During a recent visit to San Jose, CA, for Connect Live 2019, I joined a group of Local Guides on a tour of the city’s Japantown area. We spent the bulk of our time at Kazoo, a local Japanese restaurant with 4.4 stars on Google Maps, to get a taste of Japantown.
I personally loved hearing the owner’s story of how he used to work at the restaurant many years before returning later to purchase it himself. He also introduced Kazoo’s head chef and shared information about the restaurant’s offerings before serving food to the group.
It was a fun and interactive experience because everyone naturally went into review mode. Once the food was presented, the group of Local Guides did what they do best: take photos. The food itself was displayed beautifully and served on wooden boats. We snacked on beef tataki, grilled oysters, and an assortment of different types of sushi rolls. We also sipped on hot green tea and Japanese sodas.
While eating, we got into a lively conversation about what aspects of a review will make you want to visit a restaurant like Kazoo. Many people noted that they not only want to see images of the food, but also images of the dining space itself. Kazoo has an unassuming space with simple, but nice, wooden furniture. One of my favorite aspects of Kazoo was the sushi conveyor belt surrounding the main sushi bar. We all agreed that it would be one of our top picks for a restaurant in the area given their good reviews and photos on Google Maps.
Many of the Local Guides noted that rating, price, and distance usually play a big role in selecting a restaurant. Some said photos are the most important. I personally like to see images of the food to ensure that it looks appetizing to me, and I also like to preview the space as I prefer to not be cramped when I’m dining out. If it’s a quick takeout meal or something I’m having delivered, I typically care more about things like distance because I think the food will arrive in better shape (and quicker).
What do you think? What is it that makes you want to visit one restaurant over another one? Is your decision-making process the same when you’re deciding where to get a quick takeout meal? Let me know what you think in the comments.
This is an exciting story @KatieMcBroom I love meeting other cultures and tasting great foods, more so hearing a story of success like that gentleman who started from the bottom and now has acquired that restaurant and it’s going successfully. It’s a beautiful restaurant and I’m impressed by the food. I wanna go!!!
Also I’d love to visit the west coast one day. I’ve been living in the US for the past 3 years.
Thank you so much, @mariorosas ! I definitely agree. Sushi is my favorite food, so I really enjoyed everything we tried there. I loved the flavor of the grilled oysters, too. I definitely recommend this restaurant if you are ever in the San Jose area!
Thank you for sharing your experience in the workshop, @KatieMcBroom !. It was my second choice of workshop to go, and really close to being the first. I’m glad to know more about what you guys did, I wish I could have gone to this one too!
For me, I think that both the reviews and photos are very important. I usually look at photos of the food, reviews, and afterwards photos of the place if I’m not sure. If I want a quick takeout meal I just look at photos to check the kind of food they have and if it’s good, and look for reviews that mention how quick their service is while making sure the food is good, or better than good.
Thank you for sharing your experience with an interesting Japanese restaurant. The Sushi conveyor belt is a popular equipment in Japan. As children like it, such sushi restaurants are popular with the family group.
Basically, first I decide the distance and the category. And I check in the order of the rating, photos, and reviews. But the most important element is the photos of foods. If the food in a photo looks dirty or unsanitary, I’ll hesitate to go there.
And when I decide where to get a takeout meal, I choose a safe shop like chain stores or known shops. Because when I need a takeout meal, basically I don’t have much time. And in Japan, we often use convenience stores. Their products are not inexpensive but very useful.
That was a short but informative review of Kazoo restaurant at San Jose @KatieMcBroom . The review and pictures gave a good overview of this Japanese restaurant.
I look for cleanliness, ambiance, and availability of vegetarian food in restaurants I visit.
Συγχαρητήρια @KatieMcBroom εξαιρετική εντύπωση μου έκανε η λεπτομερής ανάρτησή σου και ιδιαίτερα οι φωτογραφίες σου. Λατρεύω τα στρείδια. Η αλήθεια είναι ότι δεν είχα ποτέ την ευκαιρία φάω σε Ιαπωνικό ρεστοράν.
@KatieMcBroom I have an query why there is no single Indian a google local guide moderator? What are the requirements to be a local guide moderator? Can i be a moderator in India? Please tell me about this query.
