How to Write a Food Review
Do some background research., Open your review with a compelling hook., Describe 3-5 dishes that you sampled, not all of them., Use big, colorful adjectives when writing., Think about a restaurant's intentions, not just your personal preferences...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Do some background research.
Once you've had your meal and taken your notes, take a little time to see what the restaurant's history is.
These kind of details are a great way to add some color to your review.
For example, you might find that the head chef trained in France or used to work at another well-loved restaurant in the area, and you can use these connections to make people interested in the food.
Start by reading the restaurant's website.
Look up the owner and executive chef to get an idea of their training, style, and past ventures. -
Step 2: Open your review with a compelling hook.
The first sentence of the review should make people want to read more.
Remember, you are giving them a reason to either spend their money at this restaurant or skip ahead to another spot, but you're also trying to get them to read your writing.
Some tips for a good hook include:
Promise a story or surprise, such as "it may have taken a while to get to my mouth, but I've found the best paella on the planet." Make sure, however, that you deliver on the promise later! Give an interesting, tangential fact, like "Chef Zurlo only started cooking 2 years ago, yet she's quickly risen through the ranks to operate Oakland's best new bagel shop." Describe a particularly captivating or compelling part of the ambiance, good or bad, like a great view or a funny smell from the kitchen. , No one wants to read a laundry list of foods, so pick the foods that made the greatest impression on you (good or bad) and focus your writing on these dishes.
Don't just say if they were good or bad.
Strive to give details and reasons, naming each specific dish.
As an outline, you should try and talk about the following three things in every food review:
Presentation:
How'd the dish look when it arrived, and how did it make you feel? Excited? Hungry? Like royalty? Like you were in your family's kitchen again? Taste:
The big, obvious one, but that is only because it is so important.
Use descriptive language, metaphor, and simile to put your reader in your shoes, or mouth.
Name spices or flavors when you can.
Texture:
This usually includes cooking process as well.
Did it melt in your mouth? Was it still hot when it arrived? Was it juicy and tender or tough and brittle? Were their multiple textures (such as something soft with a crunchy crust), and did they work well together? , Remember that, above all, you're selling the experience here, not just the food.
Feel free to get poetic with your writing in places, using 1-2 well-placed adjectives to let the reader know exactly what they should expect at the restaurant.
You can think of it, in some ways, as the short story of your trip
-- give details and colorful additions that make the restaurant stand out and feel unique.
This includes the atmosphere, the surface, and the location.
The more specific details, the better.
Try for one good detail about every interaction/part of the restaurant. , A good food review is about helping other people find the restaurant, not just a platform to tell everyone your likes and dislikes.
For example, if you go to a restaurant with retro art on the walls and rollerskating dancers, it is not fair to judge the restaurant for specializing in burgers and fries instead of oysters.
A good reviewer is as unbiased as possible, evaluating the restaurant as a whole.
What kind of atmosphere are they going for here? Do they pull it off? How do your preferences match the restaurants? If you hate seafood, but that is the restaurant's specialty, you may want to tone down the negative reviews of the salmon or tell your readers that you aren't generally a fan of fish., Unless it is either the very best restaurant you've ever eaten at or the very worst, it is not fair to write a review that is either all good or all bad.
Try and give your audience the complete picture.
This ultimately allows the reader to make their own decision based on your advice, which seems much more reasonable when it considers both the pros and cons. "While my servers were incredibly kind and accommodating, it doesn't change the fact that the food was a bit cold when it came out." "Head chef Mathew Tucci has designed an amazing menu, and it's a shame that he only has 10 tables to serve to in his small little restaurant."
Ultimately, people want your advice on the food.
What to order, what to skip, and what restaurants to go to depending on their mood.
You should feel free to suggest certain dishes, recommending that someone should skip dessert, or mention if it seems like a great place to take a date.
These make your review compelling and useful.
If there is little of merit in the restaurant and you firmly believe is should be avoided, feel free to write a negative review.
However, you should usually try a restaurant a second time, making sure that you didn't try out a fluke of a dish, before attacking it., This is where you put in the average cost of a meal, the reservations time, and the address.
You could also add a rating, such 3 out of 4 stars, if you wanted.
Many reviewers put this at the very end of the article, in it's own separate paragraph, but some also put it at the top, on a separate column on the side, or worked into one of the first paragraphs. -
Step 3: Describe 3-5 dishes that you sampled
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Step 4: not all of them.
