Today, I wanted to share how I currently keep track of my cafés and eateries on Google Maps. It’s a process I’ve refined since graduating college, when I started earning my own money and going all in on my food obsession. At its core, this obsession is a reverence for incredible food from chefs who have perfected their craft, manipulating fresh produce into moments of joy.
Medium of choice: Google Maps
I’m a Google Maps power user because of its versatility and ease of use. I’ve tried more food-centric apps such as Yelp and Beli, but I find them not customizable enough for my preferences. One reason Google Maps wins in this realm is its map view, enabling visual, location-based search. There is just so much information on Google Maps, and it’s also the most used globally.
What I value
Consolidation — I’m a big fan of everything being in one place. I don’t like having a few places saved on Instagram, a few more saved on Maps, and a whole other list in my head. With Maps, I can overlay multiple lists and sort through them using built-in filtering.
Location-based search — I need to know which places are near me when I’m out. e.g., if I find myself in Soho on a hot summer day, which cafes did I have saved within a ten-minute walk?
Sharing — I need an easy way to share localized recs with friends. e.g., if a friend asks me for Montreal recs because I went recently, how do I efficiently surface and share the places I liked?
Reason for saving — I need to know why I saved each spot. e.g., is it a cafe I loved? a dish I saw on TikTok? a restaurant that looked cute when I walked by?
Classifying a spot
There are several ways food spots can be classified. Any given spot will fall into one or more of these classifications.
Category ideas
Places I’ve been and how much I liked them
All-time favorites
Good, would recommend
I wouldn’t mind going back (think ≥ 3.5 stars)
Neutral, been there and not dying to be back
Bad, wouldn’t go back
Want to go
Top of the list, more urgency
On the list, less urgency
Type of place
Cafés / Coffee shops
Bars
Stalls / Counters, grab-and-go
Dessert / Bakeries
Restaurants, casual
Restaurants, formal
Restaurants, fine dining
Eatery-adjacent (grocery stores with hot food, pop-up, etc.)
Proximity
Walking radius
Local to my city
In another city
Price point, $ to $$$$
Cuisine
Ambiance
I have two methods of classification. Which one I use depends on whether it’s for a city I live in (or have lived in) or a city I’m traveling to (or have traveled to).
For cities I live in
I have three lists.
Catch-all — I have one catch-all list that doesn’t require much thought. I throw in restaurants that haven’t been vetted—that I’m curious about, but not dying to try.
Favorites — I have a favorites list for my all-time favorites. This makes it easy to share recs with friends.
Desperate-to-go — I have a desperate-to-go list with a list tag for what’s at the top of this list.
For cities I travel to
I have just two lists, as I’m less familiar and likely not there for too long.
Catch-all — I have a catch-all list with recs from friends and places I’ve gathered from vlogs, Instagram, TikTok, Xiaohongshu, Eater, etc.
Sometimes this list gets bloated. e.g., for Seoul, I’ve watched way too many vlogs over the past few years and have too many places saved, some permanently closed. In situations like these, I’ll either make an additional desperate-to-go list (effectively upgrading my methodology to that of a city I’ve lived in) or I’ll make a tag within the catch-all list to parse more easily when I’m afoot.
MM <> World — I have a global favorites list that I add to after I visit each place. When friends ask for recs, it’s easy to zoom into that country and share each place. Keeping a global list instead of individual lists for each city I visit helps me manage list bloat.
Exceptions: Taipei
A city that breaks my typical methodology is Taipei. I think that because eating culture is so accessible and hospitality is so fundamental, there is an influx of amazing cafés and eateries. I’ve also spent a lot of time eating out in Taipei over the years, and it didn’t make sense for me to have only one list that housed both the street stalls I frequented growing up and the high-end cocktail bars I’d turn to for celebrations.
Over the years, I’ve made and remade countless lists for Taipei. The ones that I keep updated are:
Taipei bars: THE list
Taipei cafes: THE list
Insane Taipei: THE list
Catch-all (with top of list tag)
I find that using a singular emoji for each of THE lists helps my map appear less overwhelming. At the same time, keeping the lists distinct allows me to share more specific recs with friends.
And that’s everything! Thank you for reading. Some of my friends have asked me how I keep track of all my places, so I thought I’d share what works for me. I find this frees up a lot of brain space, reduces planning stress, and allows me to explore more places. I also wanted to share before AI changes this system, as it is still quite manual on my end.
I know everyone has different ways of organizing places, so I’d love to hear about how you organize yours.
˚✧*˳
thanks for reading! —MM, 2026