If you ask ten people that question, you're likely to get ten different answers. The answers will vary by type of cuisine, price point, and more. It's a subjective question, without any universal standard to assess the term "best."
My friend, Patrick Maguire, sent me the above photo. A restaurant claiming to have "The Best Food in Town for Over 30 Years"???? When I've spoken to people about their favorite restaurants in Brookline, this restaurant doesn't come up in those conversations. If the food has been the best for so long, then why isn't it mentioned much more often by those talking about the best restaurants in Brookline?
On their website, they also claim to have the "best Hummus in ALL of New England." However, there's nothing on their website that actually supports either claim. There's a single "testimonial" on their website, yet even that person didn't claim it was the "best food" and doesn't mention the hummus.
Their website also alleges that the restaurant opened in 1989, and that "we were the first people to introduce Shawarma to the people of Boston." However, a quick search reveals Shawarma was available at restaurants in the Boston area as far back as 1976, so they definitely were not the first.
These claims are basically puffery, exaggerations intended to persuade people to dine there. However, does anyone actually believe these claims? Do these exaggerated claims actually persuade you to dine at such a restaurant? For myself, I definitely don't give credence to these types of claims. It doesn't make me more likely to dine at such a restaurant. It may actually have an opposite effect.
This is certainly not the only restaurant to engage in such puffery. So, there are a number of restaurant owners who feel it helps their business. Are diners so gullible to believe these exaggerated claims? These restaurants are counting on that gullibility to draw in customers. I wonder how many people get turned off by such exaggerated claims and thus don't patronize such restaurants.
I'd like to see such puffery vanish from restaurant advertising. What are your thoughts on such puffery?