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Zagat

Full company profile

uuid0009s83

Namestring
Zagat
Websiteurl
zagat.com
Company typeenum
Private
Founded yearint
1979
Descriptiontext

Zagat is a consumer-facing restaurant review and guide publisher founded in 1979 and headquartered in New York. Originally built on a survey methodology that aggregated diner ratings across food, décor, service, and cost, the brand has historically served consumers seeking curated restaurant recommendations in major U.S. markets. The company is described as "the leading resource for restaurant guides since 1979" and now operates as part of The Infatuation, indicating its editorial and distribution assets have been integrated into a broader digital restaurant-discovery platform.

The current operation is led by CEO Chris Stang (of The Infatuation) and Andrew Steinthal as CRO, with editorial direction under editor in chief Hillary Reinsberg. Founder Tim Zagat remains in a co-founder and co-chairman capacity. Leadership structure — spanning operations, revenue, and editorial — points to a content-and-partnerships monetization model rather than a pure subscription or transactional product, although specific pricing, GTM, and product details are not disclosed in the available data.

Historically, Zagat raised $31 million in February 2000 from General Atlantic (lead), Allen & Company, and Kleiner Perkins, funding the expansion of its survey-based guides and early digital initiatives. The company employs 101-250 people, and the firmographic record shows no disclosed revenue, customer logos, technology stack, or AI capabilities, leaving significant gaps in the operational and commercial profile.

Short descriptiontext

Zagat is a restaurant review and guide publisher founded in 1979, serving consumers seeking curated dining recommendations. It now operates as part of The Infatuation, a digital restaurant-discovery platform, under professional management with founder Tim Zagat remaining as co-chairman.

Ownership categoryenum
Headcount rangeband
101–250
akta.pro rankint
HeadquartersNew York, United States
HQ citystring
New York
HQ countrystring
United States
HQ regionstring
North America
Markets served

Serves global market

Keyword5 values
restaurant guides, dining reviews, food ratings, restaurant surveys, dining recommendations
Industry1 code
1Review-Led Travel Discovery & Booking Platforms
CodeTHAKAAANPrimaryYes
SIC code1 code
  • Retail-Eating & Drinking Places5810
Product category
Restaurant Reviews & Ratings Guides
Social media profiles3 records
Cost components4 values
Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations
GTM typeB2C
B2C
Offering typeDigital Commerce or Conte…
Digital Commerce or Content
Core offering1 text field

Zagat produces crowd-sourced restaurant reviews and ratings based on its signature Zagat Survey, in which diners score restaurants on food, decor, service, and cost. The resulting guides are published as online editorial content on zagat.com, as printed guidebooks, and through brand-licensed integrations with partners such as Chase.

Differentiator
Functional benefit
Problem solved
Product and service2 records
1Zagat Survey Restaurant Guides
CategoryRestaurant Guides / Consumer Travel & Dining Media
Description

Printed and digital restaurant guides built on the Zagat Survey methodology, aggregating diner reviews into standardized ratings on food, decor, service, and cost for consumers seeking trusted dining recommendations.

2Zagat.com Online Restaurant Reviews
CategoryOnline Restaurant Reviews / Consumer Media
Description

Online editorial platform publishing Zagat's survey-based restaurant reviews, ratings, and recommendations for individual diners at zagat.com.

Recent move3 records

Each record includes

Date, Type, Title, Description, Source

Expansion highlight3 records

Each record includes

Type, Description

Peers10 records
1Bon Appétit
TypeBroad incumbent
Description

Bon Appétit is a major food media brand (Condé Nast) covering recipes, restaurant reviews, and culinary culture, overlapping with Zagat on the editorial restaurant review use case for a broader food-loving audience.

2Foursquare
TypeDirect peer
Description

Foursquare is a location-based discovery platform with significant restaurant tips and rating data, competing in the same local-discovery use case as Zagat's reviews.

3OpenTable
TypeDirect peer
Description

OpenTable is a leading restaurant discovery and reservation platform that overlaps with Zagat on diner discovery while adding transactional booking functionality that Zagat lacks.

4Michelin Guide
TypeDirect peer
Description

Michelin Guide is the gold-standard curated restaurant rating authority globally, directly comparable to Zagat's authoritative editorial review model and premium positioning with diners and chefs.

