Our annual ranking of the 101 Best Restaurants in America rounds up restaurants that nearly everyone agrees are incredibly good. The top ten are especially worthy of praise. Some people, however, don't agree, and they take to Yelp to voice their complaints. These are the worst Yelp reviews of the best restaurants in America.
When Yelp first launched in 2004, it made it possible for anyone, anywhere, to have his or her opinion heard about any restaurant. In many ways, this is a good thing. Now, before spending our money at a place we've never been to, we can do a quick search and see what dozens -- if not hundreds or thousands -- of our fellow diners thought about it. For the most part, this is a pretty reliable way to tell if a restaurant is worth going to or not. If 100 people had issues with the service, you can probably expect to have issues with the service, too.
Occasionally, however, there are outliers. Every restaurant has bad nights, and every diner is entitled to his or her opinion, but it's always interesting when someone dines at a restaurant that's nearly universally praised and decides that it was bad enough to merit a one-star Yelp review. Their reasons are myriad: some people feel like they're not getting their money's worth, some say that they were treated poorly, some find the portions too small, some make the vague claim that the meal was "just okay," and some write a scathing review simply to complain about not being able to make a reservation.
We scoured the one-star Yelp reviews of our top ten-ranked restaurants in America, and turned up a few for each that make these look like places that serve meals you wouldn't wish upon your worst enemy. It's certainly worth noting that, no matter how acclaimed the restaurant, there will always be people who downright hate it. Take these reviews with a grain of salt, as well as a pre-emptive "[sic]." (We have not corrected misspellings, grammatical errors, etc.)
10. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, N.Y.: 409 Reviews, 4.5 Stars
Andy S.: "I never had a more expensive dissapointing meal in my life. It was like the kings underware. The food was not only inedible but fraudulent. Dishes as stated were totally unrecognizable. I called for weeks to get my money back but never was able to get anyone of any accountability on the phone."
Jeffrey L.: "In a highly artificial and radically manicured 'natural' setting, you pay $85 or $175 for a single floret of organic Cauliflower brushed with oil impaled on a nail hammered into a block of wood set in the center of the table. Next came completely tasteless slivers of Long Island Fluke. Next: a sliver of pork belly fat set on a bed of fava beans (a la Silence of the Lambs). After that, two slivers of capon breast that had the texture of raw human flesh. In the meantime, the bus girl was plying us with basket after basket of potato bread and refilling our water glasses non-stop (hummm...)."
Food Critic X.: "come on!!! really!! this is one big scam, the rich are so dumb. seriously, little itty bitty food with foam and whatever fancy french manhattan bs plating and bs gimmicks, oh its at a farm, who cares, it's stupid mediocre food that's about $30 a bite. rediculous, where trying to be europeans and we're not, we are americans, we want generous portions of quality unpretentious home cooked food."
9. Momofuku Ssäm Bar, New York City: 1,750 Reviews, 4 Stars
Dan W.: "PORK BUNS = DISGUSTING!!! I've had pork buns in many different places. In hong Kong, in flushing queens, nyc takeout it is one of my favorite foods!!!! BUT...these were BY FAR the worst pork buns I've ever had hands down. My wife is Chinese and absolutely hates to not finish everything on her plate....after 2 bites of the pork bun she apologized and said she literally just couldn't take anymore. I completely agree. The meat was about 90% fat, I don't mean a little fat...I mean pure complete fat."
Tami G.: "PLEASEEEE help us, pork belly buns, gross, fat, fat and more gross fat, order brisket lunch, help me again, gross solid pieces of FAT, I showed the waitress, who would eat solid fat???, she replied that she would show the manager, BIG DEAL, ruined lunch in NYC, and way to much Dollar for fat."
Woody V: "At 4.56 PM me and my other 3 friends went to Nomofuku !!!! The guy at the bar told us that they will be open for dinner at 5 pm!!!! We asked him if we can just sit down and wait till the service time !!!! He told us No!!!! I just feel like why that they didn't let the customer sit down and wait!!!!"
Kristen S.: "They served us bread with butter. I asked the waiter if we could have olive oil and vinegar instead. Minutes later, he came back with the olive oil and a sheepish, apologetic smile on his face: "Here's the olive oil. I checked with the kitchen. The only vinegar we have is 100 years old Balsamic vinegar, and it's really expensive." Hence, they didn't give us any. WTH? For the price we were paying for the lackluster tasting menu, you'd think they could spare a few drops of the god damned 100-year-old vinegar. It's not as if we were gonna drink a whole gallon of it!"
