No day passes by without a new restaurant, bar, or bistro opening in your town. New places pop out like mushrooms after the rain. But are they all worth visiting? Does the level of service and the food served there will meet our expectations?
Is a place full of trendy-looking people equipped with pods and pads, boringly sipping on a glass of wine while waiting for their date, enough to classify a place as a place worth visiting? Perhaps it is a place “to be seen,” but it does not necessarily mean a place to eat.
About some restaurants, you have heard from your friends, colleagues, or family. Somebody tipped you, someone warned you.
But what if you know nothing about the place, what if you visit a town for the first time and you depend on a restaurant’s website? Can that be a sufficiently objective source of knowledge? Not always, of course, but it can surely tell you a lot.
LOCATION
Check their address. If they are located at the Old Town, on the pier, on the main tourist street, most of the time i,t is a sign that you should avoid this place. These are places which mostly rely on tourists- one time clients. Too often, it means they do not need to try too hard. The location will always provide them with clientele.
I have never had worse apple pie than at Nyhavn in Copenhagen, more expensive potato pancakes than at the Old Town in Prague, or more disgusting cordon bleu as at Brussels main square. The best tip I can give you is when you get to the “main attraction area” is to walk on, turn into a side street, and there start to look for a place to dine.
MENU
The smaller, the better. Simple as that. If you are looking for endless options on the menu, better go to the Vietnamese takeaway. If you, however, opt for a bit more sophisticated dinner and exciting food, a small menu will be s sign of it.
OPENING TIMES
”We are open 7 days a week, offering breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. We have also kids menu”. Let me put it this way… McDonald’s is open 7 days per week…
PRICES
It is important that the location, interior, level of service, and food are on the same level.
CONTACT
If you are calling them at 21.00 to make a reservation and the cleaning lady picks up the phone explaining that they closed earlier today, cause there were no customers, you should reconsider your choice.
INTERNET
Google for reviews on independent websites. Think about what is important for you and read what people say about it. Focus on essential remarks and look for those written by people who go out more often than just once per year.
Reviews like: “We had a romantic evening, was fun, I love my hubby” don’t tell you much, but: ”The live music was too loud, I found a hair in my salad, and the lobster (which is supposed to be a specialty) was chewy” should tell you much more.
Things I mentioned above do not say all, but definitely should help you in making good choices and protect you from disaster evenings. All in all, at the end of the evening you will be presented with a bill, and you don’t like to feel cheated.
Be the first to comment on "Is it good enough?"