As the age-old saying goes, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. But in the world of restaurant and bar reviews that often skew negatively, all manners seem to go out the window. But should they?

If there’s one reliable thing about media, it’s that people love a hot take. However, while nothing drives traffic and view counts quite like a scathing review, the use of social media as a soapbox for bad food and drink reviews is questionable. It’s one thing to write a bad Yelp review or to take up your complaints with management directly, but when one takes their opinions to TikTok, what are they trying to prove? Is your post a genuine warning to the public, a way to make enemies for the sake of making enemies, or just a scheme to get more followers?

On this episode of the “VinePair Podcast,” Joanna and Zach debate a recent “Ask Joanna” column pondering whether or not posting negative reviews of bars or restaurants on social media is ever a good idea. Plus, the two discuss if posting such negative reviews will actually have an impact. Tune in for more.

Zach is drinking: 1971 Château Suduiraut Sauternes

Joanna is drinking: Hochstadter’s Slow & Low Coffee Old Fashioned

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