ABSTRACT As demand for dining out rises with income, reviews on platforms like Yelp.com have surged, making it harder for consumers to select suitable restaurants. This study uses the Elaboration Likelihood Model to analyze factors influencing Helpful and Funny Votes in reviews and explores the moderating effect of restaurant type (ethnic vs. non‐ethnic). Analyzing Yelp reviews from New York City, it examines central cues (cognitive effort, emotional experience, multi‐sensory experience) and peripheral cues (review length, images, rating). Results show that both types of cues significantly affect hedonic and utilitarian evaluations, with taste and tactile cues being more influential in hedonic evaluations for ethnic restaurants. The findings highlight the importance for managers to address negative reviews and promote positive ones to improve customer satisfaction. Identifying these influential factors can be instrumental in enhancing customer satisfaction with restaurant reviews.