I clearly recall walking into The Wit hotel in downtown Chicago sometime late in July, 2010. I wasn't bee-lining it for the elevator to head up to Roof to spend $14 on a cocktail in the open air. No, I was about to eat and drink gratis at the newly-opened Phoenix Lounge and the adjacent Italian restaurant, Cibo Matto. I had recently become a part of a invite-only group who was throwing a shindig as they do about once a month: the Yelp Elite.
For those unfamiliar with the cognoscenti of amateur online reviews, the Yelp Elite are those who produce reviews in bulk. I was invited to become YE after writing some forty reviews, mostly old haunts from college and high school with which I was intimately familiar. I had no idea what to expect of the group that tends to flaunt their status; some even tell business owners that they are YE. There are more criticisms directed at Yelp, including aggressive sales tactics and a black-box method for determining which reviews show up. For anyone using Yelp, this additional fact does tend to put a stigma on the ratings, and these high-level conspiracy complaints do not even begin to scratch the surface of how any ignorant crank can write a review.
Yet, I continue to use Yelp. Despite all of the obvious reasons why one shouldn't pay attention to the ratings on Yelp, it is still one of my main sources for finding what is in an area. Regardless of how places are rated, in large metropolitan areas they appear on Yelp in the correct category. Hence, searching for "restaurants (near) the Loop, Chicago" turns up valid results. Most importantly, those results are then easily parsed by cost, the cuisine, specific location, whether or not they're open, and many more. Finally, you can filter by "highest rated", which is where you need to start adding a grain of salt.
First and foremost, the rating a place receives is not just an average of all the available scores. This is partially where the "black box" complaints come in, as some reviews are excluded entirely or removed. As far as I can tell, their algorithm tends to put higher weight on people with more reviews, leading to the assumption that quantity leads to better quality. I'll go out on a limb and say that some simple statistical inference probably shows that people with lots of reviews tend to have ratings that hew closer to the long-term average. I believe the "black box" conditions on a user's number of reviews overall and number of reviews for similar establishments, which is why the Yelp Elite are important.
So, while I'm not a (serious) aspiring Sam Sifton, Phil Vettel, Jeff Ruby or Penny Pollack I still do write Yelp reviews. I do it partially because I like seeing my own face on a Yelp page when their algorithms choose my review as the "top review". I do it partially because I'm a strong believer that my opinion is more informed than the vast number of aspiring reviewers. I do it partially because if I don't write a review, I know that someone else will. I do it just because I like to write, and because it's a good excuse to try something new. I've also sold out a bit; I do it so that I'll be invited back as Yelp Elite.
When I do write reviews I follow some simple guidelines. If I don't feel like I can give a detailed overview, I don't give the review. I don't like to review based on a single visit, but in most cases I do. I never write a review based solely on a single dish, I always try everything on the table and keep an eye on other tables nearby. The "star rating" is relative to other restaurants in the same category, not restaurants as a whole. People on Yelp search for "Italian places in Lakeview", so I rate relative to those categories. With these simple guidelines I produce some reviews that I'm proud of, and some that I'm not. Judge yourself at my Yelp profile. The day that I can't re-read my own reviews is the day that I stop writing them.
Whether you believe Zagat, the mysterious, highfalutin Michelin reviewers, the populist Yelp or your favorite publication's dining critic, the final judge is always you. Find something that gets you good results and stick with it.
