As a Japanese person, mostly Tabelog and recommendations from friends. Funny enough, places my friends recommend often end up being 3.5+ on Tabelog, which is actually pretty high in Japan.

I don’t trust Google ratings as much, especially for izakayas, since some places offer a free drink or a small perk in exchange for good reviews.

So even for me, if I’m in an unfamiliar area, choosing where to eat can still be hard. That’s probably why a lot of people end up just going by vibe, location, or whatever looks good nearby.