How to Write a Good Restaurant Review

Every restaurant review should cover the basics, such as food, service, atmosphere, and prices. What makes a good review stand out is the detail that the writer includes.

For example, instead of writing, "the waiter was attentive," which is abstract and general, try writing "the waiter refilled my water glass before I even noticed it was empty." Try to convey your experience in the restaurant so vividly that your readers will feel as if they were there.

Here are some tips for making your restaurant reviews more effective:

* Don't let the restaurant owner or staff know you are writing a review. If they know you will be writing about them, they may give you better service than usual, and you won't be able to gauge what a more typical experience in their restaurant is like.

* If possible, bring along a few friends. That way, you can each order something different, and you will get to sample a wider variety of the restaurant's dishes than you would if you went alone or with just one other person.

* Be honest in your review, but also be fair. You don't need to tip-toe around any bad experiences, but there's also no need to pile on gratuitous sarcasm, unless the experience was truly abysmal. If you enjoyed the food and the atmosphere, be sure to praise what you liked, but avoid excessive gushing. Be true to yourself and your experience.

* Don't use advertising language. When you write a review, you are working for your readers, not for the restaurant. Although a positive review often sends more customers to a restaurant, that's only a side effect of the review, and not its goal. Your job is to provide your readers with an honest appraisal of your experience, so that they can decide whether they would like to try the restaurant or not.

* If you have the time and the money, consider going back to a restaurant more than once before you write your review. Sometimes a restaurant will have an off night, and if you go back another time, things will be better. Going more than once will also give you a chance to try more of their food.

* Remember that everything that applies to good writing in general, also applies to restaurant reviewing. Always check your work for spelling, grammar, word choice, and clarity. When you write or rewrite, think about how you can best convey the experience you had to your readers.

* A lot of what you experience in a restaurant is directly through your senses - taste and smell, of course, but also sight (the decor, the way the food is presented on the plate, what is on the table) and hearing (is there music? are conversations at other tables so loud that you have to shout to be heard?). The more you can convey your sensual experiences in words, the more effective your review will be.

* Try reading some of Ruth Reichl's autobiographical books. Reichl, who had been a restaurant reviewer for the NY Times and the Editor in Chief at Gourmet magazine, is a hilarious writer. Not only are her books laugh-out-loud funny, but they also give you a great inside view of what the life of a professional restaurant reviewer is like. Even if you have no intention of ever doing this professionally, you can still get a big kick out of reading about the adventures and misadventures of someone who has.

Follow the tips above, and keep on practicing, and then watch your reviews come alive.