I am exploring the genre of restaurant reviews. After conducting research, I have gathered that reviews come in all shapes and forms. Some reviews are extremely biased while others try to remain more open-minded; certain reviews critique a particular food at various locations while other authors take the route of reviewing all aspects of a single restaurant. When assessing this genre, I tried to take all of these variations into account, so my sources have a wide assortment of style preference. However, while all of these reviews are somewhat different, they still fall under the same genre of a ‘restaurant review’, therefore they all have formal and functional similarities.
What should it contain?
Always:
- A critique of the food
- The atmosphere in which the food is consumed
- Brief description of the restaurants location
- Directly or implicitly provide the author’s credibility
Sometimes:
- Include the restaurant’s chef
- Provide comparisons of similar restaurants
- Include photos
- Address how pricey the restaurant is
- Inject a biased opinion
The functional elements include giving the reader the ability to make an informed decision about whether or not they would enjoy a dining experience at the particular restaurant. The author provides a detailed summary about what a typical meal at this restaurant would be like and through the use of strong imagery, the reader is able to envision the event being described.
Sources:
- Restaurant Review: Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square
- Jonathon Gold goes on a holiday crawl across L.A
- Austin Chronicle Restaurant Review
- Restaurant Review: Uchiko
- Fed Man Walking: A Month of Sunday’s Brunch
Questions:
- What makes me qualified as an author to write a food review?
- Which type of review do you think is more interesting: a singular restaurant or a”best of” list with a particular food
- As a reader, are you more interested in food reviews or beverage reviews?
- Any suggestions for which restaurant you’d be interested in reading about?