Whenever I travel to a new city, or just somewhere I haven't been in a while, TripAdvisor is my go to for typical food recommendations. Typically I'll just search by highest rated and go down the list, giving preference to anything that sounds good to me in the top 5. To date this rating system has yet to disappoint me for an everyday meal. In my experience, these are the positives and negatives of using TripAdvisor ratings for travel restaurant picking along with some of the results from my most recent Japan trip

Positives

• Location services for top rated places directly around you. Sometimes it may not be worth travelling 5 miles to a #1 rated establishment when #5 is just 200 meters away. TripAdvisor attempts to weigh closeness and rating and leaves the rest to you. If you have absolutely no idea what you want, this is great.
  
  Found Han No Daidokoro (currently #6 on TripAdvisor in Shibuya) when I happened to be close by, fantastic introduction to quality beef, at a reasonable price in a great atmosphere. If you're looking to try different cuts that would destroy the wallet, I couldn't have been happier with this recommendation.

• Places that are highly rated are typically very reasonably priced for what you get. This is because ratings come from normal people, and less critics. If people are unhappy with price vs quality, this becomes very apparent in a review. I wouldn't say all, but many people are adverse to paying massive amounts for luxury food, so often these are excluded or ranked lower.

Harukoma - Osaka. I really wanted sushi and stumbled across this as the top gem in Osaka. #1 rated, large portions, the best sushi I've ever tasted (no, unfortunately I could not get a reservation to Jiro's), and can get absolutely stuffed on under $30 USD. Could not have been happier with this search result.

• Good food but bad service leaves a subpar experience for many people. As such, the highest rated places are typically extremely accommodating and friendly. I can't say I've walked into a top traveler rated restaurant and ever been truly disappointed with my service.
• High ranked places also typically have many options and are clearly labeled. I often see establishments that offer gluten free options, vegan, vegetarian, or are able to cater to other dietary needs. This could be less or more useful depending on where you are. For example, in San Francisco restaurants sensitive to dietary needs are not difficult to find, but in Tokyo it is infinitely more difficult. TripAdvisor was able to accurately recommend these places when traveling with a friend with dietary restrictions oversees.

Pizza Bar Fullhouse in Osaka - #1 rated Pizza restaurant in Osaka. Also vegetarian friendly confirmed :) . Pic found on TripAdvisor since I only had picture of Pizza itself on my phone

Negatives

• If you are looking for a fine dining or Michelin experience, this typically isn't the place to look. I say this with a grain of salt because if you are aiming for a Michelin experience, you probably already know what's available and what you are willing to try. Typically these are much more pricey and require reservations well in advance, so a last minute TripAdvisor search would not only exclude many of the very fine dining experiences, but also many of the restaurants with long requirements for reservations. I typically like to include at least 1 experience like this per trip and will research extensively beforehand. If this is your style, I'd recommend doing some serious research and possibility utilizing Michelin's website for a list of starred restaurants. I'm not saying you can't find these places without a reservation and low prices, but it's certainly rarer. For example; Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle, and Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle are both 1 Michelin star rated street vendors in Singapore with single digit price tags.