New Yorkers Among World's Toughest Restaurant Critics: Study

NEW YORK — New York City's food scene can't catch a break despite its world-renowned reputation. The city has some of the most critical diners among the world's urban centers, according to an analysis of online restaurant reviews.

The marketing agency Digital Third Coast examined food reviews in 25 major cities based on Eater.com's "Essential" restaurant lists and 4,000 data points across Yelp, Facebook, Google and TripAdvisor. The study was commissioned by the Chicago-based pizza company Home Run Inn.

New York City had the sixth-worst-rated restaurants across all four platforms, indicating its amateur critics are some of the world's toughest. Yelp reviwers appear to be the harshest, as Big Apple eateries had the second-lowest ratings on that site.

Eaters held nothing back in Austin, Texas, which had the worst restaurant ratings across the board, followed by Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

New Yorkers love to talk about their meals whether they love them or hate them. The city had the second-highest average number of reviews across the four platforms, the analysis found.

Diners appear to be less opinionated across the pond — or at least less likely to air their grievances online. London had the least reviews on average, while Paris recorded the second-lowest number, the study found.

Check out the full analysis of online restaurant reviews here.

(Lead image: Photo by Dosfotos/Shutterstock)