I visited a restaurant that I used to work in after it opened up (yes I was there on the opening night, shambles as it was) and I knew that it wasn’t at the time and probably never going to be a very good restaurant just because the owners were not that clued in to how to run a bar/restaurant. When I went back there I was looking around and thinking to myself about what was good and was bad. I also thought to myself (see Schizophrenia) that I should review restaurants because I like to do it and want to create the next Good Food Guide.

I judge a restaurant on three main categories. Restaurant, staff and food and drinks.

The restaurant includes basically the physical aspects of the place. From tables and chairs to how clean the toilets are. It’s not only just saying that the chairs were comfortable, but did they fit in with the style and colour scheme?

The staff obviously is relating to the bar staff, waitresses and cooks. Anyone that I can tell is representing the business. How clean are their uniforms, how polite are they and can they pour a pint is all questions I’ll be asking.

The food and drinks? Well I thought that was obvious.

When I visit a restaurant to review, I tend to go alone. Mainly because at the moment I have no-one to go with who will help me review it, but also because it’s not as suspicious if I am alone. I don’t have to take notes as I can remember everything that I thought about it and don’t have to converse with someone else to bring our ideas together. The most common customer, I have found, to be neglected is a single man, because they fork out less money. The staff show their true colours when serving their most hated customer.

Blue Lagoon Indian Restaurant in Blackwater, Berkshire