V restaurant Le Nouveau Duluth, in Montreal, Canada, you will be hard-pressed to find a free table, let alone try the local cuisine.

The reason is simple: the restaurant doesn’t really exist!

And yet, Le Nouveau Duluth was, until recently, #1 on Tripadvisor of 3,678 restaurants in the city.

However, a CBC News investigation revealed that the restaurant and its 85 reviews are completely fake as the restaurant does not exist.

After an investigation, the photos posted on Tripadvisor were removed.

This particular scam is a testament to how good reviews can manipulate people as, in fact, quite a few were looking for a ghost restaurant.

Also, dozens of services “offered” by Le Nouveau Duluth did not arouse suspicion among users. In particular, the restaurant had to be located near the beach, offer valet parking and a buffet, as well as private dining rooms. It also featured live music, a playground, and drive-thru.

The incident in question sparked a debate about whether services like Tripadvisor control the number of stores displayed on their platform.

In the case of the Montreal restaurant, the fake listing remained on the platform for some time.

For its part, Tripadvisor stated that listings, including reviews and photos associated with the restaurant, are currently inactive.”

Source: Guardian