-
Step 5: Use big
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Step 6: colorful adjectives when writing.
-
Step 7: Think about a restaurant's intentions
-
Step 8: not just your personal preferences.
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Step 9: Write a mixture of pros and cons.
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Step 10: Make a recommendation.
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Step 11: Fill in the essential details of the restaurant in the beginning or end of the review.
Detailed Guide
Once you've had your meal and taken your notes, take a little time to see what the restaurant's history is.
These kind of details are a great way to add some color to your review.
For example, you might find that the head chef trained in France or used to work at another well-loved restaurant in the area, and you can use these connections to make people interested in the food.
Start by reading the restaurant's website.
Look up the owner and executive chef to get an idea of their training, style, and past ventures.
The first sentence of the review should make people want to read more.
Remember, you are giving them a reason to either spend their money at this restaurant or skip ahead to another spot, but you're also trying to get them to read your writing.
Some tips for a good hook include:
Promise a story or surprise, such as "it may have taken a while to get to my mouth, but I've found the best paella on the planet." Make sure, however, that you deliver on the promise later! Give an interesting, tangential fact, like "Chef Zurlo only started cooking 2 years ago, yet she's quickly risen through the ranks to operate Oakland's best new bagel shop." Describe a particularly captivating or compelling part of the ambiance, good or bad, like a great view or a funny smell from the kitchen. , No one wants to read a laundry list of foods, so pick the foods that made the greatest impression on you (good or bad) and focus your writing on these dishes.
Don't just say if they were good or bad.
Strive to give details and reasons, naming each specific dish.
As an outline, you should try and talk about the following three things in every food review:
Presentation:
How'd the dish look when it arrived, and how did it make you feel? Excited? Hungry? Like royalty? Like you were in your family's kitchen again? Taste:
The big, obvious one, but that is only because it is so important.
Use descriptive language, metaphor, and simile to put your reader in your shoes, or mouth.
Name spices or flavors when you can.
Texture:
This usually includes cooking process as well.
Did it melt in your mouth? Was it still hot when it arrived? Was it juicy and tender or tough and brittle? Were their multiple textures (such as something soft with a crunchy crust), and did they work well together? , Remember that, above all, you're selling the experience here, not just the food.
Feel free to get poetic with your writing in places, using 1-2 well-placed adjectives to let the reader know exactly what they should expect at the restaurant.
You can think of it, in some ways, as the short story of your trip
-- give details and colorful additions that make the restaurant stand out and feel unique.
This includes the atmosphere, the surface, and the location.
The more specific details, the better.
Try for one good detail about every interaction/part of the restaurant. , A good food review is about helping other people find the restaurant, not just a platform to tell everyone your likes and dislikes.
For example, if you go to a restaurant with retro art on the walls and rollerskating dancers, it is not fair to judge the restaurant for specializing in burgers and fries instead of oysters.
A good reviewer is as unbiased as possible, evaluating the restaurant as a whole.
What kind of atmosphere are they going for here? Do they pull it off? How do your preferences match the restaurants? If you hate seafood, but that is the restaurant's specialty, you may want to tone down the negative reviews of the salmon or tell your readers that you aren't generally a fan of fish., Unless it is either the very best restaurant you've ever eaten at or the very worst, it is not fair to write a review that is either all good or all bad.
Try and give your audience the complete picture.
This ultimately allows the reader to make their own decision based on your advice, which seems much more reasonable when it considers both the pros and cons. "While my servers were incredibly kind and accommodating, it doesn't change the fact that the food was a bit cold when it came out." "Head chef Mathew Tucci has designed an amazing menu, and it's a shame that he only has 10 tables to serve to in his small little restaurant."
Ultimately, people want your advice on the food.
What to order, what to skip, and what restaurants to go to depending on their mood.
You should feel free to suggest certain dishes, recommending that someone should skip dessert, or mention if it seems like a great place to take a date.
These make your review compelling and useful.
If there is little of merit in the restaurant and you firmly believe is should be avoided, feel free to write a negative review.
However, you should usually try a restaurant a second time, making sure that you didn't try out a fluke of a dish, before attacking it., This is where you put in the average cost of a meal, the reservations time, and the address.
You could also add a rating, such 3 out of 4 stars, if you wanted.
Many reviewers put this at the very end of the article, in it's own separate paragraph, but some also put it at the top, on a separate column on the side, or worked into one of the first paragraphs.
About the Author
Andrew Stone
A passionate writer with expertise in practical skills topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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