ThoughStang says he nolonger
wears hoodiestothe office,the
acquisitionofZagat stillhas some
start-up characteristics,not least
his unrelentingoptimism that the
older brandcan be resuscitatedin
aworldwhereits competitorsare
nowbillion-dollartechcompanies.
“The landscapefor Zagat nowis
totally different to when it came to
such pre-eminence,”saysHarden.
“It’snowonlyababy-leaguebig
brand, whichwill have to survive
next to all these globalcolossi.”TheInfatuationlandedinL ondon
in April 2017 with littlefanfare.
TheUKwebsite has seen growth
of 71percent since lastyear,
though the company declinesto
give specific usernumbers.Itis
competing inamarket that has a
much richer traditionoftongue-in-
cheekreviewingthanthe US.
It is difficulttopin down what
definesarestaurant that the site
will love,but peopleagree that
certainvenuescan be classifiedas
“Infatuation-y”.“Vibeishugely
important.There’sdefinitelyatype
of placethatwelike,”saysStang.
In the UK, criticspoint out
thatthe brand’stastes tendto
be expensive and skew towards
centralLondon and other touristy
areas.Favouritesinclude The
Palomar in Soho,Rochelle Canteen
andBlack AxeMangal,aTurkish
fusionrestaurant notableforits
hardrock/metal soundtrack.
Restaurants thatwould feel just
as at home in...NewYork.
Othersquestion what is truly
novelabout its model, whichcan
seem likearebranding of old ideas
from the likes of Time Out and
Eater.But thereturn torestaurant
guides,the rise of The Infatuation
community and theresurrection
of Zagat areperhapssymptomatic
of abroader informationfatigue –
arecognition of the limitations
of disruptivetechand big data.
Stang measuressuccess in terms
of foot traffic from itsreaders,
andrestaurants inLondonare
startingtoreportupticks after
reviews,although not necessarily
fromregulars.DanielKeeling,
co-founder ofNobleRot, TheInfatuation’sNo1restaurant in
London, says that duringperiods
he wouldexpecttobequiet,he
hasseenanincrease in patronage.
FromAmericans.“The Infatuation
effect, if youlike,”hesays.
Butrelying onrecommendations
fromasingle source, whether a
criticorablog with distinct
taste, can have consequences.
Aneighbourhoodfavourite
mentionedonThe Infatuation can
be inundatedwith visitors willingto
wait in line, displacingregulars or
potentiallyharmingtheexperience.
Evenfans saythat in its early
London days the site tendedtolove,
well, everything. This isdue partly
to apreference toreview placesit
expects to like, and partlytothe
arduousdue diligence that goes
intoabad rating. The teamwill visit
andrevisit at different timesofday,
andindifferent company,before
issuinganegative review.
“Weget afeelfor dayand night
atmosphere,consistency, the
typeofsituation it suits–anything
that givesamorerounded
perspective,” says OliverFeldman,
leadreviewerinLondon.
Recommendationsare about
trust and The Infatuation wantsyou
to knowitwouldnever lietoyou.
If arestaurant on its site slipsbelow
its threshold for cool,re-evaluation
is part of the method. The month
after our dinneratThe Coach, the
site’s weeklyLondon newsletter ran
with the subject line, “Were-review
TheCoach andit’snotgoodnews.”
After tworeturn visits,ithad
downgradedthe gastropub from
an 8.5toaseven.
“Wetreat restaurantswe’ve
reviewedlikewe’re their semi-
responsible parents hostinga
dinner party,” thereviewreads.
“If wehear noises, complaints
or sounds of discontent, wepull
ourselvestogether and seewhatthe
hell is going on. Andthat’sexactly
whatwedidwith TheCoach.”
It concludes, likethe good friend
youmessagedfor advice: “This is
definitely aplacewe’d recommend
foradrink, but ifyou’re looking
to drop thirty-odd quid onameal,
wecan think ofbetter places and
pubs to do it in.”‘The landscapefor
Zagat nowistotally
different. It has
to survivenextto
global colossi’
RobertHarden,Harden’s guidesFT.COM/MAGAZINE OCTOBER19/202019 31