Fake Google reviews: restaurateurs targeted by digital extortion

Several Montreal restaurants are being sabotaged by fake Google reviews created by cybercriminals.

Opening a restaurant is an act of love and courage. It means investing your whole self to bring joy through an experience; living to the rhythm of services, customers, unexpected hurdles, nights that are too short and mornings that come too early. It’s demanding, often thankless work, driven by an unshakeable passion: the desire to nourish others.

This week, that passion was shaken. In Montreal, several respected establishments — including Limbo, Salle Climatisée, Bistro La Franquette, and Le Violon — were targeted by a new kind of attack: a coordinated wave of fake Google reviews. Within hours, their ratings plummeted, sabotaged by fabricated comments describing dishes that don’t exist, imaginary servers, and experiences entirely made up. Then, like something out of a cybercrime script, a WhatsApp message appeared in which individuals offered to “make the bad reviews disappear”… for a fee. A shameful act of digital extortion.

These actions are anything but harmless. They strike where it hurts most: at a restaurant’s pride, credibility, and the trust carefully built between an establishment and its community. The Association Restauration Québec (ARQ) says this is a first of its kind in the province, but this type of extortion has already spread around the world — from Paris to New York, fake-review scammers are thriving on restaurateurs’ fear and vulnerability.

Restaurant owners now spend their evenings reporting fake accounts, pleading with an unbothered algorithm to save a reputation built through thousands of hours of hard work.

At Tastet, our stance is clear: the truth deserves to be defended. Our guide is built on a promise: if we talk about it, it’s because it’s good. If not, we don’t. We believe in honest, kind, and constructive criticism — the kind that supports artisans rather than tearing them down.

So to all the restaurateurs who keep their ovens warm despite the storm: thank you. And to you, readers and food lovers: the next time you have a great experience in a restaurant, leave a note, leave five stars. Because in the age of fake reviews, telling the truth is an act of solidarity.

Written by Jean-Philippe Tastet
Photography by Alison Slattery