The Infatuation Reviews

by Clubfed

Follow on of my review below: glad you added the guides section, that’s much better. But the reviews browsing is still a big mess. Why can’t I see the most recent reviews? Similar to being able to see the most recent guides? That’s still the primary use of TheInfatuation for me. It’s still cumbersome to go through the filter process and organize NYC by recent reviews, and the output is even more inaccurate. Pretty sure Morandi was not the 2nd most recent review. Hope you guys keep working on this. Cheers

I’m a longtime fan of Infatuation, love their work. But this new app is a major regression. As a daily user, my favorite use was to open TheInfatuation and automatically see the newest published reviews and guides for the whole city (NYC). TheInfatuation felt current and interesting every day. Not it’s cumbersome and awkward. I have to change the location in the filter section to all-NYC, request for “most recent” - and then the output is a hodge podge of added restaurants that are UNreviewed, plus plenty of errors with restos that were reviewed long ago. Plus, the lists/guides are hard to see, and the search function is a hot mess. What is the purpose of the new default setting? To see the same restaurants in my neighborhood every day? It’s only valuable for traveling. For daily users, this is all much worse. Infatuation crew is really smart, thoughtful and innovative - I’m sure you’ll fix these problems. Look forward to it.

by Mrs Meow Muffin

Nothing shows up on the map when you search for things. I tried searching for restaurants I knew infatuation reviewed, but nada. The “best for” and “cuisine” filters similarly return nothing. Moreover, you can’t zoom in and out of the map which makes navigation extremely slow and frustrating. Not that it matters, since, as previously mentioned, nothing shows up! I imagine this is some sort of bug? Please fix it. I downloaded TheInfatuation , tried playing with it for like 10 min then deleted it because of the aforementioned issues.

by Lawnation

I loved the initial version of TheInfatuation. The restaurant reviews have always been very informative and contributive in my decision making process. But....ever since this new layout came along, I find myself using TheInfatuation less and less...honestly I rarely even open it at this point. I really loved the hit list feature, it was my go to place for keeping track of all the places I have yet to try. Are you bringing this feature back anytime soon?....ever??? Hopefully you have individual user data still saved from the earlier version of TheInfatuation so people can gain access to their lists from before the nip/tuck of this, once great, app.

by Foodie221

This is my first time posting a review. Ever. I hate this new app design with a passion, and constantly wish I had never pushed “update” in TheInfatuation Store a few months ago. I used to use TheInfatuation on the daily, but now maybe once a month I’ll try TheInfatuation again, only to become frustrated. This new app design is neither purposeful nor functional; it prevents me from looking up restaurants that I previously saw listed and reviewed on the old version of TheInfatuation . Additionally, restaurant reviews that I can easily search for using The Infatuation website simply do not show up and/or the restaurant is not found on TheInfatuation . I hope the developers are able to fuse their great ideas with user friendliness and more content in the next app update, or I may just delete TheInfatuation altogether and accept that, with The Infatuation app and life, nothing gold can stay.

by Chompweenie

The map allowed for amazing search functionality. With it removed the biggest draw for the foodie patrons to use TheInfatuation is gone. Very sad to see the Infatuation product team take this direction and, even worse, ignore/leave unaddressed the community feedback. Unfortunately it was likely a cost cutting requirement, but the feature was critical for on the move, real-time “we should go here next” recommendations. The number of times my recommendations were praised when herding around my friends using The Infatuation are too many to count. Unfortunate to see it’s just another foodie blog spam app now.

by Alexmhutcheson

TL;DR I can’t figure out how to view a map with the rate restaurants on it, or how to search by labels, neighborhood, etc.

I love Infatuation reviews and used to use TheInfatuation all the time, but I’m really disappointed in the current version. I can’t find a way to open a map view - it’s either no longer there, or buried somewhere I can’t find. Similar for searching by filters (like “Great for large groups”, etc.) - it used to be super useful, but now I can’t find a way to do it.