5Yelp
TypeDirect peer
Description

Yelp is the dominant user-generated restaurant review platform in the US, directly competing with Zagat for diner attention and restaurant marketing budgets across discovery and ratings.

6TripAdvisor
TypeDirect peer
Description

TripAdvisor is a major global travel and dining review platform with comparable user-generated ratings and discovery functionality, competing directly with Zagat's dining guide positioning.

7The Infatuation
TypeDirect peer
Description

The Infatuation is the parent brand under which Zagat now operates, sharing overlapping editorial coverage, audience, and team with very similar restaurant review and discovery offerings.

8Tock
TypeEmerging player
Description

Tock is a reservation and ticketing platform for restaurants that overlaps with Zagat's curated dining audience and competes for restaurant partner relationships through a discovery-plus-booking model.

9Eater
TypeDirect peer
Description

Eater is a digital-first restaurant news and review publication (part of Vox Media) targeting the same urban foodie demographic as Zagat, with overlapping editorial coverage of restaurants and dining culture.

10Resy
TypeDirect peer
Description

Resy is a restaurant reservation and discovery platform (owned by American Express) competing for the same premium urban diner audience that Zagat's curated reviews target.

Market position
Strengths5 records

Each record includes

Headline, Details, Source

Weaknesses5 records

Each record includes

Headline, Details, Source

Competitive moat3 records

Each record includes

Type, Details

Key risks5 records

Each record includes

Headline, Details, Source

Key highlights7 records

Each record includes

Headline, Details, Source

Customer concentration

Classification, Details

Ideal customer profile1 record

Each record includes

Profile, Firmographic size, Sales motion, Sales cycle length, Buying structure, Purchase trigger, Buyer persona, Geography, Industry vertical, Primary use case, Description, Pain points, Evidence proof points, Target buyer

Technology focused
No
API detail
Has APIbool
No

Docs URL, Description

AI maturity
App detail

Has app

Core technology
Revenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Number of profiles
Profiles5 records

Each record includes

Name, Designation, Designation category, Overview, Profile commentary, Source

No data
No data
Funding overview

Funding stage, Last funding date, Total funding USD

Funding rounds1 record

Each record includes

Round, Amount USD, Date, Pre money valuation, Total investors, Investors, News

Investors3 records

Each record includes

Name, Type, Date of entry, Rounds participated, Website

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Each record includes

Name, Acquisition type, Announced date, Completed date, Status, Website, News

Investment1 record

Each record includes

Name, Round, Announced date, Lead investor, Website, News

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Zagat

Restaurant Reviews & Ratings Guideszagat.com

Zagat is a restaurant review and guide publisher founded in 1979, serving consumers seeking curated dining recommendations. It now operates as part of The Infatuation, a digital restaurant-discovery platform, under professional management with founder Tim Zagat remaining as co-chairman.

What Zagat does

Zagat is a consumer-facing restaurant review and guide publisher founded in 1979 and headquartered in New York. Originally built on a survey methodology that aggregated diner ratings across food, décor, service, and cost, the brand has historically served consumers seeking curated restaurant recommendations in major U.S. markets. The company is described as "the leading resource for restaurant guides since 1979" and now operates as part of The Infatuation, indicating its editorial and distribution assets have been integrated into a broader digital restaurant-discovery platform.

The current operation is led by CEO Chris Stang (of The Infatuation) and Andrew Steinthal as CRO, with editorial direction under editor in chief Hillary Reinsberg. Founder Tim Zagat remains in a co-founder and co-chairman capacity. Leadership structure — spanning operations, revenue, and editorial — points to a content-and-partnerships monetization model rather than a pure subscription or transactional product, although specific pricing, GTM, and product details are not disclosed in the available data.

Historically, Zagat raised $31 million in February 2000 from General Atlantic (lead), Allen & Company, and Kleiner Perkins, funding the expansion of its survey-based guides and early digital initiatives. The company employs 101-250 people, and the firmographic record shows no disclosed revenue, customer logos, technology stack, or AI capabilities, leaving significant gaps in the operational and commercial profile.

