You've spent six modules learning to perceive five dimensions of a dining experience: ingredients and technique, flavour and balance, the full sensory experience, beverages, service, atmosphere, and value. You know more about what makes a restaurant work than most reviewers ever will.
The challenge now is not what you know. It's what to include. A review that covers everything you noticed would be a thousand words and unreadable. The skill is selection: choosing the details that matter most and letting them represent the whole.
The Five Things Worth Covering
1. What stood out on the plate. Not every dish. The highlights and any notable failures. If four courses were strong and one was weak, say so. If one dish was extraordinary, give it the space it deserves. The reader wants to know what to order and what to skip.
2. Whether the cooking was skilled. You learned to read technique in Module 4. Was the fish cooked correctly? Was the seasoning right? Did the flavours work together or fight each other? A few specific observations about execution tell the reader more than a general verdict.
3. How the experience felt beyond the food. Service, atmosphere, and pacing are part of what you're paying for. You don't need a paragraph on each. A sentence or two that captures the feel of the room and the quality of the service is often enough. Note it when it enhances the meal. Note it when it detracts.
4. Whether it was worth the money. This doesn't mean listing prices. It means answering the question the reader is actually asking: if I spend my evening and my money here, will I feel good about it? A three-course lunch for fifteen euros that delivers honest, well-cooked food is extraordinary value. A hundred-euro dinner that feels generic is poor value. Say which one it was.
5. Who it's for. The most useful thing a review can do is help the right person find the right restaurant. "Perfect for a casual Tuesday dinner with friends" or "worth saving for a special occasion" or "ideal if you want to eat at the bar alone with a glass of wine" gives the reader something to match against their own life.
What to Leave Out
- Every dish you ate. Unless each one is worth discussing, pick the ones that tell the story.
- The server's name and life story. Unless the interaction was genuinely remarkable.
- Your credentials. Nobody cares that you've been to forty countries. Let your observations speak for themselves.
- The parking situation. Logistical details belong in a Google Maps pin, not a review.