Review platforms promised to democratize restaurant recommendations. Instead, in cities like Girona, they have created an ecosystem where the most reviewed restaurants are not the best — they are just the most marketed to tourists.
**Three structural problems with review platforms in Girona:**
**1. Sample bias.** The people who leave reviews on Google and TripAdvisor are not representative. They are disproportionately tourists having their first experience with Catalan food. Their baseline is different from a local’s.
**2. Reciprocity bias.** When a waiter is friendly, the terrace has a nice view, and the bill arrives with a “please leave us a review” card, many people feel compelled to leave 5 stars regardless of the food quality.
**3. Volume over accuracy.** A restaurant with 2,000 reviews at 4.5 stars looks better than a hidden gem with 50 reviews at 4.8 stars — even if the hidden gem is objectively superior. The algorithm rewards popularity, not quality.
These dynamics are not unique to Girona. But they are amplified here because of the high ratio of tourists to locals.
The irony is that the restaurants that need reviews the least — the genuinely good ones that locals fill every night — often have fewer online reviews than the tourist traps that actively solicit them.
This is not a problem that individuals can solve by reading more carefully. It requires a different source of information entirely.
One guide, one honest voice, one city. The Girona Foodies Guide →