Currently A.: "Look, 100 years ago or whenever Alice whats-her-name came up with the oh-so-brilliant idea of serving stuff that's fresh and local (DUH, like rural people have been doing FOREVER), but guess what .. tons of places have taken the concept light years beyond anything ms. alice does and they do it far, far better. Besides food and service, I have a problem with a restaurant that opens its doors to mass murderers. Have some common decency - it's not like you're a Swiss bank or something."
Click Here to see the The Worst Yelp Reviews of the Best Restaurants in AmericaPhoto Credit: Aya Brackett
Jim W.: "Not nearly worth the price....food of course is exceptional...staff was giddy....very inappropriate for haute cuisine joint...dressed in ill fitting mediocre suits.....vaguely rude.....self absorbed...chubby....I am not being mean but rather recognizing inept and inappropriate but very important component of a great Francaise....somebody's not watching this store and profoundly so....try Bouley Bakery for lunch and keep a couple of Franklin's in your pocket....or Bouley for their lovely lunch prix fixe."
Peter S.: "You can definitely skip this place. This issue is not the cost (yes it is pricey), but the dismal food. The food is tasteless, bland, and genuinely unappealing. A Swanson's TV dinner from a microwave would be a considerable step up. They should add McDonald's to the menu (burgers, fries and shakes) so that guests will have something to eat. Basically this place is a parody of Frou Frou, Shi Shi cuisine. The joke is definitely on the customers who generally don't seem to get it."
Ariel B.: "Yo, WTF!. This place didn't even have chicken nuggets. Why does everyone like it so much!?! And WTF is Creme Fraiche anyway? I can't dip french fries in that!"
Photo Credit: Deborah Jones
Jennifer Y.: "WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT? I've read countless reviews on how the chef is a genius. Genius he may be but with a high-priced pre-fix menu and portions that were fit for a toddler, I left 11 Madison highly disappointed. $350 lighter (on a dinner for two), I had 2 rounds of drinks, 2 ports, the lobster pre-fix and veal pre-fix. The lobster was very good but tiny; the whole portion fit into a baby's palm and if you don't believe me, you should check out the restaurant yourself. The veal entree was no bigger with a veal portion that was about 1 inch in diameter accompanied by sweet bread about the same diameter. Overall, if you have money to burn, I would go. if you know something about food nobody else does, you should go. If you have a slightly sophisticated palette yet have an appetite greater than that of a 5 year old, I would choose a more solid, traditional favorite."
John S.: "Running a carrot through a meat grinder and then presenting it with some other raw ingredients for me to mix is NOT what I pay for at a restaurant. What do I know about mixing flavors in proper proportions? I'M NOT A CHEF. It was so obnoxious and lazy. They made a big production out of some beer made only for them but it tasted like a repackaged Budweiser. You know what else I don't like? Eating foam like an infant that can't chew real food. The service was fine but nothing can make up for the (alleged) meal we were served."
Laura S.: "700$ tomato soup for two ... We tried the tasting menu ... Everything was a joke .. Taste like nothing ... Just tomato soup was very interesting ... This place more of a tourist trap ... When we were having dinner seams like everybody's first time ... This restaurant is very beautiful but it's better just seat by the bar have a drink and get some appetizers ... We left the restaurant so hungry lol ... I've had so many tasting menus true pricy but never left hungry lol ... Jean George's and Del Posto million times amazing !!! Waist of money 100% !!! Every way !!!! My favorite Del Posto for tasting menu !!!"
Photo Credit: Francesco Tonelli
Matt B.: "Three M stars? Are you joking? This must be a hoax. I've been to Per Se. That is a three star restaurant. This isn't even one star. My girl and I did the chef's tasting. The dishes had the dullest flavors and were absolutely unimaginative. The service was crap - we got fresh butter every 5 minutes (it became a joke) but the bread server ignored us. My request for a drink had to be repeated. The 'muzak' wasn't just dreadful but painful."
Mehrdad G.: "If you want to go to a restaurant and pay over$300 and come out still hungry this is the place for you. This place Sucks. Don't trust the good reviews on this place because most these good reviews are written by the owner of the reaturant. Stay away from this place"
Ed A.: "i hate it! i have been to per se and daniel and i was really have with everything, i took my husband tonight for his birthday and at the end i saw the manager and the coast service women setting at a table having dinner! the didn't know if the birthday was for my or to my husband! if anyone want to take someone special take them to daniel you will have an awesome time and it is worth the money!"
Photo Credit: Daniel Krieger- Dan Myers, The Daily Meal
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