The Hidden Factor That Decides Where Customers Dine

Dear Restaurant Partner,

I just got back from a trip to Japan, and it hit me—Google Maps played a massive role in every meal I had.

Before every meal, I’d open Google Maps, search for restaurants nearby, and scan the reviews. I wasn’t looking for just any place—I was balancing two things:

• Quality of ratings (ideally 4.2 stars and above)
• Quantity of reviews (enough to convince me it’s a popular choice)

And I’m not alone in this. Studies show that 90% of customers check online reviews before choosing where to dine.

This raises an important question: What matters more—quantity or quality?

How Do Customers Decide Where to Dine?

Most consumers follow a natural process when choosing a restaurant:

1. Search by area (e.g., “best dim sum near me”).
2. Check top-rated restaurants, usually those with both strong ratings (above 4.2 stars) and a large number of reviews.
3. Compare options—a restaurant with 1,000 reviews at 4.3 stars will almost always feel like a safer choice than one with 100 reviews at 4.7 stars.

This is why Google Reviews are not just important—they are the deciding factor for discovery.

But here’s the real question: How many reviews are ‘enough’?

A Restaurant That Won Customers Through Google Reviews

When One Holland Village first opened in 2023, I wanted to check out the mall and find a place to eat. Naturally, I looked up restaurants in the mall on Google Maps.

One name stood out—Xiang Xiang Hunan Restaurant.

Why? It had 1,200 reviews. The next highest competitor had only 200.

That number alone influenced my decision. I had never tried their food before, but the overwhelming volume of reviews made it feel like a must-visit.

When I arrived at 11:30 AM, there was already a queue. That reinforced my decision—it wasn’t just Google reviews telling me this place was great; real-world demand confirmed it.

And just like that, I became a first-time customer—driven entirely by Google Reviews.

A Restaurant With Great Food—but a Google Problem

On the flip side, I also saw firsthand how poor Google ratings can hurt even the best restaurants.

One of our clients, a seasoned restaurateur, recently opened a new place. His restaurants are known for great food, and we were lucky enough to secure a reservation in advance (through Oddle Reserve, of course).

In my family, I’m known as the food guy—when I recommend a place, my siblings trust me.

This restaurant had strong momentum from an early and aggressive PR push. In fact, business was so good that they couldn’t cope operationally at the start. The result? Unhappy customers left negative reviews on Google Maps.

Before our meal, my sister actually private messaged me, double-checking if I had shared the right restaurant.

"Are you sure this is the place? It only has 3.7 stars."

It didn’t matter that the food was good. It didn’t matter that the chef was experienced. The first impression came from Google, and 3.7 stars wasn’t reassuring.

Of course, the meal turned out fine, and everyone was happy in the end. The restaurant has since recovered—it’s now at 4.5 stars with 1,300 reviews, and business is brisk. The owner knew how to course-correct.

But imagine how many potential customers might have skipped over them before the ratings improved.

Where Does Your Restaurant Stand?

Here’s a simple way to check:

• Open Google Maps and search for restaurants in your area.
• Look at the top-ranked places (say, the top 10%) for your cuisine.
• Compare your reviews—are you competing, or are you invisible?

If you run a dim sum restaurant in Singapore, search for “best dim sum restaurant Singapore.” This will immediately show you where you stand.

Google Reviews Are Built Over Time—So Start Now

If you’re not actively building and managing your reviews, you’re falling behind.

The best-performing restaurants don’t just hope for good reviews—they have a system in place to collect them consistently.

That’s why we’ve built Oddle’s review automation—to help restaurants:

• Capture customer reviews effortlessly after every visit.
• Consistently build Google credibility without resorting to spammy tactics.
• Rank higher in Google search—both by vicinity and by cuisine.

Let’s Do a Quick Health Check

If you’re curious about how your restaurant ranks in Google search—or if you feel like you’re getting lost in the crowd—let’s do a quick consultation.

We’ll break down where you stand and show you how top restaurants are leveraging reviews to dominate search rankings.

Book a Free Google Review Strategy Call →

Want to Learn More?

Check out our latest blog articles to help you grow your restaurant online:

📌 How to Rank Your Restaurant #1 on Google

Jonathan Lim

Founder & CEO, Oddle