Don’t get Zorba’d!

In my previous post, I described the experience that coined the phrase, “We got Zorba’d!” Again, in simplistic terms, being Zorba’d is eating at a restaurant that is bad and can afford to be so, since it is in a touristy area of town and tourists will wander into it without knowing that it is horrible. Example: “We got Zorba’d in Mallorca/Rome/Munich/Florence (pick any city with a flourishing tourist industry) since we didn’t know where to eat.” Now I’ll give some handy-dandy tips to avoid being Zorba’d.
More customers generally indicate more quality. If there are a bunch of people at a restaurant, chances are that it’s good. They could be locals or tourists that found it in a guidebook or tourists that ate there once before. All of those categories of people indicate a plus to the restaurant’s status. It’s the people like me, the ones that only start trying to find a place to eat when they get hungry, that drag a restaurant down. If it’s the only appealing restaurant in the area, there is a chance it is still bad. Of course, numbers aren’t the only factor you’ll consider in your search for a good restaurant.
Look for customers with food and drink. Don’t be afraid to walk through the restaurant. If a waiter asks you about it, tell him you’re looking for a friend. If there is food on half the tables that are occupied, it is pretty safe to say it’s a decent restaurant, as long as the food looks good, of course. If there’s food on only one table and only drinks on half the others, you’re rolling the dice. If you walk to the back of the restaurant, no sign of food or drink on any of the tables, and people look up at you, hoping to see the waiter instead of you, then leave immediately, and when the waiter or owner tries to convince you to stay, do not be swayed.
If there are few people there, or at any local restaurants, then it may just be an abnormal time of the day to eat. In this case, look for something you probably won’t see, but could be a sign you hit the jackpot: little cards with “Reserved” on them. Then again, they could be a ploy by the owner to make tourists believe that the locals eat there.
The farther from the tourist attraction, the cheaper the price. It’s just simple supply & demand economics. They have an endless supply of customers, whether or not the place is horrible, that are demanding food. Those establishments located outside the general walking area of the average tourist have to offer something better (prices, service, atmosphere or food) to encourage the locals to eat there, so if you have the time and energy, enlarge your search radius and look for something better.
Ask the locals where they eat. This is a last resort, usually, for a few reasons. They might not like tourists and then give you a bad recommendation. You might not be able to communicate effectively. You might mistakenly identify a fellow tourist as a local and get a bad recommendation. Or, you might be directed to the best restaurant you’ve ever been to that you would have never found or thought to eat at, had you not talked to the locals.
Don’t forget to check the menu. If it doesn’t have something you want to eat on it for the price you are willing to pay, don’t eat there.

Now, following all these tips still doesn’t guarantee the fact that you won’t get Zorba’d, but it will greatly reduce the chances. Good luck in all of your eating out endeavors!