The Top 10 Restaurant Review Sites in 2025

It’s nearly impossible to exist as a restaurant in the modern age without some sort of web presence, and restaurant review sites are a big part of that online presence. Even if you haven’t invested in designing a restaurant website of your own, that doesn’t stop customers from reviewing your restaurant and sharing their own experiences. 

The internet has broadened horizons for word of mouth. It’s given people new ways of gauging social proof and deciding where to eat for any given time, place and occasion.

More than half of diners across Australia and New Zealand say they’re inclined to book a restaurant after reading positive online reviews, with platforms like Google Reviews and TripAdvisor earning the most trust. When diners are weighing up where to eat—especially somewhere new—those glowing five-star ratings, well-shot photos, and clearly listed menus aren’t just nice to have; they’re what tip a maybe into a yes.

Reviews aside, however, owning a presence online is also crucial for a restaurant’s discoverability. To continue fuelling foot traffic and online reviews, people need to know that you exist. And optimising restaurant listing sites is a surefire way to help in boosting your restaurant’s Google search visibility.

The best restaurant review sites

1. Google
2. Facebook
3. Tripadvisor
4. OpenTable
5. Street press
6. Good Food Guide
7. Delivery apps
8. Yelp
9. Foursquare
10. The Infatuation

Plus, stick around until the end of the article for tips on how restaurants can boost their listings and reviews on these websites.  

1. Google

Unsurprisingly, Google is the number one site in global internet traffic and engagement with approximately over 89 billion searches made per month. Listing your restaurant through Google is a no-brainer.

Doing so is free. And once listed, your restaurant’s chances of appearing in relevant search results—and bringing more customers in—is that much higher. 

For example, when someone searches “best Thai food in Sydney,” Google is going to display at least three relevant business listings at the very top of the search engine results page. The number and quality of reviews your restaurant has will greatly influence your ability to appear as one of those three.

Do you own a restaurant with multiple locations? Ensure that each address is listed in Google so that the search is relevant to where the user is located. You want to make sure that users can read reviews of the location they plan to visit.  

Business owners can respond to feedback on Google reviews. Remember that your words represent your business and your reputation. It’s always best to employ social media professionals to handle public-facing responses to any (negative or positive) reviews, since they’re so visible on a platform like Google. 

2. Facebook

With its 3 billion monthly visitors, it’s no surprise Facebook makes the cut. As thelargest global social media platform, it’s critical for your restaurant to be active on Facebook.  

If the platform plays a role in your restaurant’s social media strategy, make sure it’s up to date and active from a content publishing perspective. The benefit of Facebook as a restaurant review website is that you can actively engage with those leaving feedback, in addition to running ads around upcoming promotions and events.

You can use the tools Facebook Business provides for building out a page complete with location information, contact info, a link to your website, photos, reservation widgets and more. With thorough information inputs, it becomes a one-stop shop for building your restaurant brand and appealing to potential customers.

3. Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor may appeal to all aspects of a person’s travel-based experiences, but it’s also well-known among restaurant listing sites. 

Tripadvisor collects restaurant reviews from travellers all over the world. Additionally, they provide restaurant rankings and an ability to book reservations online. Taking ownership of your business through their platform allows you to customise restaurant details, photos, respond to reviews and more.

Tripadvisor is a great resource for business owners and consumers alike because of its global reach. Your potential diners could be visiting from far and wide, and Tripadvisor allows you to tap into these seasonal customers. Ensure that your Tripadvisor page strongly represents your brand and most importantly, your food. A professional, well-curated look and feel will contribute to more clicks and reviews, and potentially foot traffic. 

 4. OpenTable

OpenTable brings in over 1.9 million unique monthly visitors. And those visitors are doing more than just making reservations.

Potential customers can use this platform to read up on reviews, similar to other restaurant listing sites covered thus far. They can also earn dining rewards based on the frequency they reserve and dine out.

Your OpenTable rating can be the deciding factor in whether a customer decides to make a reservation at your restaurant.  

5. Street press

Not all influence comes from star ratings and user reviews. In Australia, street press publications like Broadsheet, Time Out, and Concrete Playground play a huge role in shaping where people choose to eat and drink—especially among city-based diners looking for something new, local, or worth showing off on social media.

While these platforms don’t feature customer reviews, they carry cultural weight. A mention in Broadsheet can put a venue on the map overnight, while a glowing write-up in Time Out or a feature in Concrete Playground often sparks a flurry of bookings. They’re tastemakers—not in the influencer sense, but in the editorial, we-found-it-first sense.

For venues, being featured isn’t just great PR—it’s a signal to diners that you’re doing something right. And in a landscape crowded with review scores and star ratings, a well-placed feature can cut through the noise and make your venue the one people are talking about.

6. Good Food Guide

When it comes to professional restaurant reviews in Australia, no publication carries more weight than The Good Food Guide. It’s our local equivalent of the Michelin Guide, and as such, it’s long been considered the gold standard for serious culinary recognition. 

While platforms like TripAdvisor and Google Reviews offer volume, and street press offers buzz, The Good Food Guide offers something rarer: editorial credibility backed by decades of industry respect.

