For vegetarians & vegans: Happy Cow

I use Tony. He’s a friend who grew up in the area and knows me really well, so the recommendations are always top notch. He also knows all the best spots to grab a drink. Service may not be available where you live.

I don't trust reviews since it's so easy to fake them. I just try restaurants myself or go with a friend's recommendation.

1. Google Maps
2. Happy Cow
3. DuckDuckGo searches such as "best vegan in Philadelphia".

I use Happy Cow. In addition to having a vegan filter it doesn't seem very gsmed yet.

I also check new restaurant openings at a local aggregator.

I just use google maps but only read the recent reviews and do my own calculation on the ratings. Any review older than a year is pretty much useless. The reviews can be 4.5 stars, but then you check the reviews, the most recent month has like nine of ten reviews at one or two star reviews, and that's how you know its terrible. Conversely, it could have an average of 3.5 stars for all I care, but if the recent year has like nine of ten reviews at five stars, then I'd probably trust it a bit more than a 4.5 star restaurant with bad recent reviews.

TLDR: Read Recent Reviews and the ratings, ignore any old reviews, especially anything older than a year.

google maps, there's nothing else.

This is not something I use a website for.

I'm probably getting downvoted for this, but tripadvisor has been good for me. Not a lot of opinions compared to Google Maps but I have yet to find a shit restaurant in their top 10 places.

I’m not proud of it, but yelp. I like the interface. I can find menu pics easily, I can find out if they have a full bar or no alcohol, I can find out if it’s good for kids (preferably no) in one easy spot. I can search reviews for keywords.

I haven’t found another app that does all of these things in one easy manner. I used to like foursquare too…sad it’s shutting down.

But yeah - Yelp. Sorry.

Whatever alt local paper might be good if you have one

None. I just ask locals and walk around, go by vibes and prices.

A restaurant with a fuckton of options? Probably bad, as the cook(s) can't make them all. So it's either low quality or prepared instead of freshly made.

A restaurant with a handful or less than dozen of options for each course? Seems good.

If it's expensive as fuck, and in a busy area, skip. Probably a tourist trap.

The decor isn't necessarily important, but if it's a place that is very noisy, it doesn't have good acoustics. So that's a skip. Ideally you want a restaurant where you do have some people but it's not so loud, so you can eat in peace.

Depending on your preferences, look also if they have allergy/diet options and accessibility features. Those that do may be a little more expensive, but not by much hopefully.

No idea about decor.

Google maps, and that is a fallback option. I prefer asking locals on where they go to.

You actually read the reviews on Yelp?

It’s great for finding out about new places and getting photos but pretty much every site’s reviews are trash.

I rely on friends' recommendations and local Telegram channels

You might check to see if Eater has a site for your city/area

Yelp and more scrolling past ads. Mostly caring about style and food pics. Reviews are pretty trash, so depending on the type of place anything 3+ Stars is generally worth looking at.

I know stuff is missing from it and it doesn't have reviews, but when i'm on my own i just check organic maps first, if i find something that looks decent i just try it.

when traveling with others i often have to turn to tripadvisor or google maps to make sure to find something they like, not everyone is as happy to just try as me.

walkin around town and hearing other's opinions works best for me

I've been considering starting a tinder account purely to find food places. Just offer up a free meal at their favorite place, no romance required.