To review or not to review: what should we say when restaurants aren't great?
Do you want to hear the bad news along with the good?
I just invited a friend to dinner, asking “would you like to join me for another mediocre meal?” I need to review a few more places before publishing the Spring update to our 50 Favorite Restaurants list next week, but I’m in the middle of a losing streak. Only three of the last twenty meals have been worthy of reviewing, at least according to the standards we’ve been maintaining.
This has been a particularly bad run, but it’s not totally atypical. Out of every ten restaurants that I anonymously visit, there are usually only 2-3 worth shining a light on. I don’t post every meal on Instagram, even when the pictures are beautiful, just for the sake of posting regular content. I don’t want you to follow the pretty colors and end up paying for a disappointing meal.
That means there’s a lot we don’t say.
Out of ten meals, there might be one that is “interestingly bad” and worth mentioning because it’s had a lot of attention or makes for a good story (the reopening of Astrance, for example). The rest are just varying degrees of fine - they’re ok if you’re in the neighborhood, they’re a good option for kids, they’re trying. I might recommend them if you ask for a place open at 5pm with vegan options, but I don’t want to clog your inbox with the details.
On the one hand, I think that our general approach to focus on positive reviews (with very occasional digs) is working well enough. A list of 50 Favorites is already a lot of information (some might say too much), especially when you add in our more specialized lists organized by neighborhood or need.
On the other hand, our goal is to help you find delicious experiences and avoid disappointment. I’d feel terrible if you end up having a bad meal because we failed to warn you about something we didn’t like.
After we publish our 50 Favorites update next week, I’m considering creating a page that organizes all the restaurants we’ve visited by arrondissement (location) and indicates whether we love it, like it, or don’t recommend it. I’d also share the date of our last visit. I wouldn’t spill additional words on the restaurants that we merely like or don’t recommend - that seems cruel - but you could see at a glance where everyone stands in our (entirely subjective) ranking.
Would this be useful? Do want to know what we don’t like? Or do you only want to hear the good news? We hope you’ll let us know in the comments what’s most valuable to you.
Should we let you know what we think isn’t great?
Should we only share what’s great and keep quiet about the rest?
Thanks for your feedback, and we’ll be back next week with our 50 Favorites!
I agree with all the comments. There are so many restaurants in Paris and not enough time. As mentioned, don't need all the details of a bad or meh experience. Just maybe LOVE, LIKE, MEH and AVOID works. And yes, by arrondisement definitely helps.
When I visit Paris, I typically only have a week. I don't want to eat disappointing meals if I can avoid it, so please, share what places you didn't enjoy or that you do not recommend!