A prankster made his shed into TripAdvisor’s top-rated restaurant in London thanks to the help of fake reviews written by him and his friends.
Oobah Butler set up a website and got take photographs of the ‘food’ which in reality was of shaving foam, bleach and paint.
Butler, a writer for Vice magazine, once writing fake restaurant reviews on TripAdvisor for £10 per post, in order to boost the businesses up the rankings, led him to carry out the prank as an experiment.
Oobah Butler outside his shed, which became his fictional restaurant
![The TripAdvisor page for the fake restaurant complete with the fake reviews that propelled it to number one status](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/06/19/470D2C8000000578-0-image-a-23_1512589803389.jpg)
The TripAdvisor page for the fake restaurant complete with the fake reviews that propelled it to number one status
![The menu at the fake restaurant was based on food themed on moods](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/06/20/470D2C7C00000578-5153141-image-a-36_1512590963810.jpg)
The menu at the fake restaurant was based on food themed on moods
![The fake reviews began to generate interests, with The Guardian's restaurant reviewer Jay Rayner (pictured) among those taken in](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/06/20/470DF99800000578-5153141-The_fake_reviews_began_to_genr-m-6_1512592593899.jpg)
The fake reviews began to generate interests, with The Guardian’s restaurant reviewer Jay Rayner (pictured) among those taken in
![Rayner tweeted his approval of the 'restaurant' and said he was keen to try 'contemplation' from the menu](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/06/19/470D2C5E00000578-0-image-a-24_1512589994853.jpg)
Rayner tweeted his approval of the ‘restaurant’ and said he was keen to try ‘contemplation’ from the menu
In an article for the magazine, the 26-year-old explained that he set up a website for ‘The Shed at Dulwich’, as the restaurant was called, and he began getting friends to write reviews to get round TriAdvisor’s anti-scammer software
The website described the fake establishment as: ‘An appointment-only restaurant located in South London, The Shed has been operating privately for years.
‘In 2017, it decided to open its doors. As of November that year, it was TripAdvisor’s top-rated restaurant in London.’
![One of the apparent dishes on the restaurant's website actually had his foot in it](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/07/00/470CC94D00000578-5153141-One_of_the_apparent_dishes_on_the_restaurant_s_website_actually_-a-8_1512606021859.jpg)
![One of the apparent dishes on the restaurant's website actually had his foot in it](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/07/00/470CC94700000578-5153141-One_of_the_apparent_dishes_on_the_restaurant_s_website_actually_-a-9_1512606030254.jpg)
One of the apparent dishes on the restaurant’s website actually had his foot in it
![The food appeared authentic in photographs on the website for the fake restaurant](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/07/00/470CC95700000578-5153141-image-a-10_1512606043395.jpg)
The food appeared authentic in photographs on the website for the fake restaurant
![The dish was, however, made out of a combination of bleach, shaving foam and honey](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/07/00/470CC94300000578-5153141-image-a-12_1512606102768.jpg)
The dish was, however, made out of a combination of bleach, shaving foam and honey
To convince the website he bought a cheap mobile phone and registered the number as the restaurant’s while refusing to give an address, on the basis that ‘restaurant’ was appointment-only.
Each dish on the menu was based on a mood such as lust, comfort or contemplation, with ‘Empathetic’ described as: ‘Vegan clams in a clear broth with parsnips, carrots, celery, and potatoes. Served with rye crisps.’
As more positive ‘reviews’ were received, the ‘The Shed at Dulwich’ climbed the rankings, with its elusiveness sparking curiosity among potential customers.
Among those taken in was Guardian restaurant reviewer Jay Rayner who tweeted: ‘At last: a restaurant that recognises food is all about mood.
![The prankster got his friends and acquaintances to write fake reviews, getting round TripAdvisor's anti-scamming software](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/06/19/470D2C7000000578-0-image-a-26_1512590311097.jpg)
![The prankster got his friends and acquaintances to write fake reviews, getting round TripAdvisor's anti-scamming software](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/06/19/470D2C7400000578-0-image-a-27_1512590311162.jpg)
The prankster got his friends and acquaintances to write fake reviews, getting round TripAdvisor’s anti-scamming software
‘Of all the shed-based eating experiences out there this one sounds like the best. Or at least second best. (I have my own shed, hence). Personally I’m keen to try “contemplation”.’
Butler says his restaurant worked its way up the rankings his phone rang ‘incessantly’ as people tried to get make bookings, while companies tried to get in touch offering free samples.
He fobbed off callers by saying the restaurant was booked six months in advance and at one point the website was getting 90,000 search results a day.
After it finally made number one, he held an opening party, at which he served guests supermarket meals, dressed-up to look like they could be haute cuisine.
After the prank was revealed in Vice, Rayner held his hands up and admitted he had been taken in by a ‘brilliantly executed piece of work’.
TripAdvisor spokeswoman said: ‘Generally, the only people who create fake restaurant listings are journalists in misguided attempts to test us.
![Rayner later admitted he had been taken in by the prank which he said was 'brilliantly executed'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/06/20/470D772000000578-0-image-a-28_1512590399536.jpg)
Rayner later admitted he had been taken in by the prank which he said was ‘brilliantly executed’
‘As there is no incentive for anyone in the real world to create a fake restaurant it is not a problem we experience with our regular community – therefore this ‘test’ is not a real world example.
‘Most fraudsters are only interested in trying to manipulate the rankings of real businesses – so naturally that is what our content specialists are focused on catching. We use state-of-the-art technology to identify suspicious review patterns, based on modelling of what normal review behaviour looks like.
‘This is why the distinction between attempted fraud by a real business, as opposed to attempted fraud for a non-existent business, is important.
‘Real businesses, whether they try to game our system or not, have a footfall of genuine customers coming through the door and those customers contribute to the review patterns we would expect to see.
‘Spotting the difference between a business’ genuine customer reviews and its fake reviews is one of the ways we catch fraud. If a business does not exist at all, then clearly those patterns are going to differ from normal models of activity.’