Are Yelp’s highest-rated local eats really that good?
When reviewing restaurants, some will trust the critics while others follow the crowd
Muncheez is a tiny Thornhill crepe counter with a deliberately misspelled name and zero outward promise of deliciousness.
Yet Muncheezis Toronto’s No.1restaurant — according to hundreds of Yelp users. When data j ournalism site The10and3.com recently ranked 50 restaurants on Yelp by popularity, Muncheez shot to the top of the GTA list.
I’d never heard of it. Next on the list came Under the Table, a Cabbagetown jerk spot I also had no knowledge of, followed by American chain Blaze Pizza.
Only one of my top three Toronto restaurants — Alo, Chabrol and Montgomery’s — made the cut.
As someone who tells readers where to eat, this was an interesting turn of the dining tables. Could crowdsourcing guide me to good food?
Yes and no, I found out. When applying critical standards to the top Yelp trio, I found Muncheez to be good, Under the Table average and Blaze disappointing.
All were friendly, a quality not always evident in Toronto’s pricier restaurants.
Yelp is “the great equalizer,” say The10and3 founders Arik Motskin and Zack Gallinger. They dug through about 12,000 restaurants in the GTA to build their rankings.
“We’ve been curious for a while about how user-generated or crowdsourced data can provide insights that conventional wisdom or experts cannot,” Motskin, a Toronto-raised data scientist living in California, said in an email.
Movie ratings on Rotten Tomatoes can differ widely between critics and the public. It’s the same with restaurant reviews.
“Crowdsourced content on the hottest local spots can lead consumers to places that haven’t yet made it into the headlines of major media,” Yelp spokesperson Brenae Leary said in an email. Yelp did not contribute to The10and3’s story. It released its own cross-Canada list last month, also with Muncheez at No. 1.
Not that Yelp is problem-free: Reviews can be faked and the young, tech-savvy users aren’t typical Torontonians. But it’s reliable, Motskin, a math PhD, said.
After eating at the top three picks, I realize crowdsourcing is a good way to learn about friendly places, but it is not the same as critical insight. And that is exactly the point. “Sometimes you want to read a review, and sometimes you just want your friend to tell you how good that shawarma place is,” Motskin said.
Here’s what happens when the critic follows the crowd to Yelp’s top 3 Toronto-area restaurants according to The10and3.com: Muncheez Creperie (259 reviews) For a small space, Muncheez offers a lot of choices.
Dozens of savoury and sweet fillings are laid out at the Thornhill crêperie with 14 seats and a hot-pink mural.
The first bite of the Muscle Flex ($12.75) registers crisp hot crepe and cool baby spinach.
Working my way down, I hit the other elements: melted havarti, deli turkey, creamy avocado, crunchy raw green pepper and fragrant pesto.
Shakshuka ($9.99) relies on tomato sauce, spicy salami and crunch of red onions to make a bold statement.
Each folded crepe is delightfully mess-free thanks to ingenious cardboard sleeves and metal stands. Staff nonetheless offer moist towelettes for gooier crepes such as the Elvis ($8.99 for bananas, walnuts and Nutella). The fresh sugar cane juice ($5.99) is easy to drink.
“We’re certainly not arguing that Muncheez is the pinnacle of food or flavour or anything like that,” Motskin said..
“Being in Markham’s food desert probably helps its case on Yelp.”
Agreed. Muncheez is good in its category but not worth a detour. Muncheez Creperie, 7181 Yonge St. (at Doncaster Rd.), 905-597-1220, muncheezcreperie.com. Open daily, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Under the Table Restaurant (289 reviews) Under the Table, No. 2 on the Yelp list, is even less prepossessing than Muncheez.
The Canadian-Caribbean restaurant sits below street level in Cabbagetown, its entrance crowded by recycling bins and a steel drum smoker.
The room looks tired. An open window to the kitchen shows a largely female crew — a rarity in the restaurant industry. They cater warmly to a steady stream of lunch takeout customers.
Meek jerk chicken thighs ($12) are boneless and skinless, which removes flavour. Oxtail ($15) has the right texture, tender and falling off the bone, but only middling flavour. Where is the thyme? At least it’s not oily. Rice and peas are standard.
The biggest and best surprise is the hot sauce, an orange homebrew that distils the vivid heat of scotch bonnet peppers.
I suspect the “herding effect” — high existing ratings influencing new raters — has led to Under the Table’s high ranking. It’s not because of the food. Under the Table, 568 Parliament St. (at Wellesley St. E.), 647-351-1533, underthetablerestaurant.ca. Open Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 3 to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 3 to 8 p.m. Blaze Pizza (221reviews) Oregano shouldn’t be optional at a pizzeria.
Yet at Blaze Pizza, counter staff ask if you want oregano on your personal 11-inch pie.
It’s supposed to be fast. But almost 17 minutes elapse from lineup to lunchtime.
Bacon dominates the White Top ($11.65), a dry pie stingy with fresh arugula.
The Simple Pie ($7.45) of red sauce and cheese tastes like the frozen pizzas of my childhood: sweet tomato sauce, minimal seasoning, cheese an afterthought.
Except McCain didn’t make an audibly crisp crust that showers crumbs on plates and laps.
I can’t see how Blaze ended up on the Yelp podium. The American chain is partly owned by basketball’s LeBron James. Blaze Pizza, 10 Dundas St. E., 416-9793626, blazepizza.com. Open Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight.