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A good restaurant review answers most, if not all, a reader’s questions regarding the restaurant, and has a reduced amount of bias while still explaining all elements of the restaurant – food, décor, ambience, service, value and so on.
Use the following guidelines to help you write a good restaurant review:
Audience
Readers of the review want to know whether or not they should go to this restaurant, so they will not want to just hear your opinion of it, they want to feel like they've experienced the restaurant themselves. Depending on the media source for which you are writing the review, bear your audience in mind, as the priorities for choosing the restaurant you review will change with each.
Review Structure
Almost all reviews are structured chronologically, mimicking as best as possible the experience of choosing, entering, dining, paying, and considering another visit. They frequently start with the chef's experience, what used to be in this space, the neighbourhood, or how long this restaurant has been around. They then take you through the process of making a reservation or checking out the facade, and then welcome you to the ambience: music, décor, lighting, crowd, etc. They may discuss the service, if it is remarkable at this stage, or they'll jump into the menu – appetizers, entrees (at which point the wine list may come up), and desserts. These elements may be considered for price, value, presentation, preparation, freshness, variety, originality, or conceptualisation – does cocoa make a good seasoning for venison, for example. The food must comprise the bulk of the review. This could also cover other meals served: lunch, brunch, or special events. A wrap-up brings it all together, just like we all do when walking out of a restaurant for the first time. When done well, the wrap-up is stylish, and yet fairly clear in its evaluation of the restaurant.
Evidence
Details are as concrete as possible, always relying on a tactile sensation or a specific flavour over empty adjectives such as delicious, amazing or savoury. When possible, cite as many prominent ingredients as possible. This way, the audience feels as though they know the dish, instead of simply relying on your taste, which is subjective.
Your Taste
While it is indeed subjective, it appears more through your framing of the details – is fois gras smooth and velvety, or mushy and slimy – than through simple evaluations.
Style
The best reviews show just a little of the personality of the reviewer, personal favourites might come up, and a bit of writer’s flair often does well in moderation.
Narrative
Avoid telling a story of your experience. If the goal is to allow the audience to feel as if they are experiencing the restaurant first-hand, just through your words, the reviewer should be as invisible as possible. Narrate a particular experience only if it is both crucial to the review, and an experience unique to a specific incident not likely to be duplicated in your reader's experience.
Mechanics of Writing
• Tense – Always write in the present tense, using past tense only to narrate rare experiences when you, the review, become visible.
• Sentence Subjects – Use either direct second-person address “You enter the restaurant...” or put the details of the restaurant as the subject, which often requires passive voice “The shrimp is prepared in a lemon-butter sauce...”
• Sentence Structure – Avoid both overly short sentences (they make the review and the experience seem rushed) and overly long and complex sentences (these convolute the central idea).
• Pronouns – When possible, avoid the use of pronouns, especially the impulse to refer to the restaurant and its staff as “they”, or to refer to a food item as “it”.
To remember When Reviewing:
• Value – How was the value of the meal? Did you get a large portion or a small portion for the amount you paid? Were the drinks expensive? Was there much variety in the prices on the menu for the different items?
• Menu Selection – How was the variety of the menu? Would this restaurant appeal to a group of people with a variety of tastes? Are there vegetarian options on the menu? Is there something new and different on the menu that you haven’t encountered at another restaurant?
• Food – Did you enjoy the food you ate? What dishes would you recommend? How was the presentation of the food?
• Service – Were you attended to promptly upon arrival? How long did it take the restaurant to seat you and take a drinks order? Was your waiter attentive? Were you pleased or displeased with the service given?
• Atmosphere – Was the restaurant clean? What were the restroom facilities like? How was the ambience, the lighting, the music?
• Other – Does the restaurant take reservations? Do they allow for take out? Do they have a separate smoking section? Do they make any allowance for children in their establishment?
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