Google (News - Alert) is well-known for acquiring different companies to expand its operations and to gain a competitive advantage. One such company is Zagat, a restaurant review and rating website. In 2011, Google acquired Zagat with an aim to improve its local search results. In tune with this vision, Google recently launched the revamped Zagat website.

Using this new site, users can find the best restaurants and night spots in different cities. Currently, this information is only available for nine cities though Google plans to expand it to 50 U.S. cities and international locations in the next few months. The cities that are included as of now are London, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Chicago and Austin.

Travelers visiting any of these nine cities can learn more about the local food and chefs on Zagat.com. The latest news and videos about restaurants and night life are updated by local content providers, so the information is authentic and up-to-date. Also, this information is unbiased, which makes Zagat a trustworthy place for local recommendations.

To direct users to this revamped website, Google shut down its Google + Local mobile app for iOS customers. Further, it introduced mobile apps for Android (News - Alert) and iOS users to help them identify the best restaurants when they are on the go. The iPhone app is fairly extensive with advanced search tools to help users find the right restaurants. Users can even make reservations through the OpenTable software available within this app. For all these services, Google does not charge any money. Zagat.com is free for users and requires no registration too.

All these features make Zagat one of the most trusted and convenient sites for restaurant reviews and ratings. It is expected to become more popular when Google expands its services to many destinations within and outside the U.S. 




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