Many of the greatest food cities in the world were built to last. Tokyo, New York City, Athens, and Naples all existed before their countries’ modern borders were drawn. This rich history is reflected in the thriving restaurant scene, where food tells the story of the people who developed it. Half the fun of traveling to any of these destinations is getting to experience the food and drink firsthand, but there are a couple of things to be aware of if you’re looking to dine like the locals. As a traveler, you’re likely to encounter the “tourist trap” restaurant.
Chowhound spoke with Penny Chua, the owner and managing partner of the iconic Lotus of Siam on Flamingo Road in Las Vegas — a restaurant that has brought unique Northern Thai flavor to one of the largest cities in the Southwest for over 20 years. A red flag she identifies in tourist traps is when the quality of the food or service doesn’t match the hype of the restaurant. Flashy marketing and gimmicks, such as huge signs and constant promotions, can’t conceal a poor reputation, not without the food to back it up. “I notice things like subpar ingredients, staff who don’t seem knowledgeable about the menu, and rushed, impersonal service,” says Chua. Her sentiment aligns with what many other professionals point to as another major restaurant red flag: A large, incohesive menu.
Falling for the tourist trap
Finding the hidden gem restaurants that locals love can take time. Paying an absurd amount of money for mediocre food and service isn’t fun, but falling into a tourist trap can happen to anyone. In this event, Penny Chua has a few tips for the safest things to order, depending on the cuisine: “For American-style spots, I usually stick to simple, hard-to-mess-up options like salads, fried foods, or pastas. They’re pretty standard and generally consistent,” she says. “But when it comes to Asian cuisines, I try to go with whatever the restaurant is actually known for, even if it’s not my usual go-to. Ordering a generic dish just because it’s familiar usually backfires at places that aren’t accustomed to [them to] begin with.”
Tourist traps, though they can be exploitative, steer inexperienced and perhaps even rude travelers from projecting their (possibly inaccurate) notions of the area’s cuisine onto respected local businesses. For example, some tourists expect to see fettuccine Alfredo or chicken Parmesan on menus in Italy, when these dishes aren’t Italian at all. However, a tourist trap in a major Italian city might offer something similar to appeal to foreigners. Sometimes you can tell a tourist trap by its parking lot, but when in doubt, search sites such as Yelp or OpenTable for recent reviews posted by people living in the area — or ask a local for their recommendation.