Please bring those features back, or (if they still exist) make the interface more obvious.

by Jazz Jive And Funktion Son

I love the infatuation. It is one of the apps I use most and is my primary source for restaurant recommendations. Most often, I use it when I’m out and need to find a good restaurant near me. As a result, the map was the most effective app feature for me.

Just updated TheInfatuation and the map is gone! It is so difficult to see what y’all recommend on the fly and there are no major visual assets on TheInfatuation anymore! As a result, I doubt I’ll use TheInfatuation anymore.

Will you please bring back to map? I suspect I’m not the only visual person who fees forgotten and not the only user who prefers quick access to the depth of knowledge y’all offer.

by Lilhodde21

Read a quick overview on Snapchat and downloaded TheInfatuation. I went it to do some looking on the places I had just gone to in San Francisco and the first one called Tony’s Pizza Napoletana. This was my absolute favorite besides Mama’s and some guy rated it terribly because there were screaming kids and they cook pizzas a different heat levels and styles. What? Why are you going to rate a restaurant on their techniques? Also, it’s not the restaurants fault the customers kids were screaming. What a terrible review! On top of that, I couldn’t review it myself. The review button is black and will not let me go in and rate the restaurant. Hate TheInfatuation! I don’t know how it’s getting 4.9 stars! Shame on Snapchat for recommending them too!

by Robcor1984

The map is either hidden or unavailable. I have a dr appointment tomorrow, and I want to find a breakfast place nearby, and without the map (and filters), that’s impossible to do. I have to go to the website for that.

TheInfatuation is for use on-the-go, so it should be optimized for finding a place now, nearby. Or to find a specific kind of restaurant (ie use filters). The guides are amazing, but I read those at home, they don’t need to be TheInfatuation ’s main focus.

Also, the Reviews tab is not very useful. Reading reviews of restaurants scattered through the city of all kinds of different foods is not practical. The sort functionality… what problem is it solving?

I love the infatuation, but as I start going out to restaurants and relying on you guys again, I’m disappointed to see the direction TheInfatuation has taken. For now, I’ll have to rely on the website. Hope to see this shift to a more practical use, and restaurant search.

by Zenwinky

TheInfatuation kept getting clunkier, with it harder to access the map and look for restaurants in a particular area, and now with the ratings deleted, I find it pretty unhelpful, unless you want to spend hours researching. The value is the underlying review, but without the rating to be able to quickly sort things it just doesn’t make sense. So that value goes to waste. The best thing about it was the ratings were reliable, unlike crowdsourced ratings such as Yelp, which are entirely useless. So, they made a great app meaningless for me. Sad.

by Wassup975467998

I’ve been a long time user of the infatuation for years. Their guides and reviews never let me down but unfortunately that’s all TheInfatuation does.

They’ve made it so you literally can’t search on their mobile site now so I begrudgingly redownloaded TheInfatuation after deleting it from sheer frustration the first time and let me tell you it has not improved. The search function will only let you search for restaurants not guides, which is one of the primary benefits of using infatuation.

Definitely less buggy than the last time I used it but still doesn’t let you access what you assume would be an incredibly basic feature.

by RJTheMagnanimous

TheInfatuation is fine for what it is. But for vegan options (which are rising in record numbers) TheInfatuation surprisingly is lacking so many know choices. I can’t speak for other cities aside from Los Angeles but you’d think if TheInfatuation really wanted to dominate, it would take the necessary steps to beat out apps like Open Table or HappyCow which have substantially more listings for vegan specific (not just a “vegetarian” cuisine search bucket which has a small handful of actual vegan suggestions). But I knew what I was most likely going to see when TheInfatuation ’s branding image is a piece of animal limb posing as a megaphone. So deleting for now and will continue to search for more inclusive dining apps that appeal to developing trends.

by Bobby.shhhh

I am a big fan of the infatuation. Over the last year, it has become my #1 source of food recommendations. It has allowed me to amplify many trips in that time by finding excellent food across the country. 5 stars there.

