Restaurants
Eating out should be a special experience. Use the Restaurants Web Guide to help you choose the perfect restaurant for any occasion. You'll find links to menus, photos and restaurant reviews online, as well as tons of information to help you find the perfect venue for an upcoming special event. You can even locate a restaurant abroad.
Expand All Guide SectionsRestaurant Reviews
The Web has made finding restaurant reviews more efficient than ever. You'll discover restaurants you didn't know existed, and can learn about all of the places you've been wanting to try.
Insights for Restaurant Reviews
- User-generated content (in other words, the non-professional opinions of diners as opposed to paid critics) is a great source of restaurant recommendations. We list a number of sites that offer this service.
- Don't miss out on a good deal. Restaurants provide special promotions and many feature "special events/promotions" on their Web sites or have an e-mail list for special offers. On some restaurant review sites, you can search to find price-saving options such as happy hours or two-for-one entrées.
- Want to pick your entree before you leave home? MenuPix has scanned menus from restaurants in major cities around the United States.
Top Sites for Restaurant Reviews
Zagat
offers reliable restaurant reviews and ratings, covering all price ranges—even fast food. A subscription is required to access premium content.
Citysearch
provides up-to-date information and user-generated restaurant reviews. Editorial write-ups include basic information (hours, what credit cards are accepted) and directions.
Roadfood
covers the informal, inexpensive, non-franchise establishments that only the locals know about. Find photos and restaurant reviews, and details like hours and average cost of a meal.
For restaurant reviews and social networking ...
Chowhound
includes dozens of scrupulously moderated user discussion boards where you can post stories, recipes, restaurant reviews and inquiries. Or, create a profile and maintain your own myChow page.
Urbanspoon
is a community review site organized by city. Find restaurant reviews, including a menu, critic reviews, comments posted by other users and a list of "Fans."
Yelp
mixes user-generated reviews with networking capabilities. Members post photos, create a page of friends and can comment on reviews. Search for restaurants by neighborhood or category, or take a chance on the "Best of Yelp" recommendations.
Best International Restaurants
When traveling, you naturally want to take advantage of your new location's culinary opportunities. Whatever you're after, a little research on the best international restaurants can help you find an atmosphere appropriate to your tastes.
Insights for the Best International Restaurants
- Travel sites often give an overview of popular restaurants in central city areas, as well as profiles of local restaurateurs and noteworthy chefs.
- Another good way to get a restaurant recommendation is simply to ask an informed local. For example, the concierge at a hotel is sure to be a mine of information.
Top Sites for the Best International Restaurants
For listings and reviews of the best international restaurants ...
Time Out
includes listings for more than 140 cities. Choose your destination from the list of cities near the top of the page, then choose "Restaurants & cafes" to find a summary of the restaurant and bar scene.
Food & Wine
brings you "The Go List" put together by plugged-in correspondents in 40 cities around the world. This isn't the place to find a dive bar that serves cheap burritos; it's aimed at flush readers with a hankering for the best international restaurants around.
Food Delivery
Pizza and Chinese aren’t the only foods that can be delivered to your doorstep. Plenty of Web sites detail a wide selection of restaurants that offer food delivery services.
Insights for Food Delivery
- If you're having food delivered, via the Web or by phone, ask about delivery fees so you're not surprised by the charge when the food arrives.
- Is your take-out menu collection taking over your kitchen drawer? UncommonGoods has a file designed specifically for organizing menus.
Top Sites for Food Delivery
Delivery.com
lets you place an order online for restaurants in many major cities. The site includes the last delivery time of the day for each restaurant as well as the minimum cost for deliveries.
Campusfood.com
details restaurants that deliver to college campuses. The list of colleges and restaurants isn't complete, but you can request that your campus or favorite restaurant be added to the database.
SeamlessWeb
is an online ordering service that caters to personal and corporate customers in 13 U.S. cities and London. Roll the cursor over an item on a menu to see details such as a list of ingredients or suggested accompaniments.
Dining Etiquette
To have the most relaxed and pleasurable dining experience possible, it's helpful to understand basic restarurant protocol. This section offers advice on making reservations, proper tipping and other forms of dining etiquette.
Insights for Dining Etiquette
- Before you plan a night out, check whether it's possible (and advisable) to reserve a table. If you're asked for credit card details when making a reservation, inquire about the cancellation policy; there may be a charge if you can't make your reservation.
- If you're a vegetarian, check out the findingDulcinea Vegetarianism Web Guide for listings of veggie-friendly and veggie-only restaurants.
Top Sites for Dining Etiquette
For advice on tipping ...
Diner's Journal
is the blog of New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni. This entry offers advice on tipping.
CNN
offers a handy breakdown of tipping advice arranged according to service.
On making reservations ...
OpenTable
gathers tables at a selection of local restaurants, based on your search criteria. Reservations are immediately recorded in the same electronic reservation book used by the maitre d', and there's no additional fee for booking online. Not all restaurants use OpenTable, however.
DinnerBroker
is a similar to OpenTable and sometimes offers deals and discounts to its members, as well as consumer reviews. Membership is free but not necessary for using the service.
Who knew?
Ask a Waiter,
a blog from New York Magazine, provides an interesting perspective on dining out by publishing interviews with waiting staff from popular New York City eateries and bars.
Special Occasion Dining
Choosing the right restaurant for your special occasion dining experience is a big responsibility. Use the following Web sites to locate the perfect venue.
Insights for Special Occasion Dining
- An establishment that doesn't normally take reservations may do so if the party is over a certain number. You may have to put down a deposit for a large group.
- A good restaurant will usually make an extra effort for people celebrating a birthday, anniversary or other special occasion.
Top Sites for Special Occasion Dining
For special-occasion dining recommendations, help and advice ...
Shecky's
is a guide to nightlife and dining for young urbanites. Submit your party details and special occasion dining requirements and Shecky recommends a number of venues.
Evite
is known for its electronic invitations but the site also has a helpful tool that finds places to host parties and events. Enter your location to find restaurants, bars and nightclubs that might be perfect for your next special occasion dining experience.
Brides.com
suggests a restaurant wedding as an ideal way to avoid fussing over the details of the big day. This article steers readers through the essentials when searching for the right venue.
Restaurant News
These sites can satisfy your craving for constant updates on the culinary world. You'll find restaurant news, restaurant reviews and food blogs with constantly updated information.
Insights for Restaurant News
- To immerse yourself in the world of food beyond restaurants, check out our Recipes Web Guide, our Cooking Web Guide and our Liquor and Cocktails Web Guide.
- See the online edition of your local paper to stay current with restaurant news in your vicinity.
Top Sites for Restaurant News
For restaurant industry news ...
Nation's Restaurant News
is a weekly tabloid that serves the food service industry. Free registration is required to read most of the articles.
National Restaurant Association
is devoted to the restaurant industry and has been around since 1919. This can be a great resource for learning about specific industry issues.
For restaurant news tailored to a general readership ...
Food & Wine
includes interviews with top chefs, restaurant guides and recipes. Columns and articles from the current issue of the magazine are also available.
The New York Times
offers articles on restaurants and food trends from around the world.
Los Angeles Times
presents reviews, interviews with noteworthy chefs, articles on the latest food trends and a searchable database of the region's restaurants.
For blogs ...
TastingMenu
is a blog all about the food world. Try the "Restaurants by City" section to find establishments near you.
Chez Pim
chronicles the food adventures of Pim, a woman who's well-traveled and well-fed. Read about her appetizing adventures in this popular, food-obsessed blog.
© 2012 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
