If you own a restaurant, bar, bakery, coffee shop, food truck, catering service, or another type of business in the restaurant industry, you need to actively track — and engage with — your online reviews and ratings.
By monitoring and responding to your restaurant reviews, you can increase your online visibility, boost customer retention, and reap other benefits. Step one of that process is making sure that you're listed on the right restaurant review websites.
To help you get started on the right foot, we developed this guide to online review sites for restaurant owners. It explores 12 of the biggest, most popular restaurant review websites, apps, and platforms that you need to be listed on in 2024. It also provides tips and templates for responding to customer feedback, plus answers to FAQs about managing restaurant reviews.
From getting more customers to outcompeting nearby restaurants, here are six benefits of being listed on restaurant review sites and responding to customer feedback.
The more good reviews and high ratings you earn, the better your restaurant's reputation becomes, which makes it easier to attract new customers.
Most review sites offer the option to sort restaurants by highest rated, so getting more positive reviews helps you appear to more searchers on platforms like Yelp and OpenTable. Google even recommends responding to reviews as a strategy to help boost your local search rankings.
Learn more about how replying to reviews improves local SEO (search engine optimization).
Getting more reviews helps you grow your restaurant brand and online presence, putting you on the radar of influencers and restaurant critics.
You can retain customers and reduce churn more effectively by tracking and analyzing your reviews, which enables you to spot — and act on — trends and patterns in customer feedback.
Research shows that consumers trust user-generated content (UGC), like positive Google reviews, more than ads or brand content. The more authentic positive reviews you receive, the more opportunities you have to showcase UGC on your website and social media pages.
Responding to written reviews can be an effective strategy for attracting more restaurant patrons. According to research by BrightLocal, 88% of consumers would consider using a business that responds to every review, but only 58% if it responds exclusively to negative reviews, only 54% if it responds exclusively to good reviews, and only 47% if it never responds to reviews.
Here are seven of the top restaurant review sites to monitor in 2024, including an overview of each platform and why it's relevant to your business.
According to the platform's 2023 Transparency Report, more than 30 million online reviews were posted on Tripadvisor last year — and more than 1.33 million businesses added new listings.
Along with basic information like location and hours, Tripadvisor profiles feature information about pricing, types of cuisine served, special features (such as outdoor seating), and review-based tags and summaries. Restaurants are scored in specific categories like "Food," "Value," and "Atmosphere," along with receiving reviews and ratings of up to 5 stars.
Similar to Google, Tripadvisor also provides a Q&A feature where you can answer customers' questions.
As a Tripadvisor FAQ page explains, "A listing on Tripadvisor is a page dedicated to a specific place or business, such as accommodations, attractions, or restaurants," including information like "popularity ranking, traveler ratings, reviews, and photos." To create, claim, and verify your business listing, follow Tripadvisor's guide to getting started.
With over 97 million verified ratings and reviews, OpenTable is one of the top restaurant review sites to make sure you're featured on in 2024.
The OpenTable homepage prominently features "OpenTable Icons," along with recently listed restaurants and "diners' favorite restaurants" based on bookings and reviews, which underscores the importance of gathering positive reviews on this platform.
OpenTable enables diners to leave reviews and star ratings of up to 5 stars, and/or book reservations online.
To join OpenTable and start using the platform's tools, you'll need to fill out a short form and provide some basic information about your restaurant, such as how many locations you operate. Your OpenTable business page is an opportunity to share information about payment options, your executive chef, and restaurant features or amenities like “cocktails” or “wheelchair access,” so make sure to keep it up to date with current photos and details.
Along with Google and Facebook, Yelp consistently ranks in the top three most popular review websites, making this an essential platform for restaurants to be listed on.
Users can filter by ratings and various categories, while businesses can add their highlights (like "discounts available" or "large group friendly") and amenities (like "dogs allowed" or "takes reservations").
Users can also ask questions or leave reviews and ratings, which restaurant owners can respond to publicly. Plus, Yelp features a tool for booking reservations, providing another opportunity to get more customers through the platform.
When you're ready to create and claim your Yelp business page, simply follow the on-screen instructions for adding your business to Yelp — or, learn more about how to respond to Yelp reviews.
You're probably familiar with Uber, the popular rideshare service. Uber Eats, a spin-off of Uber, is a food delivery service app.
Uber Eats not only allows users to place orders with local restaurants, but also to rate and review their experiences.
Listing your restaurant on Uber Eats is a simple way to increase your exposure and get more orders, along with an opportunity to score positive ratings and reviews.
Gayot describes itself as "an internationally renowned and professional Guide to The Good Life including reviews on restaurants, wine, spirits, lifestyle and movies."
Gayot is integrated with OpenTable, features key information like hours and pricing, and highlights restaurant features like "full bar" and "valet parking."
