ThoughStang says he nolonger
wearshoodiestothe office,the
acquisitionofZagatstillhas some
start-upcharacteristics,not least
hisunrelentingoptimismthatthe
olderbrandcan be resuscitatedin
aworldwhereits competitorsare
nowbillion-dollartechcompanies.
“Thelandscapefor Zagat nowis
totally differentto whenit cameto
suchpre-eminence,”saysHarden.
“It’snowonlyababy-leaguebig
brand, whichwill have to survive
next to all these globalcolossi.”TheInfatuationlandedinLondon
in April 2017 withlittlefanfare.
TheUKwebsite hasseen growth
of 71 percentsincelastyear,
thoughthecompany declinesto
give specificusernumbers.Itis
competingin amarket thathasa
much richer traditionoftongue-in-
cheekreviewingthanthe US.
It is difficulttopin downwhat
definesarestaurantthatthesite
willlove,but peopleagree that
certainvenuescan be classifiedas
“Infatuation-y”.“Vibeishugely
important.There’sdefinitelyatype
of placethat welike,”saysStang.
In theUK,criticspointout
thatthe brand’stastes tendto
be expensive andskewtowards
centralLondon andothertouristy
areas.FavouritesincludeThe
Palomarin Soho,RochelleCanteen
andBlack AxeMangal, aTurkish
fusionrestaurantnotableforits
hard rock/metalsoundtrack.
Restaurantsthatwouldfeel just
as at homein...NewYork.
Othersquestionwhatis truly
novelabout its model,whichcan
seemlikearebranding of oldideas
fromthelikes of TimeOutand
Eater.But thereturnto restaurant
guides,the riseof TheInfatuation
communityandtheresurrection
of Zagatareperhapssymptomatic
of abroaderinformationfatigue–
arecognitionof thelimitations
of disruptivetechand bigdata.
Stangmeasuressuccess in terms
of foot trafficfromits readers,
andrestaurantsin Londonare
startingtoreportupticksafter
reviews,although notnecessarily
fromregulars.Daniel Keeling,
co-founderof NobleRot, TheInfatuation’sNo1restaurant in
London, says that duringperiods
he wouldexpecttobequiet,he
hasseenanincreasein patronage.
FromAmericans.“TheInfatuation
effect, if youlike,”hesays.
Butrelying on recommendations
fromasinglesource,whethera
criticorablogwithdistinct
taste,canhave consequences.
Aneighbourhoodfavourite
mentionedonThe Infatuation can
be inundatedwithvisitorswillingto
wait in line,displacingregulars or
potentiallyharmingtheexperience.
Evenfanssaythatin its early
Londondays thesitetendedtolove,
well, everything. This isdue partly
to apreferenceto reviewplacesit
expects to like, andpartlytothe
arduousdue diligencethatgoes
intoabad rating.Theteamwill visit
andrevisitat differenttimesofday,
andindifferentcompany,before
issuinganegative review.
“Weget afeelfor dayand night
atmosphere,consistency, the
typeofsituationit suits–anything
that givesamorerounded
perspective,” says OliverFeldman,
lead reviewerinLondon.
Recommendationsare about
trustandTheInfatuationwantsyou
to knowitwouldnever lietoyou.
If arestauranton its siteslipsbelow
its thresholdforcool, re-evaluation
is partof themethod. Themonth
afterourdinneratThe Coach,the
site’s weeklyLondon newsletterran
withthesubject line,“Were-review
TheCoachandit’snotgoodnews.”
After tworeturnvisits,ithad
downgradedthe gastropubfrom
an 8.5toaseven.
“Wetreat restaurants we’ve
reviewedlikewe’re theirsemi-
responsibleparentshostinga
dinnerparty,” thereviewreads.
“If wehearnoises, complaints
or sounds of discontent, wepull
ourselvestogetherandseewhatthe
hell is goingon.Andthat’sexactly
whatwedidwithTheCoach.”
It concludes, likethe good friend
youmessagedfor advice:“Thisis
definitely aplacewe’d recommend
foradrink,butif you’re looking
to drop thirty-odd quidon ameal,
wecanthink of better places and
pubsto do it in.”‘Thelandscape for
Zagat nowistotally
different. It has
to survivenextto
global colossi’
RobertHarden, Harden’s guidesFT.COM/MAGAZINEOCTOBER19/202019 31