Google makes finding a place to eat easier with critic reviews, best-of articles

By Julian Chokkattu August 4, 2016

google mobile search ridesharing — Nerify

Whether you’re itching for something to do in your home city or visiting a new place, you’ve probably run a search like “best spots to eat.” Up until now, Google would offer up a few top-rated spots from Zagat and Google Maps, but the search giant is expanding the feature to show picks from top critics and reputable publishers.

“Starting [Thursday] in the U.S., when you search on your Google app for the best spots to eat and drink, you’ll have access to reviews from top critics and best-of lists from reputable publishers,” Ronnie Falcon, product manager at Google Search, writes in a blog post.

It works like this — if you search for a term like “Chinese restaurants” in Google’s app, you’ll find yourself staring at a list of top-rated spots and a map with these locations listed. Click on one, and you’ll be greeted with the familiar Google Maps-style result that offers the restaurant’s website, menu, number, directions, hours, and more. Scroll down a little and you’ll see two new sections: “Critic reviews” and “On these lists.”

“Critic reviews” gives you a quick blurb of a review from various sites like Google-owned Zagat, or Eater, CBS Local, and UrbanDaddy. You’ll get a link to the review if you want to read it in-depth, but there are no ratings shown here.

Below that, “On these lists” shows a multitude of articles that the restaurant is mentioned in — these can range from posts like Zagat’s “8 must-try dumpling spots in NYC” to Thrillist Media Group’s “Chinese food near New York.” Clicking on these will bring you to those respective websites.

google search critic reviews restaurants — 1. A general search.
2. Restaurants with the new feature will have these icons below them.
3. What you see when you click on a restaurant. This is not new.
4. Scroll down and you’ll see the new sections.

google search critic reviews restaurants — 1. A general search.
2. Restaurants with the new feature will have these icons below them.
3. What you see when you click on a restaurant. This is not new.
4. Scroll down and you’ll see the new sections.

Further down below, you’ll find photos of the restaurant and Google reviews from your average Joe — but these have been there for a while.

The feature should be available for you to try now in the Google app, and note that not all restaurants will show “Critic reviews” and “On these lists.”

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Julian Chokkattu

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Julian is the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, covering smartphones, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and more…

Deals

The best cases on sale for your new iPhone 11, Galaxy S10, and Google Pixel 4

iPhone 11 Pro and Pixel 4 rear

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over, and both events brought with them a ton of great deals on iPhones, Apple Watches, and Samsung smartphones. Some of the best discounts we saw this year were on smartphones, including price cuts and bundle offers on newer models like the Samsung Galaxy S10, Google Pixel 4, and yes, even the iPhone 11 (and we all know how rarely new iPhones go on sale).

If you were one of the lucky shoppers who bought a new phone for the holidays, then now’s the time to start shopping for a good case to protect it and keep it looking shiny and new. We’ve already hand-picked a modest selection of our favorite phone cases available now for the iPhone 11, Samsung Galaxy S10, Galaxy Note 10, and Google Pixel 4, which includes some Cyber Week deals to save you both time and money.
Apple iPhone 11 cases
Apple rolled out three new iPhones this year, with the iPhone 11 representing the more budget-friendly option (like last year’s iPhone XR) and the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max being the true “flagship” iPhones. They’re all as good as ever, and regardless of which one’s your favorite, these cases have you -- or rather, your iPhone -- fully covered:

Mobile

AT&T just made it a lot easier to upgrade your phone

Do you want to upgrade your phone more than once a year? What about three times a year? Are you on AT&T? If you answered yes to those questions, then AT&T’s new “Next Up Anytime” early upgrade program is made for you. With this add-on, you’ll be able to upgrade your phone three times a year for just $10 extra every month. It will be available starting July 16.

Currently, AT&T has its “Next Up” add-on, which has been available for the past several years. This program costs $6 extra per month and lets you upgrade by trading in your existing phone after at least half of it is paid off. But the new Next Up Anytime option gives you some more flexibility.

Mobile

Motorola is selling unlocked smartphones for just $150 today

Someone holding the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024).

Have you been looking for phone deals but don’t want to spend a ton of money on flagship devices from Apple and Samsung? Have you ever considered investing in an unlocked Motorola? For a limited time, the company is offering a $100 markdown on the Motorola Moto G 5G. It can be yours for just $150, and your days and nights of phone-shopping will finally be over!

Why you should buy the Motorola Moto G 5G
Powered by the Snapdragon 480+ 5G CPU and 4GB of RAM, the Moto G delivers exceptional performance across the board. From UI navigation to apps, games, and camera functions, you can expect fast load times, next to no buffering, and smooth animations. You’ll also get up to 128GB of internal storage that you’ll be able to use for photos, videos, music, and any other mobile content you can store locally.