Evaluating Restaurants
Evaluating restaurants is probably considered by critics to be more art than science. I tend to disagree. Guests have the luxury of being entirely subjective but a critic has to be objective in order to maintain credibility for their audience. I think it takes a good deal of experience in a variety of restaurants in order to become enured to the initial emotional swings that can take over when dining out.
I have my own system for evaluation that I think is both simple to use and broad in perspective, and this system has been an invaluable tool in our restaurants.
Five points of quality are evaluated: Quality of Welcome, Service, Atmosphere, Cooking, The Cellar. You may say that this does not make the cooking the focal point and so is inherently inadequate. But to me the guest come in for an experience (a good one!) and since these are the areas that pull guests in they are also the deal-killers when things go wrong. The elephant in the room is level of expectation, and we are happy to feed the expectation.
So tell me what you think? Does it cover everything for you? How would you improve it?
To the right of this posting you will find “Recommendations in France” for restaurants I visited in France recently and how I rated my experiences. Currently in Vegas where I'm attending a design conference with Patrick Sutton - getting some ideas for our new venture. Once I finish dining my way through the Silver City and I know a lot have you have worn that same path, I will have restaurants to recommend and review.
Click on comments and send them in I’ll respond as soon as I can!
I have my own system for evaluation that I think is both simple to use and broad in perspective, and this system has been an invaluable tool in our restaurants.
Five points of quality are evaluated: Quality of Welcome, Service, Atmosphere, Cooking, The Cellar. You may say that this does not make the cooking the focal point and so is inherently inadequate. But to me the guest come in for an experience (a good one!) and since these are the areas that pull guests in they are also the deal-killers when things go wrong. The elephant in the room is level of expectation, and we are happy to feed the expectation.
So tell me what you think? Does it cover everything for you? How would you improve it?
To the right of this posting you will find “Recommendations in France” for restaurants I visited in France recently and how I rated my experiences. Currently in Vegas where I'm attending a design conference with Patrick Sutton - getting some ideas for our new venture. Once I finish dining my way through the Silver City and I know a lot have you have worn that same path, I will have restaurants to recommend and review.
Click on comments and send them in I’ll respond as soon as I can!
posted by Moderator at 4:13 PM
2 Comments:
Your five points of quality for restaurant evaluation are perfect. A good restaurant has got to be the sum of all the parts, not just the food. That’s what I loved about the recent dining experience I had at Pazo. Everything about that evening was perfect. My friend and I were also lucky enough to get a chance to try a new item that was not on the menu yet (the Aged Rib-Eye; exquisite!).
At the same time, I could use the same points of evaluation for my favorite “hole in the wall” pizza joint, and they would also score great for the wonderful and fun dining experience I always have there.
Thanks!
Joe
joescorpio1970@yahoo.com
One of the things that I find invaluable in a good restaurant is the willingness of the staff to assist you with selections. Petit Louis is one of my favorite restaurants...not only because of the food, atmosphere and exceptional wine list, but because of the level of service I receive every time I go there. I have, on EVERY occasion, been "walked" through my meal and wine selections with the utmost care and attention. It is a treat to meet people who are passionate about their job and enjoy treating others well.
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