Zagat firmographics

Firmographics
Name
Zagat
Website
https://zagat.com
Company type
Private
Founded year
1979
Headcount range
101–250 employees
Short description
Zagat is a restaurant review and guide publisher founded in 1979, serving consumers seeking curated dining recommendations. It now operates as part of The Infatuation, a digital restaurant-discovery platform, under professional management with founder Tim Zagat remaining as co-chairman.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Zagat industry classification

Industry
Product category
Restaurant Reviews & Ratings Guides
SIC
Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
akta.pro primary industry
Review-Led Travel Discovery & Booking Platforms (THAKAAAN)

Keywords

  • Restaurant guides
  • Dining reviews
  • Food ratings
  • Restaurant surveys
  • Dining recommendations

Where Zagat is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city
New York
HQ country
United States
HQ region
North America

Markets served

Zagat business model

Business model
GTM type
B2C
Offering type
Digital Commerce or Content
Cost components
Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Zagat product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Zagat produces crowd-sourced restaurant reviews and ratings based on its signature Zagat Survey, in which diners score restaurants on food, decor, service, and cost. The resulting guides are published as online editorial content on zagat.com, as printed guidebooks, and through brand-licensed integrations with partners such as Chase.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

  • Zagat Survey Restaurant Guides Printed and digital restaurant guides built on the Zagat Survey methodology, aggregating diner reviews into standardized ratings on food, decor, service, and cost for consumers seeking trusted dining recommendations.
  • Zagat.com Online Restaurant Reviews Online editorial platform publishing Zagat's survey-based restaurant reviews, ratings, and recommendations for individual diners at zagat.com.

Companies that use Zagat

Customer profile

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Zagat technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API
No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Zagat partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Zagat competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

  • Bon Appétit: Bon Appétit is a major food media brand (Condé Nast) covering recipes, restaurant reviews, and culinary culture, overlapping with Zagat on the editorial restaurant review use case for a broader food-loving audience.

Direct peers

  • Foursquare: Foursquare is a location-based discovery platform with significant restaurant tips and rating data, competing in the same local-discovery use case as Zagat's reviews.
  • OpenTable: OpenTable is a leading restaurant discovery and reservation platform that overlaps with Zagat on diner discovery while adding transactional booking functionality that Zagat lacks.
  • Michelin Guide: Michelin Guide is the gold-standard curated restaurant rating authority globally, directly comparable to Zagat's authoritative editorial review model and premium positioning with diners and chefs.
  • Yelp: Yelp is the dominant user-generated restaurant review platform in the US, directly competing with Zagat for diner attention and restaurant marketing budgets across discovery and ratings.
  • TripAdvisor: TripAdvisor is a major global travel and dining review platform with comparable user-generated ratings and discovery functionality, competing directly with Zagat's dining guide positioning.
  • The Infatuation: The Infatuation is the parent brand under which Zagat now operates, sharing overlapping editorial coverage, audience, and team with very similar restaurant review and discovery offerings.
  • Eater: Eater is a digital-first restaurant news and review publication (part of Vox Media) targeting the same urban foodie demographic as Zagat, with overlapping editorial coverage of restaurants and dining culture.
  • Resy: Resy is a restaurant reservation and discovery platform (owned by American Express) competing for the same premium urban diner audience that Zagat's curated reviews target.

Emerging players

  • Tock: Tock is a reservation and ticketing platform for restaurants that overlaps with Zagat's curated dining audience and competes for restaurant partner relationships through a discovery-plus-booking model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Zagat social profiles

Digital presence

Zagat financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Zagat leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Zagat funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Zagat M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Zagat

What does Zagat do?

Zagat produces crowd-sourced restaurant reviews and ratings based on its signature Zagat Survey, in which diners score restaurants on food, decor, service, and cost. The resulting guides are published as online editorial content on zagat.com, as printed guidebooks, and through brand-licensed integrations with partners such as Chase.

When was Zagat founded?

Zagat was founded in 1979. It employs 101 to 250 people.

Where is Zagat based?

Zagat is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.

Who are Zagat's main competitors?

Bon Appétit is listed as a broad incumbent. Direct peers are Foursquare, OpenTable, Michelin Guide, Yelp, TripAdvisor, The Infatuation, Eater and Resy. Tock is listed as an emerging player.

Does Zagat have an API?

No public API is recorded for Zagat.

What industry is Zagat in?

Zagat's product category is Restaurant Reviews & Ratings Guides. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAKAAAN, Review-Led Travel Discovery & Booking Platforms. Its SIC code is 5810.

