Is A Restaurant Filled With Influencers A Red Flag?

You will know them by their LED lights. Their poses. Their rallying cry of "Hey guysssss." They are influencers: the self-selected group of folks set on advising you on all manner of lifestyle moves with varying degrees of success. And restaurants provide the backdrop for some of their prime content at the expense of everyday guests.

Restaurants can be easy prey even for those denizens of social media with more middling follower counts. The potential for virality with little more than a few well-received reels can be tempting for business owners. They may even think it's a small price to pay — a few hundred bucks in gratis food and drinks — for a shot at those lines out the door. Even the influencers that charge fees are probably cheaper than real PR representation. So you can't really blame hospitality pros for inviting in the lightbox set, nor does their presence necessarily mean that the place isn't going to be any good. But it might not be any good for you.

I have been a food writer and critic for many years, so I've seen this dynamic from several angles. I have seen it erode the exhausted folks who just want to make pizzas and instead find themselves fielding freebie requests from the cheese-pulling hordes. I have seen it erode trust in my own profession, as audiences have come to assume that even genuine reviews and restaurant recommendations are somehow paid. And, perhaps most importantly for your own dining purposes, it has eroded plenty of my off-the-clock experiences as a person trying to enjoy chilaquiles in peace.

A lovely little spot with solid food and drinks that isn't unspeakably expensive has been in my regular brunch rotation for well over a decade. I have probably been the direct source of most of its mainstream media coverage in that time. (I have never, as far as I know, crossed paths with its financially interested parties; I just like the place.) And it occasionally seems to get swallowed up by hashtaggers with little notice and even less explanation. One such self-portrait artist once leaned deep into my personal space to nab a scene-setting clip. In post-Covid America! Not only do you not know where those devices have been as they hover very near your face and food, what if you were in witness protection, faking sick from work, or otherwise mired in a geographical lie? The last thing you'd need is to have your cover blown by some dope's TikTok.

It's very unlikely that you're going to be able to spy a pack of influencers through a restaurant window before your water's poured and you're pretty much committed. But you can avoid the places saturating your platforms until they're replaced by the next big thing. Just like you might scan reputable restaurant reviews before booking, you can also take a more proactive approach and check the usual apps for an uptick in activity before you pop in or make a reservation. An increase in content should also be your sign to stay away — which is, in a beautiful bit of irony, its own kind of influence.