Zagat Survey

Zagat Survey was the pioneering crowd-sourced restaurant rating and review guide founded by Tim and Nina Zagat in New York City in 1979, compiling numerical ratings and survey-based reviews from dining consumers decades before online review platforms existed. The distinctive burgundy Zagat guidebooks became a trusted restaurant discovery tool for urban diners in major cities across the United States and internationally, covering restaurants, hotels, nightlife, and entertainment venues.

Google acquired Zagat in 2011 for approximately $151 million, integrating Zagat ratings and content into Google Maps and Google search results to enrich local business discovery. The Zagat brand and survey methodology were eventually wound down as a standalone consumer product, with the restaurant discovery function absorbed into Google's local search and maps ecosystem that now dominates restaurant discovery globally.

Restaurant discovery today is led by Google Maps reviews, Yelp, and OpenTable for reservations—the platforms that inherited the role Zagat once played in helping diners find and evaluate restaurants. Google Maps restaurant ratings reflect the same crowd-sourced review approach Zagat pioneered, now accessible at no cost through any Google search or Maps navigation session.