A Review of Restaurant Reviews
Jake Joy asked:
Restaurant food critics can be a valuable tool when choosing an eatery. In March 2008 the entire restaurant review industry came under scrutiny from court case arising from a brutal but honest review of Belfastian pizzeria Goodfellas by the Irish News, the review which criticised the food, staff and atmosphere led to the restaurant being awarded £25,000 in libel damages. This decision went somewhat unnoticed by many, however its outcome could have changed review writing, opening the door for companies to take action when they feel they have been unfairly ‘done over’ by a review. However, upon appeal the case decision was overturned on the basis that the original jury was unfairly guided by the judge.
This case has brought to light many questions as to the relevance and validity of reviews; the main being that a review is a persons personal opinion it is not a qualified nor a mediated evaluation- it could be said that to curtail reviews would be to limit a persons freedom to speech, further to this, as unfairly as it is a review published is often tailored to the magazine and its readership expectations- the New York Times food critic reviewer is renowned for being tough yet is this their true opinions or do they go with the most fashionable option or what is expected? When in fact their favourite nosh secretly comes from the Hard Rock Café? Looking at reviewers who perhaps give out too good reviews; suspicion would lead me to think that opinions are swayed by advertisers and investors.
Reviewers should not be influenced by any external factors their job is to act as an independent ombudsman of sorts providing advice and guidance on where we should dine. From all the press coverage of the ‘Goodfellas case’ there seems to be a total disregard for the benefit readers got from the review, the words may have been excessive but the fact remained that the food was unsatisfactory according to the critic.
If you go online there is abundance of blogs that can give you a variety of restaurant reviews, online reviews are a useful tool for obtaining a perhaps more varied and honest review; the reasoning for this being that often bloggers are not swayed by advertisers nor limited by their readers demographics. Much like the newspapers and magazines, it will be one person who is writing the review but people can add to it, posting comments about their own experience with a restaurant. Once a restaurant review blog gains popularity and people are regularly leaving comments then it becomes a valuable resource for varied and honest opinions. As people are attending the restaurant socially rather than with the sole purpose of reviewing it the result will be different experience altogether and the retelling of their experience, for example taking their four children into a quiet bistro, may be of relevance to someone considering going with their own children. Therefore restaurant review blogs are very different to the reviews you read in the papers; and overall more useful.
Restaurant food critics can be a valuable tool when choosing an eatery. In March 2008 the entire restaurant review industry came under scrutiny from court case arising from a brutal but honest review of Belfastian pizzeria Goodfellas by the Irish News, the review which criticised the food, staff and atmosphere led to the restaurant being awarded £25,000 in libel damages. This decision went somewhat unnoticed by many, however its outcome could have changed review writing, opening the door for companies to take action when they feel they have been unfairly ‘done over’ by a review. However, upon appeal the case decision was overturned on the basis that the original jury was unfairly guided by the judge.
This case has brought to light many questions as to the relevance and validity of reviews; the main being that a review is a persons personal opinion it is not a qualified nor a mediated evaluation- it could be said that to curtail reviews would be to limit a persons freedom to speech, further to this, as unfairly as it is a review published is often tailored to the magazine and its readership expectations- the New York Times food critic reviewer is renowned for being tough yet is this their true opinions or do they go with the most fashionable option or what is expected? When in fact their favourite nosh secretly comes from the Hard Rock Café? Looking at reviewers who perhaps give out too good reviews; suspicion would lead me to think that opinions are swayed by advertisers and investors.
Reviewers should not be influenced by any external factors their job is to act as an independent ombudsman of sorts providing advice and guidance on where we should dine. From all the press coverage of the ‘Goodfellas case’ there seems to be a total disregard for the benefit readers got from the review, the words may have been excessive but the fact remained that the food was unsatisfactory according to the critic.
If you go online there is abundance of blogs that can give you a variety of restaurant reviews, online reviews are a useful tool for obtaining a perhaps more varied and honest review; the reasoning for this being that often bloggers are not swayed by advertisers nor limited by their readers demographics. Much like the newspapers and magazines, it will be one person who is writing the review but people can add to it, posting comments about their own experience with a restaurant. Once a restaurant review blog gains popularity and people are regularly leaving comments then it becomes a valuable resource for varied and honest opinions. As people are attending the restaurant socially rather than with the sole purpose of reviewing it the result will be different experience altogether and the retelling of their experience, for example taking their four children into a quiet bistro, may be of relevance to someone considering going with their own children. Therefore restaurant review blogs are very different to the reviews you read in the papers; and overall more useful.
What Kind of Restaurants Do You Like?
December 4, 2009 by admin
Filed under Food And Beverage
Deb Brown asked:
Do you like one kind of restaurant or do you enjoy several? I’m not one to go to fancy restaurants; I’m more of a casual person. I don’t like dressing just to go out to eat.
Well, things changed recently, when I had to do a restaurant review for a magazine. It was a casual fine dining type of restaurant. Not casual enough for jeans, but not dressy enough for a dress. Even though you didn’t have to really dress up, the atmosphere and service was first class. There were people to hold the door and your chair. If you got up to visit the restroom, someone magically appeared to refold your napkin. Can you believe that? My water glass never was anywhere near empty. My silverware was even replaced between courses.
The lights were low, the candles were lit and the table cloths were real cloths. It was such a delight to experience something a little different. The chef even came around to speak with the guest, to see how everything was.
I don’t think it was because they knew I was doing a restaurant review. I watched the staff and they were as attentive to everyone in the restaurant as they were to my table. The food was beautifully plated and politely served. Our server even raked the bread crumbs off the table cloth between the entrée and the dessert. Coffee was served after dinner and we felt like we could sit there as long as we wanted to. No rushing in this special restaurant. I think I’ve bee won over to the nicer side of fine dining.
Do you like one kind of restaurant or do you enjoy several? I’m not one to go to fancy restaurants; I’m more of a casual person. I don’t like dressing just to go out to eat.
Well, things changed recently, when I had to do a restaurant review for a magazine. It was a casual fine dining type of restaurant. Not casual enough for jeans, but not dressy enough for a dress. Even though you didn’t have to really dress up, the atmosphere and service was first class. There were people to hold the door and your chair. If you got up to visit the restroom, someone magically appeared to refold your napkin. Can you believe that? My water glass never was anywhere near empty. My silverware was even replaced between courses.
The lights were low, the candles were lit and the table cloths were real cloths. It was such a delight to experience something a little different. The chef even came around to speak with the guest, to see how everything was.
I don’t think it was because they knew I was doing a restaurant review. I watched the staff and they were as attentive to everyone in the restaurant as they were to my table. The food was beautifully plated and politely served. Our server even raked the bread crumbs off the table cloth between the entrée and the dessert. Coffee was served after dinner and we felt like we could sit there as long as we wanted to. No rushing in this special restaurant. I think I’ve bee won over to the nicer side of fine dining.
Restaurant Service & Waiter Training Tips
November 25, 2009 by admin
Filed under Management
Richard Saporito asked:
Restaurant Service Consulting, by definition, is a review or evaluation of the restaurant dining room service system. This means, “how the dining room runs” which includes all of the service tools provided (or to be provided) by the management.
These tools include readable floor diagrams, seating coordination, menu descriptions, properly done staff schedules, sidework postings and a whole host of other things.
There are two main aspects to the Restaurant Service Consulting field:
1) On-site Restaurant Dining Service Operations Evaluation and Review
2) Waiter Training
After the dining room service system is organized properly, the waitstaff is now ready to be trained. The big mistake is to train the waitstaff without having understandable and coordinated systems in place.
If there are flaws in the service system, then even the most highly trained and experienced waitstaff will make errors translating into unnecessary headaches and lost revenue. It is plain common sense to train a staff according to that particular restaurant’s procedures otherwise the balance and consistency of customer service will be thrown off.
At times, in my restaurant consulting experiences, I find that owners/operators can be very hesitant to let an outsider do the initial restaurant evaluation prior to waiter training for a score of reasons such as fear of embarrassment, dealing with egos being stepped on during the process, not wanting anyone to be very close to operations etc.
In truth, a restaurant and its dining room service cannot progress over time without experienced, objective, constructive criticism — whether it comes from the outside or within.
Restaurant service system flaws can continue on for years without being corrected
costing time, money, and headaches. And just the same, waiter service technique flaws can go on for years as well.
Sometimes, it’s not necessarily deep rooted flaws, but just a better, faster, more organized and streamlined way of going about procedures — no matter how small the solutions may seem to be. Time is money when it comes to the repetitive nature of dining room service and there are no two ways about it.
To improve restaurant performance, you need to know what areas are in need of improvement. The Restaurant Manager should ask for feedback from experienced staff and repeat customers as well.
Once you know what you are doing right and what needs work, you can develop systems and documentation to improve your establishment.
Many times, it’s simply a matter of confusion as the “left hand” doesn’t seem to know what the “right hand” is doing (or why). You’ll find that clear communication between all staff members and management goes a long way in helping you achieve your restaurant performance goals.
