Blair Papagni, who owns the Brooklyn restaurant Anella, says she’s been burned by Yelp. (Michael Sofronski)
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On a Saturday afternoon earlier this month, the chic Flatiron District restaurant Duo hosted a soiree for about 200 tastemakers to celebrate the launch of brunch service. The young crowd sipped on vodka cocktails and nibbled on fare such as bananas Foster risotto and French toast.
Not too long ago, such a party would have attracted a mix of restaurant industry professionals, editors and upper-echelon bloggers. But this party was solely for a different cadre of influencers, known as the Yelp Elite Squad.
Since its launch in 2004, the online review Web site Yelp has amassed more than 22 million write-ups from anyone who cares to type one.
But not all reviewers on Yelp — a k a “Yelpers” — are created equal: Those deigned by the site as “Elite” are popular with other members, churn out hundreds of reviews and, some argue, are so influential they can help make or break a restaurant. These armchair restaurant critics tend to be young (mid-20s to early-30s) and affluent, according to Yelp’s public relations manager Chantelle Karl.
The Duo bash was a hit with attendees — and afterwards the restaurant’s number of Yelp reviews not only doubled but leapt nearly a star in ratings, according to restaurant reps.
“I think people do take [online] reviews more seriously, whether that’s good or bad — I guess it’s just a sign of the times we’re living in,” says Duo co-owner Sabina Belkin.
But this culture often bears more resemblance to the Wild West than conventional journalism. On the site, anonymous “critics” with no sense of responsibility can carelessly gamble with a restaurant’s reputation based on personal whims or even revenge. On Yelp, it seems, just about anything goes. While the site does require that Elite Yelpers post a first name, last initial and photo, the rules of the “community site” apparently do not extend to fact-checking or fairness.
But Yelp remains massively influential — and is growing in its reach. Search for a restaurant review on Google, and the Yelp page is likely to be one of your top hits. An increasing number of New York diners are turning to Yelp to make dining choices rather than relying on trusted reviewers at established publications who usually visit a restaurant several times before weighing in with their judgment.
“As a journalist, you’re held to a certain standard,” says Blair Papagni, owner of Anella in Greenpoint. “With this, there’s no accountability.”
There are many examples. Lamenting he couldn’t get a table when he dropped by Midtown’s Le Cirque with his family without a reservation a few months ago, Jay I. from North Chicago, Ill., lowered the 37-year-old institution’s overall rating with his one-star review while admitting that when he’s eaten there in the past, the food merited 4½ stars.
In his nearly 600-word rant, also on Le Cirque, Stephen C., an Elite Yelper, from Bellerose, NY, notes, “I drafted this years ago so it’s probably not even relevant. But what the hey here it is.”
Indeed, a baseless opinion is a terrible thing to squander. “It does bother me,” admits Mauro Maccioni, who along with his brothers Marco and Mario and father Sirio operate Le Cirque.
“I respect some of the opinions, but some I completely disregard.”
While Maccioni says his father is unaware of the Internet in general, he and his brothers appreciate the value of sites such as Yelp.
“A certain kind of clientele will pay attention to that sort of thing,” notes Maccioni. That crowd, he says, is more likely to come for discounted meal deals like Restaurant Week, which is reflected by Le Cirque’s Yelp page.
For James Lenzi and his son Haakon, owners of the Upper West Side restaurant Haakon’s Hall, it’s not just Yelp’s reviews they find troubling — but also the site’s methodology.
Industry insiders claim restaurants who advertise on Yelp are given prominence on the site and preferential treatment, while those who don’t advertise are bullied into ponying up. Haakon Lenzi says Yelp has contacted him with advertising packages of $400 to $600 a month that would “filter” bad reviews.
“Pressure to advertise is worse than ever. It’s like protection money,” he says. “Except with the mafia, there might be an upside.
“I don’t even want to be on Yelp. They’re extortionists.”
Though he hasn’t been hounded by salesmen, Marcello Assante, the owner of Crudo Vineria con Cucina on Mulberry Street, says reviews from neighborhood regulars don’t appear on his page, and those that show up first are often outdated. “We hate Yelp,” he says.
“They have the power to screw you without letting you defend yourself.”
It’s not uncommon for Yelpers to award a one-star review to a restaurant where they’ve never eaten — all because they were forced to wait too long for tables.
And, earlier this year, Joan C. — a Yelp Elite member for two years — ranted that at Anella, “We’d gone out of our way to make reservations for seven of us, and while three of us showed up on time, the rest of our party was lost somewhere in G[reen]point.” She went on to insult “the uber bitchy hostess” who happens to be Papagni, the owner, then finished by suggesting Papagni “just needs to get laid.”
Papagni, who’s pregnant with her third child, took to the site to respond: “Let’s be honest Joan, you and two of your friends arrived at 9:15 for your 9 o’clock reservation, the rest of your party was still not complete at 9:25 when I finally gave away your table.” She noted that the policy had been explained in advance, and that the small restaurant had people waiting up to an hour on a busy Saturday night.
The exchange was picked up by the restaurant blog Eater.com, which also came to Papagni’s defense in July when she replied to a diner named John D. who claimed her pork ravioli was “bleh” and the portions were too small. Oh, and that her restaurant charges a “$75 flat fee.” One small problem: Pork ravioli isn’t on Anella’s menu, which is priced a la carte. “I sent [Yelp management] that information and said, ‘Listen, that’s just not true,’ and they said, ‘That’s just his opinion,’ and they wouldn’t take it down!” says Papagni of the review.
According to restaurateur Assante, when he has regulars comment on Yelp, the reviews don’t appear, but when people complain, those entries stay on the top of his Yelp page. Meanwhile, Papagni claims a hairdresser friend of hers advertises with Yelp and therefore has a rep at the site who can help bury bad reviews.
This isn’t the first time these claims have been levied against Yelp. In February 2010, several California business owners filed a class-action lawsuit against the company, alleging the same methods of extortion. Yelp denies any wrongdoing, and earlier this year, a federal judge dismissed the case.
“When we started early on and we were a much smaller site, we didn’t show filtered reviews . . . [that’s when] there was confusion as to ‘Hey, where are my reviews?’ ” says Karl, the Yelp p.r. manager.
Now, Karl says the 60 million viewers who come to Yelp each month can opt to see the “filtered” reviews — which are thought to be submitted by parties with improper interests. Karl blames business owners’ inability to understand the algorithms used to sort Yelp reviews for what’s perceived as preferential treatment for some businesses. She also says the specifics of those algorithms are kept secret because Yelp doesn’t want business owners learning how to craft reviews for better page placement. “There’s never been any amount of money you could pay to manipulate reviews,” says Karl.
But a growing cottage industry aimed at courting Yelpers has sprung up — including restaurateurs who lurk on Craigslist offering to pay for positive reviews.
While Karl admits Yelp isn’t a perfect system, she says business owners are encouraged to help monitor reviews of their companies. She also says Yelp has recently gotten together with local business owners to hear their complaints and that the company is discussing ways to “meet those concerns.”
And eateries are using Yelp as a tool to better connect with diners. Now, restaurateurs can actually see what their customers are saying — and actively improve their food and service as a result. “It’s very important that you have a dialogue with your customers,” says Alan Philips of LES restolounge Co-op, which recently hosted an after-work mixer for 200 members of the Yelp Elite Squad. “The consumer has more power than ever before. Rather than telling their friends about a bad experience, they’re telling a million people.”