Hawaii winners abound in Yelp Top 100 Places to Eat
STAR-ADVERTISER / APRIL 2011
Yusen Jason Pancho garnished a customer’s order of udon at Marukame Udon in Waikiki. The eatery was ranked No. 10 on Yelp’s annual Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S.
Ten Hawaii restaurants, from casual to white tablecloth, are listed among award-winning restaurant royalty in the annual Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S., released this morning.
At the top of the list for Hawaii is Marukame Udon, in Honolulu, at No. 10. Also in Honolulu, Ono Seafood is 14th, and Da Poke Shack in Kailua-Kona, is No. 15, ranked above 19th-ranked Alinea in Chicago, considered a temple of molecular gastronomy in the U.S. and one of only 13 restaurants in the country to receive three Michelin stars.
Mama’s Fish House Restaurant in Paia on Maui, also a favorite on rankings of high-end restaurant lists, is 35th; and at No. 56, Lahaina Grill, also on Maui, ranked one spot higher than the exclusive French Laundry in Yountville, Calif.
Local favorite Helena’s Hawaiian Food in Honolulu is 63rd; also in Honolulu, Musubi Cafe Iyasume ranks at No. 76; Shark Pit Maui in Lahaina made the list at No. 84; Umeke’s in Kailua-Kona is 89th, and Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop in Lahaina is No. 92.
Researchers for online review site Yelp.com analyzed which food establishments were the most-popular and well-reviewed on the site. They were compared using a system that examines restaurant ratings and the number of reviews, taking quality, popularity and statistical fluctuations into account.
Only reviews written by users whose profiles list their home location as within the same country as the business, were considered.
15 responses to “Hawaii winners abound in Yelp Top 100 Places to Eat”
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Eating out in Hawaii is more of a social gathering to savor the many different dishes from every culture around the world.
If you rely on Yelp to tell you where to eat, your stomach is the least of your problems.
If you rely on Oxtail for commentary, your brain is the least of your worries.
In your case, no worries as you don’t have a brain.
Tru-dat. The only thing that may be trustworthy on Yelp is the photos. The reviews are motivated.
Yelp was helpful when it first started. But now that Yelp has been sued by businesses for coercing paying for advertisements in return for more favorable sorting/displaying of reviews, the entire business model comes under question. Locally, some Yelp reviewers are far more interested in self-promotion and kickbacks. I know several local restaurant owners have had Yelp reviewers threaten them with a poor review if the reviewer were comped something or otherwise treated extraordinarily. Lots of Yelp writers will diss a place just to be contrarian; others will laud another just to be cool. Proof of this is how highly rated Ono Seafood is. Any place that sells slimy, smelly opihi without batting an eye (as they did to us) does not prize freshness or quality. But then again, many Yelpers don’t understand that suji isn’t supposed to be part of high quality poke…it’s what you feed your dog.
My puppies eat better than I do.
Wish Marukame would open at Kahala Mall.
LOVE Helena’s Hawaiian Food
Hilarious. Da Poke Shack beats French Laundry. sure. ok…….
Who eats laundry? That’s not smart!…
My puppies like the no smell laundry soap. Free and clear.
I do not trust a website such as Yelp to give me accurate reviews on businesses. In the last I have read rave reviews on business only to find contradictory experiences. I know that some businesses garner rave reviews simply because the owner or business gets a lot of support from friends, family and employees. And their friends in turn give rave reviews of the business. Any business worth their mettle knows how to game the system. One way is to encourage everyone to put in their two cents. And with many reviews such as that the truthful negative reviews get drowned out. Let me give you an example. A friend of mine told me of his experiences at Kalihi Pet Center. This shop will not replace fishes that die after 24 hours. It’s just their policy. Petco, on the other hand, does replace fishes that after 24 hours. I paid a visit to this store as it has a 4 out of 5 star rating. What did I find? A large roach crawling on the floor, unappealing fish tanks and over-priced items. A tank ornament that costs only about five bucks on Amazon was going for thirty dollars or so here. And when I looked at the reviews myself I saw the ornament plainly shown on Yelp but the poor reviewer’s post was dumped into the “unhelpful” pile which does not show or get added to the ratings calculations. Is this selective removal intentional? Yelp claims it’s the result of a software that does algorithms. But any computer software programmer worth his mettle will tell you that such a software can be rigged to only accept favorable reviews. I am amazed that Yelp can continue to claim that they do not allow businesses to influence reviews when in fact they do “filter” out negative reviews for business that are favorable to them. Are they paying sponsors? Who knows. But the fact is, Yelp filters out reviews and that is shady in my book when it comes to their claims of not influencing reviews. And given their past tactics, I would not trust this website for honest reviews.
At least you trust our comments here with the SA.
I have Yelp stocks since the first week at 27 dollars a share.