What prevents full satisfaction? An aspect-based sentiment analysis of three-point TripAdvisor reviews from Michelin-Starred restaurants in France, Spain and Italy

Abstract

What prevents a guest from awarding full satisfaction (defined as 4 or 5 stars) to Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurants? In this regard, the study examined this midpoint — where the gap between expectations and perceived performance is most pronounced — by analyzing 3-out-of-5-star TripAdvisor reviews that reflect neither complete satisfaction nor overt disappointment. Drawing on Expectation-Disconfirmation Theory, a keyword-based Aspect/Feature-Based Sentiment Analysis (ABSA) approach was applied to a dataset comprising 2,330 English-language reviews collected from 189 two- and three-Michelin-starred restaurants in France, Spain, and Italy. Reviews were examined across nine experiential dimensions developed specifically for this study (food quality, service and staff, ambiance and atmosphere, perceived value, wine and beverages, reservation and waiting, location and accessibility, dietary flexibility, and hygiene and cleanliness), and sentiment polarity was calculated at the dimension level using TextBlob. These findings offer an alternative perspective to the prevailing assumption that culinary performance (such as food quality) is the primary source of dissatisfaction in fine-dining experiences. Food quality recorded the lowest negative sentiment ratio (9.4%), while hygiene and cleanliness (28.4%), perceived value (26.2%), and reservation and waiting (17.9%) emerged as the primary sources of incomplete satisfaction in 3-out-of-5-star reviews. Furthermore, perceived value-driven dissatisfaction intensifies with increasing prestige (i.e., star level). The findings also reveal a marked deterioration in guests' overall sentiment in the post-pandemic period, with negative review rates rising from below 5% prior to 2020 to 14.2% in 2025. The findings demonstrate that what prevents flawless satisfaction in Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurants is often concealed not in culinary performance but in other dimensions of the experience.