Restaurant reviews in the Philippines
In other countries I usually trust Google reviews, but I'm not so sure about the Philippines.
Yesterday I ended up in an area I don't know, so I opened Google Maps and saw an Indian restaurant nearby rated 4.5 from over 700 reviews. The starter and main were both bland and expensive, and the vegetables were overcooked to mush (I ordered a vegetarian dish). Maybe I was just unlucky with what I ordered.
A steakhouse nearby is rated 4.7 with 550 reviews, and an American guy told me it wasn't very good when he went.
I also see ads on here offering to pay people for Google reviews.
How much do you all trust Google reviews? Or could it be that the restaurants cater to the Filipino palate and mine is Western?
I stopped by the top-rated restaurant on TripAdvisor in Puerto Princesa, tons of glowing reviews. Nobody came to help me, then I finally spotted the foreign owner behind the bar. He stared at me for a few seconds and said "What do you want?" like I was bothering him. Turns out they weren't even open yet — they were still moving in the furniture and kitchen supplies! He went out of business very quickly, and good riddance.
A lot of them are fake. People are afraid to leave negative reviews
On Shopee and Lazada, people thank delivery drivers in the reviews just for managing to deliver the item. If a restaurant gives you a free pitcher of water and the right utensils, it's already got 4 stars. Maybe people just aren't used to decent service, so when someone does their job properly they already feel grateful. Doesn't matter if the food isn't that good.
The Philippines is just one big lie and scam🤣
In the Philippines you can only trust the negative reviews. Airbnb, Google, Lazada — only the negative ones are real
Have you ever tried Filipino food? Most of it isn't good. That's probably why your Indian place is at 4.7. When they're not dumping in 10 pounds of salt or sugar, Filipinos cook like the British. Mostly flavorless mush, or flavorless and fried.
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