Zagat

Zagat is an American restaurant-guide brand founded in New York City in 1979 by Tim and Nina Zagat. It became known for collecting ratings and comments from large numbers of diners rather than relying exclusively on a small group of professional critics. The founders edited and condensed those responses into compact guides that ranked restaurants on dimensions such as food, décor, service, and cost, while also preserving the distinctive, often witty language of contributors. The business began as a consumer-oriented alternative to traditional restaurant criticism. Its early guides were assembled from survey responses distributed to diners, and the resulting publications became influential among people choosing restaurants in New York and, later, other cities. Zagat’s recognizable pocket-sized format, numerical scoring system, short quotations, and emphasis on aggregated opinion helped establish a repeatable model for local dining information. The brand expanded beyond New York into additional U.S. markets and into categories including hotels, nightlife, shopping, and other leisure activities, although restaurants remained its central association. Zagat’s model also anticipated later digital review and recommendation services. As consumer research moved online, the brand developed digital products and became part of broader technology and local-search strategies. Google acquired Zagat in 2011, using its editorial and survey-based local content within Google’s location and restaurant-information ecosystem. Google subsequently shifted emphasis toward its own user-review and local-search products and sold Zagat to The Infatuation in 2018. Under The Infatuation, Zagat was positioned alongside a more contemporary restaurant-discovery business. The Infatuation revived the Zagat name through editorial projects, city guides, events, and renewed survey-based products, including a return of printed city guides. In 2021, JPMorgan Chase acquired The Infatuation, bringing Zagat into a broader portfolio connected to dining discovery and customer benefits. Zagat remains principally a restaurant-information and recommendation brand, with its historical identity rooted in aggregated diner feedback and concise editorial guidance.

Zagat was established in New York City in 1979 by Tim and Nina Zagat. The founders initially created a restaurant survey for personal use and then developed it into a published guide. Rather than presenting the judgment of one critic as the definitive view, Zagat gathered responses from many diners, edited their comments, and converted the results into concise ratings and quotations. This approach gave the guides a distinctive combination of quantitative scoring and informal consumer voice. The first Zagat guides focused on New York restaurants. Their compact format and practical information made them useful for residents and visitors, while the survey methodology gave the brand a recognizable point of difference from conventional newspaper criticism and established restaurant guides. Zagat’s coverage later expanded to other American cities and to additional lifestyle categories, including hotels, nightlife, shopping, and entertainment. The restaurant guides, however, remained the brand’s best-known product. During the 1990s and 2000s, Zagat developed into a broader publishing and information business. Its ratings and editorial material increasingly appeared in digital formats as consumers began researching restaurants online. The company’s aggregated-review model became especially relevant as local-search services and online recommendation platforms grew. In 2011, Google acquired Zagat. The brand’s content and editorial reputation were incorporated into Google’s local and restaurant-information activities, although Google increasingly emphasized its own user-review infrastructure and local products over the traditional standalone guide model. Google sold Zagat to The Infatuation in 2018. The acquisition placed Zagat under an independent restaurant-discovery company whose editorial voice and online city coverage complemented Zagat’s established authority. The Infatuation used the Zagat name in digital content, events, and renewed survey projects, and later brought back printed city guides. This revival treated Zagat less as a general local-search database and more as a recognizable editorial dining brand. In 2021, JPMorgan Chase acquired The Infatuation. Zagat consequently became part of a larger corporate group with interests in dining discovery and consumer engagement. The brand’s modern activities have included restaurant recommendations, city guides, survey-based recognition, and dining-related editorial or experiential programs. Its enduring significance lies in popularizing a scalable model for gathering diner opinions, editing them into accessible guidance, and presenting restaurant information in a format that influenced later online review services.

• 2022

  Print-guide revival

  [5]Zagat official websitezagat.com

  The Zagat name returns to city-focused printed restaurant guides under The Infatuation.

