Yelp! Inc.

Yelp Adding Health Department Scores to Listings

In a partnership with Yelp, the City will begin uploading its health inspection data onto the review site. Restaurant listings on Yelp will soon include the establishment's DOH letter grade along with a link to a full report with violations, Bloomberg reports. San Francisco is up first, with New Yor ... More >>

Turns Out, Yelp Ratings Really Matter to Customers

Believe it or not, but those Yelp ratings have a really strong influence on whether a restaurant succeeds. According to Techcrunch, two Berkeley economists found that a half-star improvement on Yelp's five-star rating makes it 30 to 49 percent more likely that a restaurant will sell out its evenin ... More >>

When Hair Gets in Your Beer

[See More Clips of the Day: The Battersby Crew Hates Brunch, Loves Fernet | Awesome Dramatic Readings of Yelp Reviews] Craft Beerds, a book raising funds on Kickstarter, will collect the label art depicting beards, sideburns, and mustaches, from over 175 craft breweries. Go ahead and roll your eyes ... More >>

The Battersby Crew Hates Brunch, Loves Fernet

[See More Clip of the Day: Awesome Dramatic Readings of Yelp Reviews | How to Drink Wine While Hula Hooping | Food Scenes from Mexico] The team from Battersby in Carroll Gardens stars in the latest edition of Vice's Munchies. Co-chefs Walker Stern and Joseph Ogrodnek show off their celtuce, discuss ... More >>

Awesome Dramatic Readings of Yelp Reviews

Actor Chris Kipiniak performs a dramatic reading of a darkly funny, emotionally unstable Yelp review. The YouTube series is just getting started, but you can already watch the next one (Therese Plummer performing a four-star review of London's Tamarind Tamarind of London). Good stuff.

WEMP's Discovery Mission

New rock returns to the New York airwaves

Co. Chef Jim Lahey Gives Advice to Chefs and Reveals More on Sullivan Street Bakery 2.0

Yesterday we spoke with Jim Lahey, innovator of no-knead bread and author of the soon-to-be released book, My Pizza: The Easy No-Knead Way to Make Spectacular Pizza at Home. He explained how making pizza at home is actually much easier than you'd expect and also told us about how he's using hookworm ... More >>

Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria, Yelped

Alexia NaderCured meat is serious business ​Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria just received three stars from Times critic Pete Wells, who said that the cured meats served there are "among the finest salumi in the country." But the restaurant has gotten more mixed reviews from the carnivores on Yelp ... More >>

Jeremiah Moss Eulogizes Ray's Pizza

A day in the life of Jeremiah Moss, the writer behind the blog Jeremiah's Vanishing New York, is outlined in the Paris Review Daily. In the profile, Moss pays a visit to the original Ray's Pizza on the last day it's open and laments the decline of the ever-gentrifying neighborhood. (A new pizza plac ... More >>

Village Voice's 'Best of' App Gets Shout-Outs from iTunes, Wired

​Have you downloaded our Best of app (which is not only free but also helps you find more than 10,000 of the best things to eat, drink, experience, and buy in 32 cities)? Perhaps you should! "Best of" has been listed in the iTunes' year-end "Rewind" list as one of the five best travel apps of ... More >>

Should You Be Able to Trash-Talk Your Dentist on Yelp?

There's an interesting case in the news today involving New York dentist Stacy Makhnevich, who is facing a class-action lawsuit from Robert Lee, a former patient. Makhnevich, who calls herself "the Classical Singer Dentist of New York," treated Lee for a toothache, but not before he signed a contrac ... More >>

Q&A: Tanlines' Jesse Cohen On Winning The Best Band Twitter In NYC Award, Zucchini-Borne Controversies, And Comedy As Soccer

Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm of Tanlines. ​Giving the Best Local Music Twitter award in our Best of NYC issue to @tanlines was pretty much a no-brainer. The account, which is run by the duo's Jesse Cohen, is heavy on the wry observational humor and light on the "come see our band" or "here's someb ... More >>

Mike Bloomberg Reviews Yelp Offices On Yelp

​Yelp opened their brand-new New York office at Union Square today. NYC Digital head Rachel Sterne was reportedly there, as was Mayor Bloomberg. Like many an opinionated restaurant or bar patron before him, Bloomberg took to Yelp afterwards as Mike B. from Manhattan to review the office. Five ... More >>

Ellabess Is Better Than Room Service, But . . .

Nolita gets a hotel restaurant with promise—and problems

Does Being a Food Critic Matter?

RatatouilleAnton Ego, old school critic​ In light of Sam Sifton's imminent departure from the New York Times' dining section and the firing of the Chicago Sun-Times' critic Pat Bruno, the Atlantic posted an interesting article about whether food critics still have a role in journalism today. ... More >>

Google Buys Zagat, Will No Longer Have to Appropriate Yelp Reviews

​Almost four years after putting their dining-guide empire on the market, Tim and Nina Zagat are finally selling out.

Ask the Critics: What Should I Do If My Reservation Isn't Honored on Time?

