The Whale
New American restaurant · 2427 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647, United States · United States
★ 4.7 on Google · 4,935 reviews · View on Google Maps
Manipulation score
SuspiciousCompleted Aug 5, 2026 · 374 reviews flagged
How this score works
The score estimates how strongly this place's review record matches known manipulation patterns, from 0 (no signs) to 100. Verdicts: Clean below 40, Suspicious from 40, Likely Manipulated from 70. It rises with the share of reviews flagged and how suspicious each one is.
- Burst
- — an abnormal spike of five-star reviews in a single day compared to the place's usual pace.
- Low activity account
- — the reviewer has almost no other reviews, photos, or Local Guide history; throwaway accounts look like this.
- Duplicate text
- — the wording is nearly identical to another review of the same place.
Verdicts are statistical estimates based on public review patterns, not accusations.
Review anatomy
Reviews examined
999
Flagged
374
37% of examined
Flagged avg rating
4.9★
place average 4.7★
Reviews per month
| Month | Reviews | Flagged |
|---|---|---|
| Aug ’25 | 87 | 49 |
| Sep ’25 | 70 | 27 |
| Oct ’25 | 78 | 29 |
| Nov ’25 | 52 | 10 |
| Dec ’25 | 44 | 14 |
| Jan ’26 | 54 | 27 |
| Feb ’26 | 42 | 7 |
| Mar ’26 | 66 | 23 |
| Apr ’26 | 130 | 73 |
| May ’26 | 176 | 61 |
| Jun ’26 | 101 | 28 |
| Jul ’26 | 78 | 17 |
| Aug ’26 | 21 | 9 |
Rating distribution
Evidence
-
burst
13 occurrences — worst: 17 five-star reviews on 2026-04-11 vs avg 2.5/day
weight 1
Show all 13
- 3 five-star reviews on 2025-08-08 vs avg 0.2/day
- 4 five-star reviews on 2025-08-09 vs avg 0.3/day
- 4 five-star reviews on 2025-08-10 vs avg 0.5/day
- 8 five-star reviews on 2025-08-16 vs avg 0.8/day
- 8 five-star reviews on 2025-08-17 vs avg 1.1/day
- 11 five-star reviews on 2025-08-23 vs avg 1.6/day
- 14 five-star reviews on 2025-09-13 vs avg 2.8/day
- 13 five-star reviews on 2025-10-19 vs avg 2.5/day
- 9 five-star reviews on 2026-01-18 vs avg 1.6/day
- 8 five-star reviews on 2026-03-08 vs avg 1.4/day
- 11 five-star reviews on 2026-04-04 vs avg 2.2/day
- 17 five-star reviews on 2026-04-11 vs avg 2.5/day
- 17 five-star reviews on 2026-04-12 vs avg 3.0/day
- low activity account 287 reviews flagged weight 0.8
- duplicate text 17 reviews flagged weight 0.9
Flagged reviews
Exhibit — 5 reviews, near-identical wording
Eddie was a great server. We will return!
- T-Lo ★★★★★ 2026-04-24 suspicion 62
- Claire Fogarty ★★★★★ 2026-05-15 suspicion 58
- Anthony Maggiore ★★★★★ 2026-05-23 suspicion 73
- Asa Anderson ★★★★★ 2026-06-05 suspicion 88
- Thomas Bittings ★★★★★ 2026-06-10 suspicion 59
Exhibit — 2 reviews, near-identical wording
The food and the service were excellent! 👍
- Miguel Villasenor ★★★★★ 2026-04-26 suspicion 62
- Vanessa Austin ★★★★★ 2026-06-12 suspicion 62
Exhibit — 2 reviews, near-identical wording
The food is always great, the service (Eddie) was amazing and the atmosphere is top notch.
- Brandon Martin ★★★★★ 2026-05-23 suspicion 62
- Stacy Nordlund ★★★★★ 2026-05-29 suspicion 79
Exhibit — 2 reviews, near-identical wording
Eddie was the best. Very good server
- Letisha Fink ★★★★★ 2026-05-03 suspicion 79
- Khristian Wills ★★★★★ 2026-05-22 suspicion 79
Exhibit — 2 reviews, near-identical wording
Good food and good vibes
- Nakia Burress ★★★★★ 2026-04-18 suspicion 70
- Johan Molina ★★★★★ 2026-05-12 suspicion 70
Exhibit — 2 reviews, near-identical wording
Eddie was great ! Thank you!
- Harrison McConnell ★★★★★ 2026-03-21 suspicion 55
- Lukas ★★★★★ 2026-04-25 suspicion 70
Exhibit — 2 reviews, near-identical wording
Great services, great food.
- Raven Dockery ★★★★★ 2025-10-26 suspicion 77
- Richard Carmona ★★★★★ 2026-03-22 suspicion 77
Showing the 10 most suspicious of 357 remaining flagged reviews.
Ana Sierra
2 reviews
★★★★★
2026-04-12
Good pictures & great service! We loved it, celebrated Mom bday!
Amanda Martin
1 review
★★★★★
2026-04-12
One of my fav places!! The sangria tower was amazing
Brieanna Mintz
2 reviews
★★★★★
2026-04-12
Food was excellent! We got great photos taken during a brunch.
Julie G
1 review
★★★★★
2026-04-12
Raquel Garcia-Cano
2 reviews
★★★★★
2026-04-12
Great food and great ambiance
Chioma
2 reviews
★★★★★
2026-04-12
amazing food and service! photographer was very kind and skilled, and a very nice aesthetic. I recommend!!
Carissa Fowler
1 review
★★★★★
2026-04-12
This was a very nice place! Food was amazing and the vibe was there nice photographer who took amazing photos I’ll come again!
Harris Corder
1 review
★★★★★
2026-04-12
one of a kind experience, very kind and respectful while ordering. Photography is top tier and will definitely come again!
London Symaya
1 review
★★★★★
2026-04-12
The decor in here was soooo beautiful 😍😍😍, the pictures they took of us were amazing and the service was great!! everyone was so kind and the food was great
Meghan McKay
activity unknown
★★★★★
2026-04-12
Report generated Aug 5, 2026. Reviews change — you can request a fresh investigation.
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