What business owners can learn from MICHELIN-starred restaurants on Yelp

Some of the greatest restaurants in the world are on Yelp. Discover the features these stand-out businesses use to strengthen their online presence and engage with current and potential customers.

MICHELIN-starred restaurants represent the best of fine dining across the globe—and many of them are on Yelp. While you might think being included in the MICHELIN Guide is sufficient marketing, a large number of restaurants and hotels who make the list go the extra mile to establish a strong online presence and engage with their patrons by claiming their Yelp Business Page.

Any entrepreneur, no matter their industry, can learn from these MICHELIN-starred restaurants on how to get the most out of their Yelp Page. Take a look at the examples below to see how these restaurants use various Yelp features and tools.

Sons & Daughters, San Francisco

Michelin | Two Stars: Excellent cooking
“Offering an abundance of poise, polish, and charm, this cozy Nob Hill jewel box remains quietly impressive. A cleanly minimalist new Nordic style is clearer than ever in an elegant tasting menu that deftly weaves together a variety of preserved fruits and vegetables, flawless seafood, and aged meats.”

High-quality photos

Woo potential customers with high-quality photos of your space, offerings, and team. For example, showing before and after photos is a great way to display your handiwork, keen eye for design, house cleaning or dog grooming services, and beyond. Similarly, having photos of your team humanizes your business. This is especially important for service businesses who send their teams into people’s homes, like plumbing, HVAC, and cleaning companies.

Consider uploading photos that back up your business claims—like photos of the local farms you source produce from or of your chefs rolling your house-made pasta dough—and give customers something concrete to compare your business to competitors.

How to add photos: Log in to your Yelp for Business account and click on the Photos and Videos tab.

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Daisies, Chicago

Michelin | Bib Gourmand: Good quality, good value cooking; MICHELIN Green Star
“Flooded with sunlight, fitted with a comfortable bar and sporting a private dining room, the restaurant has no shortage of space. And much to everyone’s delight, house-made pastas like pappardelle with mushroom ragu or rigatoni with pork ragu and fermented tomato remain prime attractions.”

Business hours

Letting customers know when you’re open helps them in their decision to visit your business. Keeping your hours updated also shows potential customers you’re not only in operation but also actively providing the most current information about your business.

How to add or update your hours of operation: Log in to your Yelp for Business account, click on the Business Information tab, and scroll down to Hours of operation. You’ll be able to preview how the hours will look on your Yelp Page and in search. You can also add extended closure information in case you’re closed for the season, renovating, or closing permanently.

Benu, San Francisco

Michelin | Three Stars: Exceptional cuisine
“Faux-shark’s fin and xiao long bao are a delightful classic, but Chef Corey Lee continues to reimagine and redefine his nightly offerings. Dishes like barbecued quail with house-made XO sauce and an elevated take on traditional Korean beef barbecue convey a distinct personality and reflect a singular marriage between contemporary Asian influences.”

Special hours

Whether you’re closed for a holiday or extending hours to help shoppers secure last-minute deals, updating your special/holiday hours on your Yelp Page can help customers plan their visits and services accordingly. You’ll also be able to avoid the frustration of people trying to visit when you’re closed—or pleasantly delight those who find you’re open on a holiday.

How to update your special hours: Log in to your Yelp for Business account, click on the Business Information tab, and scroll down to Upcoming special hours. You’ll then be able to verify your hours for a variety of common holidays and add custom days for which your operating hours will be different than usual.

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Per Se, New York

Michelin | Three Stars: Exceptional cuisine
“An experience at Thomas Keller’s Per Se is one to be savored, recounted and remembered. Despite stellar views and a clever design allowing each table a view, your attention won’t stray from the plate.”

Amenities and attributes

Amenities and attributes help potential customers understand who you are and what options you provide. Yelp users can filter by amenities to help them narrow down their options when looking for a business with certain features, such as “outdoor seating” or “takes reservations.”

In Per Se’s case, a patron would know immediately (without having to call the restaurant) that there are vegetarian and vegan options available, making their decision to book a reservation that much easier.

How to add amenities: Log in to your Yelp for Business account, click on the Business Information tab, then scroll down to Amenities and more. Businesses can also self-identify as minority-owned, such as Black-owned or Asian-owned, and highlight sustainability practices.

Bonus: If you accept Apple Pay at your business, you can choose the “Accepts Apple Pay” amenity. Plus, you can request a free signage kit from Apple and download the Apple Pay mark to use within email, on your terminal screen, and on your website.

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Sushi Noz, New York

Michelin | Two Stars: Excellent cooking
“There is a certain energy that courses through this sacred space, where every detail recreates an intimate Japanese refuge. Some of the tools alone are marvels, and Chef Nozomu Abe is a meticulous and engaging craftsman.”

Specialties

Specialties are not just what you offer—they’re what you do best. Set the stage for inquisitive customers who want to know more about you before they patronize your business. Dive into how you create an elegant ambience or how you’re the first HVAC company to provide a particular service. Let your key differentiators make the purchasing decision a no-brainer for potential customers.

The terms and phrases you enter in this section also help customers find you when searching for a business like yours on Yelp. According to a Yelp study, businesses that add specialties to their Yelp Page can receive up to 30% more page visits.^*

How to add specialties: Log in to your Yelp for Business account, click on the Business Information tab, scroll down to From this business, and click edit next to Specialties.

