Comparing online reviews of hyper-local restaurants using deductive content analysis

•Overall quality, taste, price, region of origin, and menu information were found to be important variables of hyper-local restaurants’ online reviews.•Consumers were more appreciative and critical of overall quality of hyper-local restaurant food in the UK than in the US.•Consumers in the US hyper-local restaurants were found to be more critical of price compared to consumers in the UK hyper-local restaurants.•Region of origin (local) is more important and positive to consumers in the UK hyper-local restaurants.•Health benefit and to some extent freshness were not found to be important variables in online reviews.•Hyper-local restaurants in the UK need to provide great selections and variety in their menu offerings.•Menus of hyper-local restaurants in the US should be creative and offer a great selection of food and beverages. This study explored consumer-generated online reviews of six hyper-local restaurants in UK and US. A deductive content analysis was carried out involving intrinsic and extrinsic cues of locally grown food. Overall quality, taste, price, region of origin, and menu information were found to be important variables of hyper-local restaurants’ online reviews. Although there were substantially more reviews about price in the UK-based hyper-local restaurants, consumers were found to be more critical of price in the US restaurants. In the UK hyper-local restaurants, a need to provide great selections and variety in the menu offerings was noticed, whereas the US counterparts showcased a need for more creativity in addition to offering a great selection of food and drinks. Region of origin (local) is more important and positive to consumers in the UK restaurants. Contrary to popular beliefs, health benefit and to some extent freshness were not found to be important variables.