Three Tips for Writing a Readworthy Restaurant Review on Yelp

Chris Morran reports:

"As helpful as crowdsourced review sites like Yelp can be, not every write-up is of use to a consumer trying to figure out whether a restaurant is worth the trip. Sometimes it’s because the review is too vague ('The menu wasn’t amazing' is one I come across too often). Other times it’s too specific ('The napkins didn’t match the table cloths! Never going back!'). And many reviewers tend to let their emotions get the best of them, giving slightly subpar meals a single star or throwing a restaurant a 5-star rating without really thinking about what that score implies. In a post for Cleveland.com, former restaurant critic David Farkas provides a very useful list of suggestions for how restaurant diners can make their online reviews more relevant and helpful to other consumers...[He] suggests using comparisons to other restaurants to provide some context rather than just slapping 'best' or 'worst' labels on an eatery...Talk about the staff: This suggestion goes beyond the usual 'The waiter was rude' or '[T]he host was pleasant' type of statement. 'I’m referring to the temperament of the place,' explains Farkas. 'Do servers look like they’re having a good time? Are they dressed neatly? Do they seem distracted? Help readers grasp the ambiance on the day you visited.'...Remain anonymous: This may seem like a no-brainer to many of you, but several 'elite' reviewers for Yelp and other sites have been accused of announcing their presence and demanding special treatment, or just putting the staff on notice that they are being reviewed. These few rotten apples aren’t about providing unbiased reviews for consumers, but are more about making themselves feel like VIPs. '[H]int online that you’re Mr. Somebody when you drop by this joint and your cred[ibility] is shot,' writes Farkas."