Why You Can Trust CNET Zagat for Android review: Zagat for Android is no match for Yelp
Its staff-curated editorial content is nice, but Zagat for Android still has a ways to go if it hopes to catch up to current restaurant-reviews leader Yelp.
Editors' note: This review was updated July 30, 2013, to cover the features added in the latest version.
Zagat for Android
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
After a major overhaul, the Google-developed Zagat app for Android continues its pursuit of Yelp in its domain of mobile-device-accessible restaurant and business reviews. One thing it has in its favor is its reputable scoring system, which is broken down into three categories: Food, Decor, and Service. To me, this system is superior to a single, catch-all star rating like Yelp's. But despite that advantage, Zagat still has some work to do if it hopes to supplant the current frontrunner in the space.
To get started with Zagat, you no longer need to sign in with a Google+ account, which should be a relief to Zagat fans who were initially reluctant to use the mobile app. Now, you need only pick a location from the list on the opening screen to get started. Of course, the bad thing is that this list is limited. As of now, it only includes major cities like San Francisco, Boston, London, Los Angeles, and New York City. So, if you're not located in or near one of these cities, you're out of luck.
Zagat's other major limitation is that it only covers two major categories of businesses at the moment: Nightlife and Restaurants. While these two categories are certainly important, the lack of others is sure to turn potential mobile users to competing apps like Yelp, which have more complete coverage. That said, Google does plan to add other categories like Hotels and Shopping, as well as other cities in the future.
With the new design of Zagat comes a new focus on editorial content as well. Of course, reviews will always remain the core of Zagat's offering, but now the app is also a great source for "best" lists, videos, and other pieces of content curated by Zagat staff.
For the most part, Zagat's interface is simple. There's a search bar at the top where you can input keywords or a specific restaurant's name, and on the side, there's a sliding menu that lets you jump to Lists, Videos, Buzz (news), and other departments within the app.
The Zagat app's biggest strength is its ability to slice and dice search results across dozens of different filters. For instance, you can filter search results by cuisine type, Zagat category scores, or specific features like "Counter Service Only," "Communal Tables," or "Drive-Thru." Meanwhile, Yelp's mobile app offers only a few filters, like distance, price, and overall rating. That's not to say that Zagat's filters are perfect, though. I didn't see a filter for Wi-Fi-equipped restaurants, which would be a useful tool when searching for cafes to work in.
The restaurant page has a clean layout, with a handful of useful bits of information. The typical Zagat score line is at the top. Below that is a summary description of the restaurant and a list of vital statistics, like hours, phone number, address, and Web site, as well as a link to OpenTable for making reservations (participating restaurants only). There's also a nifty section at the bottom, which gives you links to news stories and lists that mention the restaurant. Overall, the restaurant page is useful, but it's still nowhere near as comprehensive as Yelp's listings, which include check-ins, more impressive galleries of pictures, and tons of other user-submitted data.
Finally, Zagat has a useful Favorites list, where you can save articles, places, lists, and even videos.
The biggest problem with the Zagat app is its relatively tiny database. It covers select metropolitan cities exclusively, and even in those areas, coverage is relatively thin. So, depending on where you are when you fire up Zagat, you could very well find the app to be almost useless. Also, it only covers nightlife spots and restaurants, so you're out of luck, if you're looking for, say, a good mechanic or places to shop. By comparison, Yelp's coverage often blankets even the smallest towns and it offers info on a wide range of businesses.
Even though Zagat now has the massive power of Google under its hood, the app still has a ways to go if it wants to compete with Yelp. Sure, Zagat's ratings are credible and accurate in most cases, but it needs to dramatically extend its range. With all that in mind, you can be sure that Google is working tirelessly to eventually give its app complete coverage of all local businesses.