In a recent development, researchers have found that the website and app, Yelp, is largely only helpful for white people.
“White customers expect a degree of deference to their tastes, whether that means asking for key ingredients to be removed from a dish or getting to yell at someone without repercussion,” said lead researcher Talia Roberts. “Yelp allows them to vent about experiences that deviate even slightly from that and avoid future novel experiences.”
“Honestly, Yelp has saved my life so many times,” said Carter Woods, a self-described food connoisseur from Grosse Pointe Park, MI. “I never go to any establishment with less than 4 stars.”
Meanwhile, people of color find the app less useful. Since the rating for Clay Oven, a local Indian restaurant, was so high, Alia Khan decided to get dinner there after seeing it on Yelp. But after visiting the restaurant, she was left disappointed.
“The restaurant was filled with white people, who were clearly the only ones rating the food on Yelp. The food had literally no spice or flavor to it,” said Khan after her disappointing meal. “It definitely only tastes good if you’re white.”
“I’ve had to learn that you really can’t trust Yelp because mostly white people are using it. And honestly, you just really can’t trust their taste in food,” said Khan.
“I absolutely love the food at Clay Oven, they really know how to do Indian food,” added Carter Woods. “It’s definitely better than the food I had to eat when I went to Bombay for a week.”
