DerbyTup   10 #1 Posted March 28, 2018 What influences you to go and try somewhere, for food, that you haven't tried before?  Do you actually do that when you go out? i.e. look to try somewhere new? Or do you generally stick to the same places time after time and prefer to stick with what you know? (And how did you know you liked those places before you tried them for the first time?)  I must admit, I'm always looking for new places to eat out - whether that be something simple, like a good fish and chip shop, or other type of takeaway, or a Michelin starred restaurant.  I'm influenced most by the following:  1. Independent Awards from respected sources. 2. Independent Reviews 3. Word of Mouth from respected sources 4. Personal experience  The "Independent" part is very important. I was shocked to learn some years ago that some of those "guide books" I'd been buying, like Egon Ronay, Le Routier, AA Guide, etc., were not truly independent at all. They were taking money for advertising certain places in their guide book. I've never bought them since for that reason.  Independent Awards can be influential, but it depends who's giving out the Awards. If a restaurant has an award from "The Good Food Guide" - that's a truly independent guide - then that's pretty powerful. But there are lots of fake Awards out there.  Same with reviews. TripAdvisor is full of fake reviews. People getting their mates to put a positive review on there to push their business up the rankings. Having said that, TripAdvisor can be good to get ideas, but I'd always look at how many reviews someone has written and what type of places they'd written about before letting that influence my opinion.  Word of Mouth is still one of the most powerful influences, but, it has to be coming from someone whose opinion I respect, and that's down to "reference points" I suppose. i.e. what's their experience of such places like? For example, if I wanted to know which is the best transport cafe between here and London, I'd probably ask a lorry driver, but I probably wouldn't ask the same person about fine dining.  At the end of the day, personal experience is probably the most powerful influence of all. If I try a place, and it's good, then I'm likely to go back again, assuming it's accessible and affordable to me.  I've got a few places around Sheffield that I haven't tried yet, but am interested to try, for one of the 4 reasons I've listed above:  1. Rhubarb Shed Cafe 2. Kito's 3. Oisoi  First two are influenced by word of mouth from people whose opinions I know and trust. Third one is influenced by third party reviews and the fact this is something very different and unusual for Sheffield. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Emily2000x   10 #2 Posted March 28, 2018 Usually word of mouth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Geo-atkinson   10 #3 Posted March 28, 2018 They definitely have to serve food> Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
paula4sheff   10 #4 Posted March 28, 2018 Price and food hygeine rating. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Naive   10 #5 Posted March 28, 2018 Arrrr much? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
bluecanary   13 #6 Posted March 28, 2018 Word of mouth, plus Tripadvisor with same caveats the OP mentioned. Don't really look at restaurant guides, independent or otherwise. Value (as opposed to price) is also important. Don't mind paying a bit more for a really special meal.  The OP should definitely give Oisoi a try - impressive food in a very pleasant environment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
lectrolove   10 #7 Posted March 28, 2018 Word of mouth, reviews and sometimes just curiosity. I've been known to give a place a go just because it looks interesting without knowing much about it, in fact that's how we first went to Oisoi, we were walking past and having looked at the menu decided to book for the next evening. It was great and has been great every time we've been. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
lobster   51 #8 Posted March 28, 2018 word of mouth and Trip Advisor Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
taxman   12 #9 Posted March 29, 2018 I often have to stay away somewhere for work so need to find somewhere to eat to make the most of my humungous expense account (joke).  I usually look on Tripadvisor just to get a list of places in that location then I'll do a quick scope to see which ones take my fancy, based on style of cuisine, then I'll visit each individual website to check out the menu.  On other occasions we'll just be very impromptu. We'll go out for a few drinks then just decide where to go based solely on what sort of food we fancy and where looks nice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Tess   10 #10 Posted March 29, 2018 I am a bit of a sucker for Tripadvisor, theres not many places ill plan to go without looking it up on there first. But of course, word of mouth always wins.  I have to admit that impromptu meals out without a quick peek at the menu (at the very least!) makes me slightly nervous, haha. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Guest makapaka   #11 Posted March 30, 2018 What influences you to go and try somewhere, for food, that you haven't tried before? Do you actually do that when you go out? i.e. look to try somewhere new? Or do you generally stick to the same places time after time and prefer to stick with what you know? (And how did you know you liked those places before you tried them for the first time?)  