REVIEW

Cote Brasserie is an amazing French restaurant located in Muswell Hill, North London. I have
recently dinned there as a friend of mine advised visiting the place not only due to reasonably
priced food but also the magnificent décor which makes you feel as if you were in one of those
cosy Parisian’s restaurants.

You start with Paragraph 1- Introduction

In the introduction you :

– give some basic info about the restaurant e.g. name, location, reason you decided to visit it,
maybe you heard something about the place before you actually visited it, who visits the
restaurant most often.

Phrases you can use in the introduction:

* it’s located/ situated in

* in the heart of / in the suburbs of

* it was recommended by/ it is a favourite hangout spot for people…/

REMEMBER: A review is a special type of article written for publication in a magazine,

newspaper, etc giving a brief description and evaluation of the restaurant, hotel, etc . It may
be formal or semi-formal in style, depending on its intended readership, and is usually written
using variety of structures e.g. passive, adverbs, plenty of adjectives, past simple/ perfect.

Being a vegan prevented me from selecting such delicacies as duck breast or steak sirloin
nevertheless, the restaurant offers a wide variety of vegan dishes. My two-course meal
consisted of a typical French, rather spicy, onion soup and a goat cheese salad, which was
kindly amended by an extremely helpful waitress, who replaced cheese with some organic
walnuts.

In the 2nd and 3rd Paragraph you :

– provide more details about food / prices

– you can also add comments about service / atmosphere

Phrases you can use to in the 2nd and 3rd paragraph:

Writing about food

* a wide variety of mouth- watering starters/ main courses/ deserts

* I ordered steak sirloin accompanied by side dish of roasted asparagus

* main course consisted of

* to be starving hungry / to be dying of hunger

* poor quality/ overpriced/ reasonably priced/ good value for money/ pricy

* stodgy/ bland/ tasty/ delicious/ exquisite/ processed food

* home-made / take-away / ready meal

* large selection of …

Writing about staff

* attentive/ friendly/ charming/ helpful/ caring

* forgettable/ accetable

* can hardly get a smile/ inattentive / slow/ disappointing

If you’re writing a restaurant review you’d also need to learn the vocabulary describing dishes
e.g types of fish/ meat/ etc.

I was enjoying my meal being surrounded by typical Côte decor of rather basic leather chairs,
wooden tables and mirrors. What I disliked most were English songs played in the background,
and so neither the decor nor the music impressed me much.

Phrases you can use to in the 2nd and 3rd paragraph:

Writing about atmosphere/ decor

*magnificent decor/ modern/ antique/ cosy

* spacious / spotless

* dull/ dusty/ filthy

Writing about hotel / hotel room

*attractive/ magnificent/ disappointing settings

* indoor/outdoor/ heated swimming-pool

* entertainment / children’s club

* not worth the money

* book in advance

* noisy/ quiet rooms

* rough neighbourhood
Overall, I’d really recommend Cote Brasserie as it serves delicious and relatively inexpensive
French food, without a doubt it would even appeal to a French dinner looking for tasty dishes
accompanied by caring and professional staff, if only the interior was better.

In the last paragraph you :

– include an overall opinion/or a recommendation, usually with justification

– you may also be asked to give reasons how it has influenced you, etc.

Phrases you can use to end the review

Making a recommendation

*I would highly / strongly recommend …

* I certainly wouldn’t recommend …

* I strongly advise you (not) to …

* Everyone should see / do / read this … immediately!

* … is not to be missed!

* You should give … a miss!

* Don’t bother reading / seeing / going …

* It is a classic of its kind/ It is sure to be a hit/ best -seller

Your review should include both positive and negative comments, however it’s also crucial to
state your overall opinion.

Expressions for say you liked something:

– I was pleasantly surprised by….

– …. would appeal to ….

– the thing I like most was…

Expressions to say you disliked something:

– What I disliked most was…

– I was quite/rather/bitterly disappointed by/ with…

– I was extremely dissatisfied with…