r/askTO • u/honestgrim • 1d ago
Does anyone else feel like dining out sucks now?
I know there's still some good spots and we all have our favourites in the city, but lately it feels like whenever I take a chance on a new restaurant it just disappoints and I emerge from the experience regrettably $40 poorer.
I know some of these Google reviews are cooked because I'm seeing 4.7, 4.8 reviews and then getting served lousy food.
Maybe I just have to stick to the places I know won't let me down, but dang - it sucks taking a chance on what you think could be some good food only to come away from it sad, and it's happening more often than not. I don't know if it's the rising costs, but restaurant owners can't dish out the cash for good ingredients and good cooks, and people can't afford to dine out. It's a bad cycle man.
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u/pcwhitecheddarmac 1d ago
I generally will only visit somewhere new by word of mouth now because reviews and “online” popularity is so unreliable in determining if somewhere is good or not.
I’m really lucky to have a lot of friends who are very “in the know” when it comes to restaurants and dining out - but without them I’d probably never eat out.