In short: A reply to a Google review is not for the person who wrote it: it is for everyone who will read it before deciding whether to book. That is why you reply to all of them, including star-only ones; Google lists it among its tips for local ranking. To a good one, three lines with their name, something specific from what they said and a reason to come back. To a bad one, six steps: wait an hour or until tomorrow, find out from the floor and the kitchen what happened, acknowledge the specifics, explain without excuses or ‘but’, offer to continue by email or phone, and sign with your name and role. Never customer details, irony, ‘that didn’t happen’ or the same template. A fake review is reported from the profile and answered calmly anyway. Reviews are requested when the customer is happy, with a QR code, and never in exchange for anything.
Someone leaves you one star and a paragraph about how long the main course took, and every fibre of you wants to reply right now, in the heat of the moment and in capitals. Don't. Breathe, have a glass of water. Responding to a restaurant's Google reviews has one rule that puts everything in order: the reply isn't for the person who wrote the review, it's for everyone who will read it before deciding whether to book or go next door.
Why you have to reply to all of them
Anyone looking for somewhere to have dinner checks the rating, reads two or three bad reviews (nobody reads the good ones, let's be honest) and looks at what the restaurant replied. Silence reads as ‘they don't care’. Google, what's more, includes it among its tips for improving your local ranking: replying to reviews shows that you value your customers and what they think. And after the reviews, look at the website: what it needs so that person books is in restaurant websites.
How to reply to a good review
Three lines, and they shouldn't look copied from the previous one:
- Say thank you using their name.
- Pick up something specific from what they say: the rice, the terrace, the person who served them.
- Invite them back with a reason: the seasonal dish, the lunch menu.
Example: ‘Thank you, Marta. We'll pass on what you said about the rice to the kitchen; it'll make their shift. The menu changes in autumn: if you come back, ask about the mushrooms.’
How to reply to a bad review, step by step
1. Wait
An hour, or until tomorrow. What you write angry stays published, and it ages terribly.
2. Find out what happened
Before writing anything, ask front of house and the kitchen what happened that day. Half of all bad replies come from answering without knowing.
3. Acknowledge the specifics
If they waited forty minutes, say ‘you waited forty minutes’. Not ‘we're sorry your experience didn't meet your expectations’, which is the emptiest sentence in the language.
4. Explain without making excuses
One sentence on what happened or on what you've changed. No ‘but’. The ‘but’ ruins everything.
5. Offer to take it offline
An email address or a phone number to talk it over. Nobody wins an argument in public, and everybody reads it.
6. Sign it
With a name and a job title. A person replies better than ‘The team’.
Example: ‘Hi Jordi. You're right: on Saturday the main course took forty minutes and nobody told you. Two large tables came in at once and we handled it badly. We'd like to talk it over with you: write to us at the restaurant's email address. Laura, front of house manager.’
What you never say
- The customer's details: what they ordered, who they came with, how much they paid or whose name the booking was under.
- Irony. It's easily misread and only the person writing it finds it funny.
- ‘That didn't happen.’ Even if it didn't.
- The same template in every reply. It shows by the third one.
- Menu prices, defensively.
| Kind of review | Timing | What to say | What not to say |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good, with text | Within a few days | Thanks by name, something specific from what they said, a reason to come back | The same template as the last one |
| Stars only | Within a few days | One line: thanks; or an invitation to tell you what happened | Anything long |
| Bad, with a reason | An hour or until tomorrow, never in the heat of the moment | Specifically what happened, what you’ve changed, an email or phone number to continue, name and role | Customer details, irony, ‘that didn’t happen’, ‘but’, defensive talk about prices |
| Fake or against the rules | Report it from the profile and reply while Google reviews it | Calm, without accusing: readers will see both sides | Accusations |
Fake reviews or ones that break the rules
If a review is abusive, talks about a different restaurant or comes from someone who has never set foot in yours, you can report it to Google from the profile itself. Google checks it against its content policies and doesn't always remove it, so in the meantime it's worth replying anyway, calmly and without accusing anyone: whoever reads it will see both and draw their own conclusions.
How to get more reviews without cheating
By asking for one at the moment the customer is happy: when you bring the bill, with a QR code that takes them straight to writing it. What you can't do is offer something in return: a discount or a free shot for a review is against Google's rules. Nor can you ask only the people you know will give you a good one, however tempting that is.
How we do it
At the restaurants whose reviews we manage, we start by reading the replies that are already there, not just the unanswered reviews, and we ask the restaurant what happened before replying to a complaint. No reply is published without a person having read it.
If you want to see what that looks like in practice, it's there for all to see: the replies on the Google Business Profile of any restaurant we manage are ours, the good and the bad. Reviews are one piece of word of mouth; where they fit with the rest is in our guide to restaurant marketing.
Frequently asked questions
Before replying to the next one
Do you have to reply to reviews that are only stars?
Yes, with one line. For five stars, a thank you; for one or two, an invitation to tell you what happened.
Can you delete a negative review?
No. Only Google can remove it, and only if it breaks their rules. That it's unfair or that it really stings isn't a reason.
How quickly should you reply?
Within a few days. To a bad one, not in the heat of the moment, but not the following month either.
Does replying to reviews help you rank higher on Google Maps?
Google includes it among its tips for improving your local ranking, along with keeping your profile complete and up to date.