Alfonso Silóniz / Flickr​Anna S. Asks: I really hate it when I make a reservation for a specific time, arrive at the restaurant on time (after having reconfirmed my reservation as requested) and am then told "Sorry, the table's not ready." I have no problem with waiting five or ten minutes, b ... More >>

Why Restaurants Fail

MBJ (Marje) / FlickrEven the Originals Have to Shutter Sooner or Later​New York City is a notoriously difficult place for restaurateurs. They have to deal with expensive rents and a crowded market, among other hardships. Business Insider even notes that among the 1,000 restaurants that opened ... More >>

Go Burger Is Now Going Strong on the Upper East Side

Darrell L./YelpGo's Philly-style smashed burger.​Although we're still no closer to getting an In-n-Out Burger, New York does now have a Go Burger to its name.

What Happens When's John Fraser on the Next Trends in Dining and his Favorite Aphrodisiac: Interview Part 2

Emilie BaltzWhat foods put John Fraser in the mood? Read and find out. ​ Yesterday we spoke with What Happens When chef John Fraser about the challenges and rewards of creating a temporary and evolving restaurant. Today, with Valentine's Day looming overhead, we change gears and talk about th ... More >>

We Are All Yelpers Now

Not Adam Platt.​"[Restaurant criticism is] the most subjective of any of these disciplines, if you can even call it a discipline. You can go to a restaurant and ... [your opinion] can change not just day to day but hour to hour and minute to minute. ... It's going to be subjective. So everybod ... More >>

Sara Jenkins Has Wisely Stopped Reading Yelp

Chie T./YelpPorsena​Today in her monthly column for The Atlantic, Sara Jenkins expounds upon Yelp, that bête noire of chefs, restaurateurs, and grammarians alike.

Ippudo Tops Yelp's List of Top Restaurants in America

Sarah DiGregorio2000 people have opined on this soup​ When a restaurant quotes two-hour wait times, you know that something special is going on there. Nevertheless, it's rather surprising that Ippudo came in as the most popular restaurant in America on Yelp this year with nearly 2000 reviews. ... More >>

Bunny Chow Space May Be Taken Over by Los Feliz Affiliates

Sarah DiGregorioLamb bunny chow, now sadly a thing of the past.​Bunny Chow, Orchard Street's "very curious" South African restaurant, is done and gone, and now, according to a liquor license application on the CB3 site, some of the folks who brought us Los Feliz may be taking over the space. ... More >>

Groupon Brushes Off Google's $6 Billion Offer

​Six billion dollars isn't cool. You know what's cool? Groupon, the Chicago-based mega-start-up of online group coupons (get it?), turning down a six billion dollar offer from SkyNet Google. The tech giant has more money than God and often uses it to snap up smaller companies. But often, they ... More >>

Harold Dieterle on Tiresome Restaurant Trends, Yelp, and his Favorite Places to Eat

Vicky WasikChef Harold Dieterle​Harold Dieterle, he of Top Chef's first season, is the owner and chef of Perilla. Last week, he opened Kin Shop, a modern Thai restaurant in the West Village. Yesterday, we caught up with Dieterle to get the details on Kin Shop's food and his thoughts on realit ... More >>

'Kike Barber Shop' Not Exactly a 'High Holidays' Kind of Place

Via Steven Thrasher.​ When our very own Steven Thrasher was out in the field recently, he happened across this place, a barber shop in Jackson Heights, Queens on 91-19 37th Avenue. Somehow, it didn't seem appropriate to note over the Jewish High Holidays, for some reason, which isn't at all ev ... More >>

Aria, Pinkerton, and Enoteca on Court Bring Different Things to the Table

Daniel Boulud to Go Grilling, Neelys to Pig Out

The Food NetworkPat and Gina Neely will bring yet more pork products to New York.​From the polar opposite ends of the culinary spectrum come new developments in the quasi-Upper Manhattan dining scene: Daniel Boulud's new place across the street from Lincoln Center will have a "grilling concept ... More >>

Carmine's Dies at the Age of 107

The Jedi Foodie E./YelpR.I.P.​Carmine's, the Italian seafood restaurant that stood at 140 Beekman Street for 107 years, has closed. amNewYork reports that the South Street Seaport mainstay -- no relation to the Carmine's chain -- shuttered last Wednesday, reportedly because the owners didn't w ... More >>

Yelp's 10 Quirkiest New York Review Topics

​Most people know Yelp, the user-generated review website of mass proportions, for their infinite reports on restaurants, bars, shopping, and service centers. But if you scamper on over to the "Local Flavor" section, you'll find examinations of all kinds of New York stuff you never knew was ac ... More >>

Yelp's Extortion Attempts: Buy Advertising or Get Negative Reviews, Lawsuit Alleges

​Since it was founded in 2004 by a couple of PayPal employees, Yelp has grown exponentially, featuring reviews of restaurants and other businesses written by users. But beginning last year, reports began to surface of Yelp employees pressuring businesses to buy "memberships" or see negative r ... More >>

