When Restaurant Reviews Celebrate Food Cultures

The other day, a friend asked me how exactly I judge a restaurant.

- Smitha Menon

The other day, a friend asked me how exactly I judge a restaurant. As a food writer, I get asked this often. While there's no easy answer, mine is: The whole experience of food, taste preferences and dining out is wholly subjective, but something I do use to judge a restaurant is its claim to an identity. Is that highly-awarded restaurant actually serving "modern Indian cuisine with an ingredient-forward approach?" Or is it PR fluff because the experience falls short? My friend nodded, and I couldn't tell if I gave her something to think about, or if the food that arrived at our table provided ample distraction.

The whole conversation got me thinking about the nature of a review, what purpose it serves and who really is qualified to judge. Tech reviews assess a gadget's performance, while art and book reviews judge creative pieces of work to higher standards than functionality, value for money, and mass appeal. So where does that leave the restaurant review? In an age where dining out is entertainment and shows like Somebody Feed Phil and Top Jaw's YouTube videos are forms of relaxation, what is the point of a restaurant review? Is it to critique or educate? To contextualize or report? Or simply, to entertain?