Restaurant Service Consulting, by definition, is a review or evaluation of the restaurant dining room service system. This means, “how the dining room runs” which includes all of the service tools provided (or to be provided) by the management.
These tools include readable floor diagrams, seating coordination, menu descriptions, properly done staff schedules, sidework postings and a whole host of other things.
There are two main aspects to the Restaurant Service Consulting field:
1) On-site Restaurant Dining Service Operations Evaluation and Review
2) Waiter Training
After the dining room service system is organized properly, the waitstaff is now ready to be trained. The big mistake is to train the waitstaff without having understandable and coordinated systems in place.
If there are flaws in the service system, then even the most highly trained and experienced waitstaff will make errors translating into unnecessary headaches and lost revenue. It is plain common sense to train a staff according to that particular restaurant’s procedures otherwise the balance and consistency of customer service will be thrown off.
At times, in my restaurant consulting experiences, I find that owners/operators can be very hesitant to let an outsider do the initial restaurant evaluation prior to waiter training for a score of reasons such as fear of embarrassment, dealing with egos being stepped on during the process, not wanting anyone to be very close to operations etc.
In truth, a restaurant and its dining room service cannot progress over time without experienced, objective, constructive criticism — whether it comes from the outside or within.
Restaurant service system flaws can continue on for years without being corrected
costing time, money, and headaches. And just the same, waiter service technique flaws can go on for years as well.
Sometimes, it’s not necessarily deep rooted flaws, but just a better, faster, more organized and streamlined way of going about procedures — no matter how small the solutions may seem to be. Time is money when it comes to the repetitive nature of dining room service and there are no two ways about it.
To improve restaurant performance, you need to know what areas are in need of improvement. The Restaurant Manager should ask for feedback from experienced staff and repeat customers as well.
Once you know what you are doing right and what needs work, you can develop systems and documentation to improve your establishment.
Many times, it’s simply a matter of confusion as the “left hand” doesn’t seem to know what the “right hand” is doing (or why). You’ll find that clear communication between all staff members and management goes a long way in helping you achieve your restaurant performance goals.
How to Pick a New Restaurant
Andrew Cho asked:
Trying a new restaurant is one of my favorite things to do. Many people I know, however, stick with the same places because of the familiarity factor and they think finding a new restaurant is a daunting task.
With so many choices, where do you start? Here are a few tips to help you expand your dining choices.
1. If you’re starting a restaurant search from scratch, the best way to start is to pick a kind of restaurant. Are you in the mood for pizza, Greek, Chinese, pasta, or tapas? Once you pick this decision, it’s all downhill from here.
2. Use a restaurant review site (Yelp.com, CitySearch.com, Fodors.com, and Zagat.com). These sites will list restaurants by type and offer user reviews to help make your decision.
3. Narrow the search results to account for your price range and location. Review the choices given and pick a restaurant that you think you would enjoy. If you are having a hard time narrowing down your choice to just one place, the best thing to do is just choose once and try the other choices next time!
Notes:
• You can still find some great restaurants even on a budget. Some of my best dining experiences has been at a self-serve restaurant spending $6.50 on a meal.
• Try something new! That’s the whole point of trying a new restaurant. Don’t always order the same menu item at different restaurants. Ask the server what their most popular dishes are.
• If you drink wine, ask for wine recommendations to ensure a great pairing.
Trying a new restaurant is one of my favorite things to do. Many people I know, however, stick with the same places because of the familiarity factor and they think finding a new restaurant is a daunting task.
With so many choices, where do you start? Here are a few tips to help you expand your dining choices.
1. If you’re starting a restaurant search from scratch, the best way to start is to pick a kind of restaurant. Are you in the mood for pizza, Greek, Chinese, pasta, or tapas? Once you pick this decision, it’s all downhill from here.
2. Use a restaurant review site (Yelp.com, CitySearch.com, Fodors.com, and Zagat.com). These sites will list restaurants by type and offer user reviews to help make your decision.
3. Narrow the search results to account for your price range and location. Review the choices given and pick a restaurant that you think you would enjoy. If you are having a hard time narrowing down your choice to just one place, the best thing to do is just choose once and try the other choices next time!
Notes:
• You can still find some great restaurants even on a budget. Some of my best dining experiences has been at a self-serve restaurant spending $6.50 on a meal.
• Try something new! That’s the whole point of trying a new restaurant. Don’t always order the same menu item at different restaurants. Ask the server what their most popular dishes are.
• If you drink wine, ask for wine recommendations to ensure a great pairing.
