What I thought was unjustified criticism of a restaurant online

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
I am planning an autumn day trip soon and I like to read online reviews for the restaurants in the place I plan to visit. I was viewing one review that wasn't the least bit complimentary. I could see someone being miffed by slow service or rude wait people, but this review actually criticized the restaurant for not having a large variety of food substitutes. The author stated that she couldn't have dairy, eggs or gluten-containing items and her husband was a vegan and allergic to peanuts. When they asked for alternative items to what was on the menu or if some meals contained these forbidden ingredients, they were informed that so many items weren't available or had unknown ingredients. If these people are so restricted to what they can eat, why don't they just pack a meal of what they CAN have and bring it with them? Why call out a small country diner because they don't stock a warehouse of food substitutes?

They also criticized because the restaurant would not put two tables together for them so they "could have some room". Talk about entitlement!
 

You are absolutely right Debodun. If people have multiple allergies they are best off making their own meals . Expecting service to customize your meals with so many food allergies is extremely unrealistic and inconsiderate. It’s a good thing that you can understand this. Not all reviewers give fair feedback which is why we always need to be our own advocate.
 
I have to eat gluten free. I never expect a restaurant to have all gluten free alternatives. I always carry a couple of rice cakes in my purse. I've used them in place of a bun for hamburgers, sliced hot dogs on them, egg salad even peanut butter and jelly. Usually all places have some sort of salad. If I'm not sure of the dressing, oil and vinegar works for me.
 
Keesha said:
You are absolutely right Debodun. If people have multiple allergies they are best off making their own meals . Expecting service to customize your meals with so many food allergies is extremely unrealistic and inconsiderate. It’s a good thing that you can understand this. Not all reviewers give fair feedback which is why we always need to be our own advocate.
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Exactly!!!
 
I eat mainly a WFPB (whole food plant based) diet and can always find something that works with that. Salad with chopped veggies and an oil and vinegar dressing, if necessary. I agree that these reviewers had unreasonable expectations. Presumably those who read their review aren't taking it seriously.
 
Never never trust online reviews or any reviews by anyone else.

Experience it yourself is the only way to go.

Different strokes for different folks.

That's my philosophy. If you don't like it don't go back.
 
Camper6 said:
Never never trust online reviews or any reviews by anyone else.

Experience it yourself is the only way to go.

Different strokes for different folks.

That's my philosophy. If you don't like it don't go back.
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I have found online reviews very helpful when it comes to restaurants, RV parks, hotels, various service providers, products, etc. Sometimes it means weeding out the malcontents (as in the reviewer the OP mentioned) and the cheerleaders, but it's a whole lot better than going in blind.
 
These people were very unreasonable. A lot of people have some sort of food allergy and can't eat certain foods. This restaurant can not be expected to substitute for everyone and if they do for one, they would have to do for all.
 
StarSong said:
I have found online reviews very helpful when it comes to restaurants, RV parks, hotels, various service providers, products, etc. Sometimes it means weeding out the malcontents (as in the reviewer the OP mentioned) and the cheerleaders, but it's a whole lot better than going in blind.
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I throw out the 10-star reviews and the 1-star reviews and concentrate on the middling ones.
 
The biggest complaint I see about most restaurants is about the surly and inattentive staff. And there are ALWAYS negative reviews no matter what business is viewed. It can get 200 4-star reviews and there's always those few that never seem satisfied no matter what. Two people could be there on the same day, even at the same table and one would think it was a great place and the other get their napkin in a knot. This is the reviews of the place I was reading about - most of the reviews were good and 4% were poor or terrible.

reviews.jpg
 
Camper6 said:
A new restaurant is an adventure. Why spoil it with reading about it in advance.
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Why? Because there are so many restaurants (at least in my area) and so little time/money to try them. I've eaten at plenty of lousy restaurants over the years and prefer not to repeat experience if at all possible.

We tend to go to small, privately owned eateries and avoid big chains like the plague they are.
 
StarSong said:
Why? Because there are so many restaurants (at least in my area) and so little time/money to try them. I've eaten at plenty of lousy restaurants over the years and prefer not to repeat experience if at all possible.

We tend to go to small, privately owned eateries and avoid big chains like the plague they are.
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Truth

I have a place in my heart for old cafes
A burger, cup of coffee, and a few chips seems to taste better there than a chain eatery.
And the waitress will usually round up the day's paper for ya.

Now, going out for dinner, the private eatery requires some references.
A lousy dinner will ruin the a good portion of an evening......I don't have enough evenings left.

As for reviews, it’s already been said here, but, yeah, take the middle, ignore the obvious.
 
To disagree with a review of a restaurant that you've actually been to is one thing. It happens. :shrug: But to get upset about negative comnents about a restaurant that you never set foot in is more than a little ...odd.

Yelp reviews are simply opinions; patrons don't have to justify their opinions regardless or the reasons for the negative or positive review. If you want to object to what someone said I believe you can do so in the same place you saw the comments.
 
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I find reading reviews very helpful too but don’t take all of them seriously.
Somerimes you have to read between the lines. Some people expect too much and others are perpetual complainers but you can usually tell by how they write the review so I read a lot and pick the average review to make my decision.
 
My friends and I used to go to a senior's free morning tea & discounted movies, and you wouldn't believe how many hoops these people were jumping through to make sure there were Gluten free (and other allergy proof) foods available, but still people complained that sometimes there wasn't enough, or other people were unknowingly eating their 'special' food. The food was free for goodness sake if you can't eat it - just don't.


The pushing and shoving to get to the freebies was eyeopening too, we don't go to these things anymore.
 
I'll never forget the place where I had started eating a burger and fries and the waiter rushes up and quickly took my fries, saying they gave me someone else's salt-free fries by mistake. I was so shocked! He was gone by the time I realized he was evidently taking fries to the other customer. I'd already eaten a few of them. Of course they replace my fries, but I don't think they were being fair to either me or the other customer who probably ate fries that I'd touched. I can laugh about it now, but at the time...no, that was not okay!
 
Is a factual review negative? The review was telling other potential customers what they didn't have (substitutes for certain things). I wouldn't give that review any credence as it doesn't tell me what I want to know about a restaurant.
I read all reviews with a 'grain of salt'. 5 and 1 star reviews with a BIG grain.
 

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