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Comment by patricklynch | Hacker News Reader

Well, there goes my ability to trust Yelp reviews as impartial.

But if I don't trust the reviews, Yelp effectively degrades into a complicated remix of Google Maps.

I use Yelp mostly for its metadata, such as restaurants' '$/$$/$$$' price categories, or a quick, easy-to-read menu sampling. I give the reviews approximately zero weight at this point in Yelp's evolution.

search by "near me", sort by "open now" is an invaluable feature

Especially complicated when you realize that their mapping system is completely broken for numerous addresses. I used Yelp to try to find a good local cafe to eat at in Irvine. Drove right to the spot indicated on the map and found an industrial complex. Had to look up the business name on Google Maps to find that it was about five miles South of where Yelp told me the cafe was.

Same thing happened again in Vegas, looking for a nice place to eat, find something that looks interesting and then see that Yelp places it in an industrial complex nearby. This time I don't expect to find the place, but I drive by and find myself somewhere in a dark alley full of closed-for-the-evening auto shops.

I'll still use Yelp to find the name of a business, but then I have to switch to Google Maps and do a reality check to actually see if the business is near by and how to get there. A real PITA.

I've had the same problem multiple times with business addresses being wrong on Yelp.

complementary i suppose to the google maps problem where half the restaurants are closed....

That's the only thing I use them for. It's more convenient to search for "bar" and see a list of actual boozeries, vs. searching Google Maps and finding metal manufacturers, and various businesses that happen to have "bar" in their name.

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