• 2021

  JPMorgan Chase acquires The Infatuation

  [4]JPMorgan Chase acquires The Infatuationjpmorganchase.com

  Zagat enters JPMorgan Chase’s portfolio through the financial company’s acquisition of The Infatuation.

• 2018

  Acquisition by The Infatuation

  [3]The Infatuation and Zagattheinfatuation.com

  The Infatuation acquires Zagat from Google and assumes responsibility for developing the brand.

• 2011

  Google acquisition

  [2]Google acquires Zagatblog.google

  Google acquires Zagat and incorporates its restaurant and local-information resources into Google’s broader local strategy.

• 1980

  First New York restaurant guide

  [1]Zagaten.wikipedia.org

  The early guide formalizes Zagat’s characteristic combination of numerical ratings, edited quotations, and practical restaurant information.

• 1979

  Zagat is founded

  [1]Zagaten.wikipedia.org

  Tim and Nina Zagat establish the brand in New York City and develop a restaurant guide based on aggregated diner surveys.

A consumer-centered dining authority that combines aggregated diner feedback with edited recommendations, city coverage, and practical restaurant information.

• Publishing · 1979

  Zagat Restaurant Guides

  The brand’s core product is a city-based restaurant guide built from aggregated diner surveys. Guides traditionally combine scores for food, décor, and service with short edited comments, price information, and practical details. The format is designed to help readers compare restaurants quickly while retaining the variety of consumer opinion.

• Digital media

  Zagat Digital Restaurant Content

  Zagat’s digital presence extends its restaurant recommendations and survey heritage beyond printed books. Digital content has included restaurant listings, editorial recommendations, city coverage, survey results, and dining-related features. Its role and presentation have changed as ownership moved from Google to The Infatuation.

• Travel and local guides

  Zagat City Guides

  City guides apply the Zagat format to local dining scenes, presenting selected restaurants and consumer-informed assessments for residents and visitors. The guides preserve the brand’s association with place-based discovery while adapting its content for contemporary city-guide publishing.

• 2021

  JPMorgan Chase acquisition of The InfatuationM&A

  Background

  JPMorgan Chase sought to expand dining-related customer engagement and benefits through The Infatuation’s restaurant-discovery platform.

  Action taken

  JPMorgan Chase acquired The Infatuation, bringing Zagat under its ownership.

  Aftermath

  Zagat became part of a corporate dining and consumer-engagement portfolio while continuing to operate as a recognizable restaurant-guide brand.

  Source

• 2018

  Sale to The InfatuationM&A

  Background

  Google had increasingly focused on its own local-search and user-review products, while The Infatuation operated a restaurant-discovery and editorial business.

  Action taken

  Google sold Zagat to The Infatuation.

  Aftermath

  The Infatuation combined its contemporary editorial approach with Zagat’s established survey and guide identity, including renewed print and event activity.

  Source

• 2011

  Google acquisitionM&A

  Background

  Zagat had developed a recognized body of restaurant ratings and local editorial content as online local search was becoming increasingly important.

  Action taken

  Google acquired Zagat and brought the brand and its content into its local-information activities.

  Aftermath

  Zagat operated within Google’s local ecosystem before later being sold to The Infatuation.

  Source

• 2021.09.10

  Reported2021.09.10

  JPMorgan Chase acquires The Infatuation and related properties[6]JPMorgan Chase收购The Infatuation及相关业务eater.com

  JPMorgan Chase acquired The Infatuation, its apps, the Eeeeeatscon festival, and Zagat, which The Infatuation had purchased in 2018. The article says The Infatuation will remain a distinct brand under the company.

Read more

1. 1Zagaten.wikipedia.org
2. 2Google acquires Zagatblog.google
3. 3The Infatuation and Zagattheinfatuation.com
4. 4JPMorgan Chase acquires The Infatuationjpmorganchase.com
5. 5Zagat official websitezagat.com
6. 6JPMorgan Chase收购The Infatuation及相关业务eater.com