Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission.Learn more.
Google reportedly thinking about selling its Zagat restaurant review guide
June 30, 2025
Since 2011, Zagat has been underGoogleownership in an effort to push the search giant’s local search efforts. Fast forward six years, and it looks like Google might be ready to offload the restaurant review guide onto someone else’s shoulders.
According toReuters, Google informally met with several companies regarding a possible Zagat sale. Even though we do not know how much Google wants to sell the restaurant guide for, and that there is no guarantee that Zagat will even be offloaded, any sale will presumably include Zagat’s brand name and website.
What the sale mightnotinclude is the information and reviews Google collected over the years, since it could continue to provide them in its Maps application.
It would be an interesting turn of events for Google, which seemed to have grand plans for Zagat when itboughtthe restaurant guide in 2011 for $151 million. Former Yahoo CEO and Google executive Marissa Mayer secured the deal, saying at the time that Zagat would be a “cornerstone” of Google’s local offering:
Things haven’t necessarily panned out that way — Google integrated Zagat into its Maps and Search features, but seeing how Maps already hosts thousands of reviews, Google might not find Zagat as useful anymore. Also, a Zagat sale would fall in line with Alphabet’s desire to shed as many non-core assets as possible in an attempt to streamline its business.
It’s not that Zagat isn’t useful — it heavily focuses on curation and local guides, as well as features editorial content about restaurants located in major cities around the US. It’s just that Google looks to not have relied on it as much as the search giant once thought it might.
Thank you for being part of our community. Read ourComment Policybefore posting.
