Here is a simple rule we live by: on the first night in a new neighborhood, eat at the closest restaurant that passes a three-part test. One, it is full of locals. Two, the menu is in the local language. Three, the staff are unhurried — nobody is trying to upsell you anything.
That is it. Do not look at Google reviews. Do not consult a 'best of' list. Walk out of your hotel, walk for ten minutes in the direction that looks most alive, and pick the restaurant that matches those three criteria.
This almost always produces a better dinner than following Google. The reason is that Google reviews reward tourist-optimized restaurants — the ones with English menus, Instagram decor, and staff trained to smile for photos. Those restaurants are not bad, but they are rarely great. Great neighborhood restaurants are too busy feeding locals to care about the global review economy.
The second-night rule: ask the locals you met at dinner where they would eat tomorrow. Every great meal we have ever had in a new city came from a recommendation given over the table at another meal. Never from the internet.