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Live signals
TechCrunchMarissa Mayer on Why Google Bought ZagatThe article is a video recording of an interview where Google executive Marissa Mayer discusses the company's acquisition of Zagat at the Disrupt San Francisco 2011 conference. The content serves as historical context for the transaction rather than reporting new developments. No other companies or countries are materially involved in the reported event.WsjTripadvisor Names Its First CMO Since 2018Tripadvisor Inc. has appointed John Boris as its new chief marketing officer, marking the company's first hire for this role since 2018. The appointment aims to help the online travel platform attract consumers willing to pay more for flight and hotel bookings. Boris brings prior leadership experience from companies including Shutterfly, Zagat, and Lonely Planet.YahooUPDATE 1-JPMorgan Chase to buy Zagat owner, The InfatuationJPMorgan Chase has agreed to acquire The Infatuation, the parent company of the restaurant review brand Zagat, in a deal with undisclosed financial terms. The bank intends to integrate The Infatuation's dining reviews and event access into its credit card rewards ecosystem to enhance customer benefits.PR NewswireFeed The Polls: The Infatuation, Zagat and The Migrant Kitchen Announce Meal Distribution at Polling Locations in Cities Across America on Election DayFeed The Polls, a non-profit initiative launched by restaurant discovery platforms The Infatuation and Zagat in partnership with The Migrant Kitchen, announced plans to provide meals to tens of thousands of voters at polling locations across multiple U.S. cities on Election Day, November 3, 2020. The initiative has raised over $240,000 from more than 2,200 donors and will operate meal distribution at 54 locations in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Miami, and Denver, providing more than 30,000 meals. The program aims to address food insecurity and long voting lines, particularly in underserved communities, with each local distribution managed by The Migrant Kitchen in partnership with local restaurants and volunteers.PR NewswireA New Chapter: Introducing Zagat StoriesZagat launched Zagat Stories, an editorial channel featuring original content about the human side of the culinary world. This new offering complements the brand's survey-driven guide as The Infatuation continues to rebuild Zagat's digital products following its 2018 acquisition.PR NewswireZagat Survey Returns to Los AngelesZagat, the restaurant review platform, has relaunched its annual user survey in Los Angeles, allowing diners to rate and review restaurants across LA County through March 17, 2020. The survey results will feed into Zagat's new digital restaurant review platform scheduled for launch later this year, with participants gaining early access. The LA survey marks the latest expansion of the brand's revival following its 2018 acquisition by The Infatuation and its 40th anniversary celebration in 2019.PR NewswireBack in Print: Celebrating 40 Years With The Zagat 2020 New York City Restaurants GuideZagat, the restaurant discovery platform, announced it will release its 40th Anniversary edition paperback guide for the first time since 2016, available in November 2019, celebrating four decades since its founding in 1979. The company also launched its 2020 survey, inviting restaurant enthusiasts to submit reviews through May 5th to shape this year's rankings across all five New York City boroughs. The Infatuation acquired Zagat from Google in March 2018 with the goal of rebuilding the brand and returning it to its user-generated roots under new ownership.TechCrunchThe Infatuation raises $30M from Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo to bring Zagat into the digital ageWndrCo, the consumer tech investment holding company founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, has invested $30 million in The Infatuation, a restaurant discovery platform that acquired Zagat from Google earlier this year. The Infatuation, founded in 2009 and previously funded with $3.5 million, plans to use the investment to develop a new digital platform for the legacy Zagat brand and expand to new cities including Boston and Philadelphia. The partnership leverages Katzenberg's expertise in content and technology to modernize Zagat's community-driven restaurant review model for the digital age.The New York TimesGoogle to Sell Zagat to The Infatuation, an Upstart Review SiteThe Infatuation, an upstart restaurant review company, announced it will buy Zagat from Google. The deal amount was not disclosed, but the acquisition aims to bolster The Infatuation's profile. The move raises questions about Zagat's relevance amid new digital competitors.Business InsiderThese are the best restaurants in New York City, according to ZagatZagat released its 2017 New York City restaurant guide, ranking 2,171 restaurants based on ratings from 30,961 diners. New Yorkers eat out 4.9 times a week and spend $50.11 per person on dinner. The guide lists top restaurants by food, decor, service, and popularity.