I must admit, I'm always looking for new places to eat out - whether that be something simple, like a good fish and chip shop, or other type of takeaway, or a Michelin starred restaurant.  I'm influenced most by the following:  1. Independent Awards from respected sources. 2. Independent Reviews 3. Word of Mouth from respected sources 4. Personal experience  The "Independent" part is very important. I was shocked to learn some years ago that some of those "guide books" I'd been buying, like Egon Ronay, Le Routier, AA Guide, etc., were not truly independent at all. They were taking money for advertising certain places in their guide book. I've never bought them since for that reason.  Independent Awards can be influential, but it depends who's giving out the Awards. If a restaurant has an award from "The Good Food Guide" - that's a truly independent guide - then that's pretty powerful. But there are lots of fake Awards out there.  Same with reviews. TripAdvisor is full of fake reviews. People getting their mates to put a positive review on there to push their business up the rankings. Having said that, TripAdvisor can be good to get ideas, but I'd always look at how many reviews someone has written and what type of places they'd written about before letting that influence my opinion.  Word of Mouth is still one of the most powerful influences, but, it has to be coming from someone whose opinion I respect, and that's down to "reference points" I suppose. i.e. what's their experience of such places like? For example, if I wanted to know which is the best transport cafe between here and London, I'd probably ask a lorry driver, but I probably wouldn't ask the same person about fine dining.  At the end of the day, personal experience is probably the most powerful influence of all. If I try a place, and it's good, then I'm likely to go back again, assuming it's accessible and affordable to me.  I've got a few places around Sheffield that I haven't tried yet, but am interested to try, for one of the 4 reasons I've listed above:  1. Rhubarb Shed Cafe 2. Kito's 3. Oisoi  First two are influenced by word of mouth from people whose opinions I know and trust. Third one is influenced by third party reviews and the fact this is something very different and unusual for Sheffield.  The rhubarb shed is excellent. Great food great prices great service nice surroundings.  Pound for pound its my favourite. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Bargepole23   337 #12 Posted March 31, 2018 What influences you to go and try somewhere, for food, that you haven't tried before? Do you actually do that when you go out? i.e. look to try somewhere new? Or do you generally stick to the same places time after time and prefer to stick with what you know? (And how did you know you liked those places before you tried them for the first time?)  I must admit, I'm always looking for new places to eat out - whether that be something simple, like a good fish and chip shop, or other type of takeaway, or a Michelin starred restaurant.  I'm influenced most by the following:  1. Independent Awards from respected sources. 2. Independent Reviews 3. Word of Mouth from respected sources 4. Personal experience  The "Independent" part is very important. I was shocked to learn some years ago that some of those "guide books" I'd been buying, like Egon Ronay, Le Routier, AA Guide, etc., were not truly independent at all. They were taking money for advertising certain places in their guide book. I've never bought them since for that reason.  Independent Awards can be influential, but it depends who's giving out the Awards. If a restaurant has an award from "The Good Food Guide" - that's a truly independent guide - then that's pretty powerful. But there are lots of fake Awards out there.  Same with reviews. TripAdvisor is full of fake reviews. People getting their mates to put a positive review on there to push their business up the rankings. Having said that, TripAdvisor can be good to get ideas, but I'd always look at how many reviews someone has written and what type of places they'd written about before letting that influence my opinion.  Word of Mouth is still one of the most powerful influences, but, it has to be coming from someone whose opinion I respect, and that's down to "reference points" I suppose. i.e. what's their experience of such places like? For example, if I wanted to know which is the best transport cafe between here and London, I'd probably ask a lorry driver, but I probably wouldn't ask the same person about fine dining.  At the end of the day, personal experience is probably the most powerful influence of all. If I try a place, and it's good, then I'm likely to go back again, assuming it's accessible and affordable to me.  I've got a few places around Sheffield that I haven't tried yet, but am interested to try, for one of the 4 reasons I've listed above:  1. Rhubarb Shed Cafe 2. Kito's 3. Oisoi  First two are influenced by word of mouth from people whose opinions I know and trust. Third one is influenced by third party reviews and the fact this is something very different and unusual for Sheffield.  Away from home ......Trip Advisor  In Sheff and it's locality.....maybe somewhere that catches my eye whilst out and about, or somewhere newly opened or somewhere that gets a mention in the Telegraph, all usually independents  Had a very nice lunch at the Summerhouse at the btm of Dore Rd last week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...