Each year, restaurants are anonymously reviewed and awarded the coveted Chef’s Hats—an equivalent to a Michelin Star. A single Hat can elevate a venue’s profile overnight; multiple Hats can cement its reputation nationally. For many restaurateurs, inclusion in the Guide is a career milestone.

 7. Delivery apps

This one may seem out of place, but hear us out. Delivery apps are, in some ways, the way of the future—with 16% of Australians saying they discover new venues via third-party delivery platforms. 

The beauty of delivery platforms is that by nature, they encourage quick reviews—asking users to rate their orders every time they use a platform. 

There’s also the opportunity for a venue to curate their menus and present their offerings in ways which appeal to the maximum amount of customers—branding, professional photography and dish descriptions.

8. Yelp

While Yelp remains a major player in the restaurant review space globally, it hasn’t gained the same traction in Australia as it has overseas. That said, if your venue is listed there, it’s still worth keeping your profile up to date. 

Being in control of your Yelp listing—responding to reviews, managing photos and ensuring accurate information—is another way to show you’re invested in the customer experience. Even if it’s not the top review platform for Aussie diners, a well-maintained Yelp presence can still help you make a good impression on the occasional visitor or tourist who’s used to relying on it.

9. Foursquare

Foursquare city guide, is similar to Yelp in that it’s a local search-and-discovery mobile app. It allows users to see ratings and reviews for different establishments—including restaurants. 

Originally a location-based check-in app, it has now shifted into helping people find recommendations for different types of businesses.  With over 75 million short tips from what Foursquare calls “local experts”, this is not something you should ignore!

10. The Infatuation 

While platforms like Google Reviews and TripAdvisor offer a broad spectrum of diner feedback, The Infatuation provides a more curated lens into Australia’s food landscape. Originally established in the U.S., The Infatuation offers in-depth reviews and guides that spotlight both iconic establishments and hidden gems.

And each review is written with a focus on the overall dining experience—food quality, atmosphere, service—providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of what to expect.

How restaurants can improve restaurant review site listings

So you’ll want to increase your restaurant’s reach on these top review websites—and of course see more good reviews. Here are a few tips and tricks: 

1. Boost your online presence

We can’t say it enough: a strong online presence is crucial for gaining foot traffic. Customers look increasingly to trusted online sources when it comes to choosing where to eat. You’ll seem more legitimate—the more thought you put into what customers see online, the better. Food is hugely visual, and your online presence should appeal to this. 

Stay active on your socials to keep people visiting. Post photos of food, launch marketing campaigns and create a strong brand. Little actions like these can attract people to your restaurant and increase word-of-mouth recommendations. 

2. Ask customers for reviews

This is a good tip for both online and offline encounters. On your socials, ask customers to leave reviews. Be transparent about it—you can explain why it would be helpful to your business. And encourage honesty so that your customers know you actually care about the experience you’re providing, not just about getting positive reviews.

You can also leave a note on your menus, at the bottom of receipts or within your online ordering platform for customers when they’re done eating, asking them to kindly leave a review about their experience. Point them to websites like Google or Facebook if you have a preference. 

3. Respond to comments—good and bad

As we’ve mentioned plenty in this article, responding to comments can be a huge boon. Ensure you are following public communications best practices when responding to customers. These responses should show that you care, that you’re grateful the person left a review, and that you want to continue improving the quality of your product or service. 

This includes tackling customer complaints. Reach out behind the scenes after responding publicly to see how you can fix things. Your efforts will pay off—when customers see that you care about making things right, they’ll often return with a revised review of your restaurant. 

4. Pay attention to the at-home delivery experience 

Takeaway is becoming more popular every year, with a year-on-year growth of a staggering 34% in Australia in 2025. 

That means most restaurants nowadays are opening their kitchen to customers at home. Even though it’s not nearly as involved as the dine-in experience, it’s important to ensure that your customers receive the same quality that they’d receive at your restaurant. The focus is solely on the food, instead of the dining experience as a whole. So don’t discount your delivery customers! They can make a huge impact on your reviews. 

That means paying extra attention to details, like food quality and packaging. It takes just a few clicks for users to rate restaurants in delivery apps, and you want them to have positive things to say. 

5. Create a web page for reviews

Using your own website as a resource for reviews is a great way to promote your business.

You can compile positive reviews from different platforms to create a testimonial page. You can also ask your most loyal customers to post reviews on the website itself. Share this page across your social media platforms so people can see what others have to say about your restaurant in one convenient place. Urge customers to write reviews so you can share them on socials.

The importance of food review sites in 2025

We live in the digital age. Now, customers don’t just form an opinion when they set foot in your restaurant: it’s when they search your business name for reviews, seek out photos of your food, read your menu online and more. And your reviews contribute to the choices these customers will make. 

Food review sites can make a significant impact on the success of your restaurant. And as long as you provide a good experience, the good reviews will come. 

When creating a brand presence for your restaurant online, it’s important to not only take ownership of your various listings but to keep them consistent. You want to build a cohesive story—a story with the power to appeal to potential customers no matter where they might be searching.

Every restaurant needs a system that can operate seamlessly across all locations. With Lightspeed’s POS and Payments platform, you get just that.