Kind of like some of the restaurant reviews and rankings on TripAdvisor, some have merit and others don't. When I see a chain (Dominoes/Applebee's, etc.) ranked ahead of what I feel to be very good independent restaurants, it raises a red flag of sorts.

Of the 631 TripAdvisor ranked restaurants near where I live, the top three are a local grocery store chain and a small local pizza chain and the 3rd ranked restaurant is closed. Not sure how a grocery got ranked with restaurants, unless you consider prepared carry-out food to be a restaurant. Three of what are normally considered (by locals) to be the top restaurants in the town barely crack the top 20.

Like any review or "best of", they are a tool but can also be very stacked one way or the other.