a negative review removed, which IMO makes the review site pointless.
Load More Replies...All of these people are self entitled morons who need to get a life ! Seriously wake up and start cooking yourselves !
I downvoted some that were just the rude poster. I liked the ones where they get a snappy reply back
What a bunch of self-entitles morons. Except the few legitimate ones. These idiots need to just stay the hell at home.
I think the internet would be a much better place if everything was done under our legal names. People would think twice about what they say and do.
Or if you could get socked in the lip, I bet 99.9% of all the disrespect would go away
Load More Replies...I like the ones where the businesses identify the reviewer and call them out.
Some of these are funny but in general, I'm not a fan of that. Businesses can lie just as much as customers. A number of times I've been pressured to change a review or had a negative review removed, which IMO makes the review site pointless.
Load More Replies...All of these people are self entitled morons who need to get a life ! Seriously wake up and start cooking yourselves !
I downvoted some that were just the rude poster. I liked the ones where they get a snappy reply back
What a bunch of self-entitles morons. Except the few legitimate ones. These idiots need to just stay the hell at home.