Writing Restaurant Reviews

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum For this project, you will be writing a review of a local restaurant on Yelp Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum Reviews are an interesting way to give and get opinions about different places to eat. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum For instance, let’s say a new restaurant opened called the Moon & Flower House. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

But you wonder how good it is… After all, maybe it’s just really bad food. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum You might look to your local newspaper or go online to find a restaurant reviewer that you trust. But if you want to know what real people thought, you could go online to yelp. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum If the reviews of Moon & Flower were really good, you might decide to go eat there. If a lot of people give it 1 star, maybe you stay home. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum Restaurants aren’t the only things that critics like to review. In the newspaper, you might also see reviews on… Books Plays Shows Music Albums Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum You are going to choose a restaurant to eat at and review it on Yelp. Here are some rules for the review: 1. You have to go to the restaurant especially for this review. You can’t try to remember a trip from before. 2. It can be a new restaurant or one that you went to before, but it has to be a new trip. 3. If you want to try to earn 10 Diamonds for this project, you can see if your parents can set up an interview with the owner of the restaurant. But this is totally optional. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum 4. Try to have a taste of not only what you order but what other people you go with order. 5. Try to notice not just the food but things like is it easy to park, the decorations or “atmosphere” of the restaurant, the service (how nice is the waiter), how long is the wait to get a table, how long do you have to wait for your food. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum 6. Take lots of pictures of the food, the outside of the restaurant and the inside of the restaurant. 7. Take notes about your experience so you remember everything. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

But how do you write a review? Well, there are a few techniques…. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum You want to explain WHY you liked or did not like the restaurant you are reviewing… Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum But you want to explain WHY. Here are a couple ways not to do it… Restaurant 1 This restaurant was really bad. I hated it. I really didn’t like it, don’t go. Restaurant 2 OMG, this place is super yummy. I want to eat everything on the menu. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum We can see the reviewer was impressed with #2, but he or she didn’t say WHY. Here’s a better review… My Trip to Mama’s Kitchen restaurant on Main Street in Worcester was incredible. They had some wonderfully yummy dishes such as the Spaghetti with Meatballs (so spicy and filling) and the Linguini with Shrimp] (the shrimps were so big and juicy). The service was great. Our waiter, Harold, was very attentive. The food arrived within 15 minutes and Harold kept checking to see if we wanted more water or condiments. The atmosphere of the restaurant was lovely. There were photos of famous Italians on the walls and the lighting was very pretty but not too dark. All of the tables had clean, white tablecloths. What a yummy and lovely experience. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Your restaurant review should discuss such things as… The main courses The dessert or side dishes The beverages The atmosphere The waiters and waitresses Its location and parking Your restaurant review should discuss such things as… Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Too greasy? Undercooked? There was too much rice, not enough chicken? It arrived cold at your table? And again, it’s not just enough to say, “the food was bad.” WHY was it bad? Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Copyright Right Brain Curriculum And you should add a rating to your review on Yelp. Really bad is 1 star, Really amazing is 5 stars. Or you can rate it somewhere in between. Copyright Right Brain Curriculum

Good luck with your review… Copyright Right Brain Curriculum