However, the recent update to TheInfatuation is really a step backwards. It now takes significantly longer to load on start (on an iPhone Xs) and the search page is not intuitive at all. The search button should execute the search, not display the number of potentially matches! I used to love switching between different cities and seeing what the top places for each city were, and that's much harder to do now. Please bring back some of the old UI and stop making the landing page a map screen!

by BetsyNancy57

There on corner of Leary by known Pizzeria hangout is a dark setting but full of guests! Planters hang off ceilings brown themes & at tables or long bar front counter settings. Menu lists courses in various typical recipes lamb meats or seafood themes of veggies. Oven cook busy to baked pides of lamb & orders on grill & for by salad bar in front scenes. Many on staffers in places jobs add dishes back. Orders are viewed over only by hosts. Friendly staff after your there past waiting lists! May they get more funds for fancier modern updates!

by Hdhdhfjfjskskdbfbdk

I’d like to be able to pick which price point without having to also include the lower price points in my search. For example, when I search for three $$$ there is no option to exclude $ or $$ restaurants. If I want to find a pricier place I shouldn’t have to look through $ and $$ places as well. There are also no dates on your articles/stories anymore so I don’t know how current your suggestions are.

by Prestigeworldwidewidewide

I am an impatient millennial using your app. When I add listings to my hit list the visual confirmation pop up that confirms it’s been added hangs on my screen for as much time as it would take me to send a fax to my grandmother (remember those?also yes I communicate with my grandmother via fax). I typically come into TheInfatuation to quickly build out my hit list based on your new listings , and your stifling the speed of my thumbs with the 4 second visual screen locking check box which acknowledges my addition. Send help. Or a fix, or maybe a fax... thanks.

by Djcookieluva

I’m a huge fan of the Infatuation and I have some ideas for how to improve the mobile app. I think allowing users to create custom folders to categorize the restaurants they put on their hit list would be a great addition. For example, there are restaurants that I’ve been to on my hit list and ones that I haven’t been to, I’d like to be able to separate them into two folders: one for those I’ve been to and want to keep in my back pocket and another for ones I haven’t been to yet and want to try. So yeah customizable folders for the hit list could be nice. Also on the website there’s a way to search by price, perfect for, and cuisine type. There are no ways to refine your search on TheInfatuation so maybe that could be something to improve

by Sleepy New Yorker

My fav, well reviewed place closed more than six weeks ago, but you wouldn’t know it from TheInfatuation. There is also no way to report closings. The writing is good and the reviews useful, but TheInfatuation is slower and slower to load; it freezes and closes all the time (and yes my iOS and app are up to date, thanks); and the search function is poor, probably because things aren’t tagged well. Invest in the tech and endgame your users if you want to stay in business.

by Maxgmez

If I background TheInfatuation it restarts and downloads data. I lost the thing I was looking at and it takes 30ish seconds to restart. This is frustrating because you background it to check open table and you go back and fourth between apps.
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Update thanks for addressing the concerns! 5 stars

by Awpz

I live in NYC, and I rarely go to a restaurant or make a reservation somewhere without consulting The Infatuation. I love that they have TheInfatuation because I find it easier to use than the website, but I will say I wish that when making reservations through TheInfatuation it pushed you to the reservation app rather than opening a website for me to have to sign in every time to either Resy or OpenTable.

by Pansonista

My wife and I are brutally critical. We were very skeptical when we first read this blog and thought the raters were going to grant carte blanche to any accommodating restaurant. We love their honest reviews. Not one restaurant that was highly rated here left a discrepancy with our standards. We also have our go to spots that we thought no blog knew about but they turned up here to our surprise.

by _Chika

TheInfatuation has some really spot on reviews for different things to check out in NYC (and I’m sure a bunch of different cities). They also break them up into guides of fun activities and stuff. I liked the site before and having TheInfatuation has made it so much easier to get around the info!!!