New Delhi, June 5 -- The first thing he said was that the restaurant should be 'Instagrammable'," says Prateek Sadhu, chef-owner of Naar in Kasauli. He was referring to a recent conversation with someone launching a restaurant in Delhi. "They even wanted dishes designed with the camera in mind, right down to how a sauce would be poured. I don't think that's the right direction."

Before the internet, restaurant recommendations came from newspapers, magazines, travel guides, food critics and journalists. Today, recommendations are more likely to come from social media creators, shifting the focus to instant discoverability. Visibility matters, and content creators have become one of the fastest ways to generate attention in a market filled...