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How to fill out your ‘From this business’ section on Yelp

Papa Llama, Orlando

Michelin | One Star: High quality cooking
“Husband-and-wife duo Kevin and Maria Ruiz prepare modern Peruvian cuisine full of bright ingredients with a bit of polish, and the multi-course tasting menu is an approachable (and affordable) way to sample their sincere cooking.”

Meet the business owner

Personalizing your Yelp Page with a greeting from the business owner or manager can humanize your business and help customers understand your journey, mission, and passions. In 15–1,000 words, describe your education or experience, personal drive to solve challenges in your industry, and what matters most to you about running a business.

This feature is a part of the “From this business” section, which is one of the top five ways customers connect with businesses on Yelp.

How to fill out the “Meet the business owner” section: Log in to your Yelp for Business account, click on the Business Information tab, scroll down to From this business, and click Edit next to Meet the business owner.

Atera, New York

Michelin | Two Stars: Excellent cooking
“The kitchen, led by Danish chef Ronny Emborg, runs with a quiet tranquility that forms a sharp contrast to the boisterous playlist, which helps keep the room from feeling stuffy. The menu comprises numerous beguiling courses with global accents, featuring subtle flavors and deftly weaving together both delicacy and richness.”

Ask the community

Yelp users can ask and answer each other’s questions about your business on your Yelp Page based on their experiences. When you participate in the conversation, you not only add authority to the answer but also exemplify your business’s level of customer service and care.

Depending on your notification settings, you can receive an email or push notification when a new question has been asked and surprise and delight users with a timely response.

How to answer questions: Log in to your Yelp for Business account, and click on the Community Questions tab. If users have submitted questions, they will appear on this page. You’ll also be able to sort them by newest first, most answered, and most popular.

L’abeille, New York

Michelin | One Star: High quality cooking
“The young Chef Mitsunobu Nagae is a calm, collected presence in the open kitchen, and years spent working at Joël Robuchon restaurants worldwide are evident. A harmonious union of French cooking with Japanese sensibilities, Nagae’s food is immediately approachable.”

UKA, Los Angeles

Michelin | One Star: High quality cooking
“Here, the fish is sourced from Japan and flown in twice weekly, then cured or aged in-house. Products are sourced locally for the best quality. It’s all part of the kaiseki dining experience at Uka, where guests are invited to savor six or nine courses.”

Review responses

Responding to your Yelp reviews can give you a powerful edge over the competition while increasing customer trust and attracting new customers. Taking the time to respond to feedback, whether positive or critical, shows current and potential customers your commitment to customer satisfaction. According to BrightLocal, 88% of consumers say they’re more likely to use a business if they see the owner responds to reviews.

Not only can engaging with reviewers build goodwill toward your business, but you can also share your perspective on customers’ experiences and be a part of the conversation, whether positive or critical. Responding to reviews enables you to add helpful context or clarity to a situation, thank customers for their patronage, or let reviewers know you’ll be taking their feedback into consideration. Adding your voice to the mix helps users understand your level of customer service.

How to respond to reviews: Log in to your Yelp for Business account, and click on the Reviews tab. You can sort reviews by star rating and date and search for specific keywords to help you determine patterns in your customer reviews, which you can use to improve your products or services.

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SingleThread, Healdsburg

Michelin | Three Stars: Exceptional cuisine; MICHELIN Green Star
“The menu begins, unforgettably, with a botanical landscape interspersed with impeccable first bites, serving to introduce the meal’s central themes: impeccable ingredients, precise, artistic presentation and pure, harmonious flavors. The expert use of the donabe (Japanese claypot) is a signature, transforming seafood and vegetables alike.”

Upgrade Package

The Upgrade Package is a suite of paid features you can use to boost the appeal of your Yelp Business Page, helping you grab people’s attention and show them you’re the right business for the job.

When shown two businesses side-by-side in search, 95% of Yelp users said they’d choose the business with Upgrade Package features over the one without.

You’ll be able to:

Showcase your most unique attributes with Business Highlights
Remove competitor ads from your business page
Promote seasonal and special offers with the Call to Action tool
Show off your brand by adding your logo
Put your best foot forward by customizing which photos are featured with Slideshow
Create posts on your page with Yelp Connect to keep customers updated on your business
Show off your best work to attract new clients with Portfolio (select categories)

To set up Upgrade Package: Log in to your Yelp for Business account, and click on the Page Upgrades tab.

Resources:

A guide to Yelp Page Upgrades

6 business owners share their favorite Yelp features and tools

Yelp Ads

With Yelp Ads, your business is displayed in a number of key places on the site and app, including above and below relevant search results and on your competitors’ pages. This means customers are more likely to find you while searching for the services you offer—and more people finding you means more leads for your business: Businesses with Yelp Ads get 2.5x more leads.

To set up Yelp Ads: Log in to your Yelp for Business account, and click on the Yelp Ads tab. You’ll be able to customize your goals and budget and use location and keyword targeting to reach your desired customers. You’ll only pay when your ads are clicked (impressions are free), and you can pause or cancel at any time.

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^*Yelp Internal Data, 2022. Based on a study of unreviewed claimed businesses. Average results within 90 days of claiming a business page. Study conducted between September 1, 2021 and April 30, 2022. Results may vary.