Writing a Restaurant Review
Task: Students are required to review a restaurant.
Steps:
1. When you evaluate a restaurant, it is important to consider the following categories about the restaurant:
2. Very much like the movie review, you can follow the four basic segments to a review:
a) Create a hook or engaging paragraph that has a lot of puns or themes that praises or pans your restaurant.
It is worth travelling the longest yard to get to this restaurant. The Longest Yard scores high on serving points but fumbles in terms of delivering a wide selection of healthy food alternatives….
b) Think about the various categories that you have brainstormed and explain what you liked or disliked about the restaurant.
c) Rate your restaurant using a ranking system.
Here is a sample of a student’s review of a restaurant:
Pinxtos in Pamplona, Spain
THE PLACE: First of all, I did this review because I was in Spain for my holiday. I managed to order because my mum’s friends (John and Josh) were with us and they spoke Spanish. (They live in Mexico and were also on holiday). We went here because it was full of Spanish people speaking Spanish. (I know that’s a little obvious, what else would Spanish people be speaking - Polish/Norwegian/Arabic?- but you know what I mean: it was authentic and not full of horrible tourists like myself).
Before I describe this bar, let me explain something about restaurants in Spain: most of them serve “Tapas” (or Pinxtos in Spanish). These are EXTREMELY SMALL dishes (about the size of an egg). Most of them have fish – bad luck if you don’t like fish. In Spain, they eat many of these small plates of tapas at one meal, meaning that in this review, I’m reviewing 5 dishes. I won’t go into too much detail though – each plate of tapas is simple. More often, tapas is eaten before dinner, as a pre-supper, with dinner served much later (about midnight). You queue to get to the counter. Then you pinch some tapas on display at the counter and then you go to your table. Then, the waiter counts how many dishes you have eaten and dumps all the empty dishes in a bucket (literally) and you pay the bill at the counter.
But, back to Bar Gaucho! First of all the atmosphere was very stressful: it was packed! Crowded, as it was lunch-time. Tables and seats were scarce. John and Josh took it in turns to eat, so that we had enough seats to go round.
SERVICE: NONE! (except for the waiter who dumps your dishes into a bucket)
WHAT I HAD: Before I begin, please note that these dishes don’t really have names. (They might have had names, thinking about it, but we didn’t know them and I wasn’t about to make John and Josh ask, although if I was being professional about this, I probably would). First up was eel wrapped in a red pepper. (Yes, that long serpent-shaped fish that you find in rivers and looks sort of revolting but tastes like.. well, any other fish. Go on, try some. DARE YOU!). This was one of my favourite dishes because of its unusual yet amazing taste, all fishy, with vinegar, lemon and pepper. It had an acidic flavour which I absolutely love!
I also had some egg with caviar and anchovies (sorry, no pic). I didn’t really like this. The combination was too odd for me. Served warm, all I was getting was a soft, eggy texture. The anchovies made the dish salty.
I tried a creamy lasagne with fish. Yes, I know I’m repeating myself when I say this, but to me it was a strange blend… I didn’t say it was bad… in fact… it was… excellent!
My sister Manu tried some octopus with potatoes, paprika and a drizzle of mayonnaise. She said the octopus was really fragrant with the paprika. The mayonnaise went well with the potatoes. (note: if you’ve never eaten octopus, here’s what to expect. When you look at octopus, you see the bulbous head and the tentacles; what you’re eating is just the tentacles, never the head. They taste a bit like they look, a little rubbery, but about as rubbery as mozzarella rather than, say, halloumi.)
RATING: This was an entirely new experience for me, and although a few of the tapas dishes were rather odd, and the atmosphere was quite stressful, I give Bar Gaucho a 8/10. This place was incredible and you must go here if you are going to Pamplona, but maybe get there just before the lunch-crowd if you want a seat.
