When comparing OpenTable vs Zagat, the Slant community recommends OpenTable for most people. In the question“What are the best Android apps for finding a place to eat?” OpenTable is ranked 4th while Zagat is ranked 9th. The most important reason people chose OpenTable is:
In order to write a review, you must have had gone the restaurant, and your review is marked with the exact date you went.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Reservation system authenticates every reviewer
In order to write a review, you must have had gone the restaurant, and your review is marked with the exact date you went.
Pro Separates rating into food, service, and ambience
Allowing users to easily distinguish between fancy, but not so tasty restaurants, and vice versa.
Pro Easy to find affiliated restaurants
Pro Collections of customer photos
Thanks to integration with Foodspotting, there are a lot more photos than before.
Pro Separates scores into food, decor, and service
Pro Gives the exact price
Instead of a some symbolic price range, the price for a typical meal is provided.
Cons
Con Ratings tend to run high
The same restaurants will typically get between .51 points higher on open table, the audience usually gives between 45 stars as long as there weren't major flaws. This is partially do to the fact that service/ambiance plays a larger role in the ratings than other platforms. Since most restaurants that take reservations value service/ambiance, the ratings are skewed upwards.
Con Photos are not in chronological order
They appear to be random.
Con Low price cutoff
$50 and over is the highest price rank, which doesn't help much when comparing prices at sit-down restaurants.
Con Limited to sit-down restaurants that take reservations
Leaving at most casual places, cafes, bakeries, etc.
Con Smaller restaurant selection
Zagat mostly reviews sit-down, mainstream restaurants.
Con Not up to date
Post-Google acquisition, Zagat has been integrated into Google, but it's unclear where it's headed.
Con Opaque rating system
Ratings are assigned by some number of critics/reviewers, but who and how many reviews taken into consideration aren't revealed.
Con Confusing 30-point scale
With so many points to give, restaurants that fall below 24 all become questionable. Either that, or users are forced to convert it to a 5 point scale in their head, 24 = 4 stars, 18 = 3 stars, etc.