Conversely I have had a ton of success with Yelp in unfamiliar cities (small towns not so much, but there are many small towns that simply don't have good places so I don't blame this on Yelp).
I treat Yelp reviews like I do any online review, say Amazon for an example. Stars don't mean too much but if a place has a ton of reviews and very low average that is probably a good signal. I find a few places that fit the bill and then read the reviews in detail and sometimes the other reviews by people who have outlying reviews. Then I usually cross check at places like OpenTable, Zagat and Chowhound.
Update: I'd say that with Yelp I probably miss out on some great spots that don't have much of a presence there, but I also don't strike out. False positives are worse to me than false negatives. Especially if I'm only in town for a few days.
I treat Yelp reviews like I do any online review, say Amazon for an example. Stars don't mean too much but if a place has a ton of reviews and very low average that is probably a good signal. I find a few places that fit the bill and then read the reviews in detail and sometimes the other reviews by people who have outlying reviews. Then I usually cross check at places like OpenTable, Zagat and Chowhound.
I don't recall being disappointed and have found some very excellent spots. I was in Atlanta last week and hit up Kevin Rathbun Steak (http://www.yelp.com/biz/kevin-rathbun-steak-atlanta) and JCT Kitchen & Bar (http://www.yelp.com/biz/jct-kitchen-and-bar-atlanta). Both were great.
Update: I'd say that with Yelp I probably miss out on some great spots that don't have much of a presence there, but I also don't strike out. False positives are worse to me than false negatives. Especially if I'm only in town for a few days.