Food Photography is Rampant; Induction Cooking Blows Up

​Keeping a photographic diary of everything one eats is becoming increasingly popular, with photo-sharing sites like Flickr boasting more than 6 million images tagged with the word "food." [NY Times] For tips on how to shoot your food, try using natural light whenever possible, fill your fra ... More >>

Sietsema and Others Muse on the Future of Food Journalism

In this month's Columbia Journalism Review, Robert Sietsema pens a feature on the history of restaurant reviewing; the importance of anonymity; the increasing number of writers not only identifying themselves, but also accepting free meals; and how food blogs and sites like Yelp have changed the lan ... More >>

(Two) Decades in Food: The Aughties, Remembered

clevercupcakes/flickrWill the cupcake craze live on through the teens?​'Tis the season for round-ups and countdowns. And we're doubly lucky this year, it being the end of a decade, that we get to look back not just on the last 365 days, but the last 10 years in trends, bests, and worsts. Two p ... More >>

Job Fears May Get Worse, But Corporate Training Will Rock!

Fast Company admits corporate policy compliance training films are a drag, but they've found someone who can "Make Corporate Training Rock": Russ Berland, who devised vignettes in the manner of The Office to spice up the traditional sexual harassment don't-do-this scene and such like. Here the bos ... More >>

It's a Lovely Day for Lovely Day

Sarah B./Yelp​In late September we reported that Lovely Day was set to re-open in October, a year after it was closed down by a fire. Now, Grub Street brings word that the Elizabeth Street restaurant opened its doors on Halloween, with its old chef and much of its staff and menu intact. Kimono ... More >>

Sheepshead Bay Remembers: Old Roll-n-Roaster Commercial

Well, Movable Type is a fucking mess today, and who knows when the previous post will be visible. Bitter experience has taught us that the best way to make sure MT is working is to post something you might regret. So here's an old commercial for Roll-n-Roaster, the "not-so-fast fast food restauran ... More >>

Things We Hate--People Who Won't Leave Manhattan

You know the type. The person who refers to the outer boroughs by using phrases like "the wilds of Brooklyn." Your friend who has lived here for a decade but has never crossed the East River. The one who insists you meet for dinner in "the city" rather than, god forbid, get on the L, F or N train ... More >>

Yelpers Find Worst Restaurant Bathroom in City

The bathroom at the Taco Bell on 14th Street between University and Fifth Avenue (click to examine more closely) Rummaging through Yelp the other day, Fork in the Road discovered some of the worst reviews we'd seen in a long while, and they focused on the bathroom at a local Taco Bell. Here are som ... More >>

Goodfella's Win "Best Pizza" Award; Totonno's Closed by Fire

The Staten Island Advance announces that local favorite Goodfella's pizzeria "earns title of 'world's best pizza,'" which will rile advocates of Lombardi's and Di Fara. They may content themselves with the news that this honor was bestowed, not in Brooklyn or Little Italy, but in Las Vegas, at the 2 ... More >>

Anti-Yelp T-Shirts in San Fran

Photo courtesy 7x7More anti-Yelp news out of the Bay Area. (Sietsema posted on the East Bay Express' story about how Yelp may be cooking its reviews.)San Francisco's Pizzeria Delfina has made shirts for staff printed with the restaurant's (often nonsensical) bad reviews on Yelp. Slice points out tha ... More >>

Is Yelp Cooking Its Reviews?

Our former sister publication, the East Bay Express, ran an incendiary story today, reporting how the consumer restaurant review site yelp.com may be shaking down restaurants by offering to alter the reviews that appear in its restaurant listings -- for $299 per month. The alteration takes the ... More >>

Yelping Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto

photo: Calvin GodfreyLast week, our own Robert Sietsema reviewed Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto (283 Amsterdam Avenue)  Cesare Casella's new salumi shop and restaurant. He found some of the charcuterie selections from Parmacotto less than thrilling but pronounced much of the cooking "stunning." Yelp ... More >>

Yelping the Buttermilk Channel

Carroll Gardens' Buttermilk Channel (524 Court Street, Brooklyn) has been open about two months, and it's drawing raves from both Yelpers and professional critics. Chef Ryan Angulo (Stanton Social) and his comfort food earned five stars out of six from Time Out this week, and Yelpers have been equal ... More >>

Last BYOB Chance at Cafe Cortadito

(photo courtesy of Yelp)Every week or so in 'What to B When You BYOB' we ask a local wine store to recommend a wine to drink at a nearby BYOB restaurant. They're asked to consider the cuisine at the restaurant and suggest an appropriate bottle for under $15. This weekend is the last chance to BYOB a ... More >>

Yelpers for Macao

Yesterday, the Daily News' Restaurant Girl awarded Macao Trading Company (311 Church Street) a mere two stars, saying that "instead of a fusion of Chinese and Portuguese food"  the restaurant serves "an uneasy negotiation between the two cuisines." However the new Tribeca restaurant is faring f ... More >>

Yelps for Co.

3 Schools Closing; Many More May Follow

My Latest Bit of Press—Please Humor Me With a Click