While the site's design might look less modern than some of the others on our list, Gayot remains an influential voice in the restaurant industry, with a history that stretches back over half a century.
Like its name suggests, AllergyEats lets users search for allergy friendly restaurants and filter out specific food allergies. This distinctive feature makes AllergyEats worth getting listed on, provided your restaurant qualifies. According to the platform, getting your restaurant designated allergy-friendly has potential to boost profits up to 25%.
To list your business, get started using AllergyEats for restaurateurs.
Featuring numerous "best of" restaurant lists for cities around the globe, like "The Best Chips in London" and "The Best Chinese Restaurants in San Francisco," The Infatuation is an international foodie's guide to highly-rated restaurants and stand-out dining experiences.
The site functions differently from traditional review platforms, explaining, "Our restaurant reviews and guides are all written by a small group of highly trained, highly opinionated writers and editors."
That means you get unique insights into how industry professionals perceive your (or your competitor’s) restaurant, compared to most review sites that are open to all types of users and contributors. However, since The Infatuation’s staff dine anonymously, you won’t know when you’re being reviewed.
Here are a few quick tips for responding effectively to bad, mixed, or good reviews of your restaurant online:
Now let's look at some examples of effective responses to restaurant reviews, including customizable review response templates for restaurant owners.
Positive review response template:
"[ Customer Name ], it's absolutely [ delightful, wonderful, fantastic, etc. ] to hear how much you enjoyed your [ meal at, visit to, experience at, dinner at, etc. ] [ Restaurant Name ].
[ Server Name ] will be [ thrilled, delighted, happy, etc. ] to know that they [ made your meal special, provided excellent service, made you and your family feel welcome, etc. ], and we appreciate your kind words about [ the quality of our ingredients, the speed of our service, etc. ].
Thanks again for your review, and we look forward to serving you again soon!"
For more tips and templates, check out these helpful example responses to positive reviews.
Negative review response template:
"Hi [ Customer Name ], we're [ genuinely, truly, deeply, etc. ] sorry to hear about your [ negative, recent, disappointing, etc. ] experience.
At [ Restaurant Name ], our [ goal, mission, etc. ] is to provide our customers with [ fresh and authentic meals in a welcoming setting, etc. ], and we regret missing the mark on this occasion.
We [ take your feedback seriously, value your feedback, etc. ] and will review your comments with our team so that we can deliver a better dining experience.
We appreciate your review, [ Customer Name ], and hope that you'll give us an opportunity to make things right with you in the future."
To see related tips and examples, explore our guide to responding to bad restaurant reviews.
Mixed review response template:
"Hi [ Customer Name ], thank you for your rating and review.
While we're glad you enjoyed [ positive detail from the review ], we [ truly, deeply, genuinely, etc. ] regret to hear that other aspects of your experience did not live up to your expectations.
Our team sincerely apologizes for any [ confusion, disappointment, inconvenience, etc. ] and are sorry for the dissatisfaction you felt with [ negative detail from the review ].
We [ value, appreciate, are grateful for, etc. ] your [ honest, candid, detailed, etc. ] feedback, which helps us to improve our service, and we hope that you'll give us another opportunity to provide you with a 5-star experience in the future.
Thanks again for reviewing [ Restaurant Name ]."
For more examples like these, check out our templates for responding to negative reviews.
You might also be interested in these Google review responses for restaurants.
Manually managing business listings and customer reviews on multiple platforms is an inefficient use of your limited time and resources. As a busy restaurant owner, you need a streamlined solution that puts all the tools and services you need in one organized, easy-to-navigate dashboard.
Welcome to ResponseScribe: the easiest, most convenient way for restaurant owners to manage reviews.
ResponseScribe combines automated review monitoring with a done-for-you review response service, enabling you to track, analyze, and reply to feedback on more than 50 review platforms — all from one centralized hub you can access from any device through the cloud.
Our review tracking service alerts you whenever your restaurant receives new ratings or reviews, including Yelp, Facebook, Google Maps, Apple Maps, OpenTable, Tripadvisor, and more. When you receive a new comment or rating, there are two ways we create a custom response:
We'll alert you using your preferred notification settings whenever a new response is ready. You can request revisions, make your own edits, or approve publication, ensuring every word aligns with your unique brand messaging.
Learn more about how ResponseScribe works, or explore pricing and discounts for partners.
Build a positive reputation, attract more restaurant goers, and track your reviews with ease — all from one intuitive dashboard that integrates with your tech stack. From providing your reviewers with custom responses in minutes, to analyzing your Google reviews for hot and emerging trends, ResponseScribe makes it simple to manage your online restaurant listings.
Unlock faster growth with ResponseScribe for mobile or desktop. Get started with your free trial today.
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