Local Food Reviews - Dining Out & Take Aways

[Twerto]

So far i have been in full agreement with the reviews other than the gurkahs Kitchen one.. I feel they should be revisited on a Friday or Sunday.. when they are actually expecting customers. as fro any restaurant i feel a Monday night is kind of an unfair day to see a restaurant at its best as chances are your the first customer they have had on a Monday in the last 6 months.

[Marooned in Maywick]

No doubt some readers of said reviews may be swayed by what they say and choose not to eat somewhere by virtue of what's been written.

 

Isn't that the whole point ?

 

So some anonymous person who may or may not have some experience/knowledge/qualifications in the food industry and may or may not have their own agenda has, to a small degree, the power to determine the level of success a business enjoys?

Hardly seems fair to me.

And clearly not Robert Smith either.

 

One of the unfortunate things about Shetland's eateries is, I believe, that the quality of the meal often depends on which chef is on that night.

I'm not saying that's right and businesses should strive to provide a consistent(good ) output, but in some cases that's just not possible.

[BigMouth]

I don't think that you need qualifications to know if you enjoyed a meal.

 

Although I don't read the Shetland Life magazine, I think that we would benefit from better food services in Shetland. Look at the Olive Tree for a good example. It was the state of the standards of the restaurant industry that shocked me most when I moved here.

 

Remember that restaurants can always make efforts to improve things and invite the reviewers back.

[Marooned in Maywick]

Of course you don't need qualifications to know whether you've enjoyed a meal. But that's not all the reviewer does, is it? He/she/they comment on every aspect of their dining experience and my argument is that someone who DOES have qualifications/experience/knowledge of the food industry would be more worthy of listening to than...me, for instance.

Yes I have experience of eating, but not of the subtleties of creating different flavours from different combinations of herbs, spices, sauces what-have-you.

That's why I find it difficult to accept that the anonymous reviewer, who CAN, to some degree(and I'm not pretending that a Shetland Life review is going to make or break a business), determine whether or not a restaurant is busy or not is a fair thing.

It smacks of some sort of secretive, underhand goings-on - the class clipe, if you will.

Who's to say that the reviewer isn't receiving favours from other businesses in return for good/bad reviews as necessary.

All it needs is for the magazine to print the reviewer's credentials so that Joe and Josephine Public can decide for themselves how much credence to give to them.

It's probably (disclaimer - no survey carried out, so it's only me saying this ) the case that, in Shetland, much of a restaurant's success lies in word-of-mouth advertising anyway.

 

 

 

And for my next conspiracy theory...

[Styles]

Eating out in a lot of places in Shetland is dire, especially for the price. I think they should be nemed and shamed.

[BigMouth]

M in M, I think that you do yourself a disservice, and although you may not have chosen to experiment with different flavours through mixes of herbs and spices, I am sure that I would listen to you if you gave me an opinion of a restaurant.

 

I went to one recently. The food tasted OK, but the wallpaper was peeling and the place was taking on a shabby appearance. This is the bit that they display to the customer. What was it like in the kitchen, the place where presentation (of non-food) items is less important?

 

Not having a TV, I often listen to the radio. One of the programmes that get up my nose is book and film reviews. These people are so far up themselves it's incredible, but they are allegedly experts, but to me, what they give is merely their opinion. I remember going to see a film when I was in my early 20's on the basis of all of the awards that it had gained. Chariots of Fire has turned out to be the only film that I have ever fallen asleep in. So as a reader of these reviews you make your own choice. You go or you don't. Bear in mind that the great and the good that run these establishments are often un-used to criticism.

 

I think it is an incredibly brave thing for a magazine to criticise a Shetland eatery, but I know that in the end it should bring improved services for all of us. I don't think that they are underhand, but they are secretive. It would not be a wortwhile food review if they told the eatery that they were going to turn up.

[Marooned in Maywick]

Maybe I'm more guilty of doing the reading/eating public of Shetland a disservice by implying they've got to have someone else telling them where to eat (or more usually not to eat ).

I'd hope the majority of folk are capable of choosing for themselves and use the reviews for what they are - someone's opinion on a meal out.

Sure I could tell you if I enjoyed a meal, but I'd not be able to tell you that the sauce was over-thymed or whatever the criticism of the actual food might be.

And yes I could comment on service and ambience as well as the next anonymous reviewer.

Let's just hope that, if the magazine's intention is to improve the eating experience for all, it succeeds. I'm just a little uneasy about their methods.

As I've said I believe most decisions to eat somewhere are because someone else has recommended it.

[Evil Inky]

Sure I could tell you if I enjoyed a meal, but I'd not be able to tell you that the sauce was over-thymed or whatever the criticism of the actual food might be.

But you would be able to tell if it was under-cooked, burnt, tasteless, or not as described on the menu

[Marooned in Maywick]

Sure I could tell you if I enjoyed a meal, but I'd not be able to tell you that the sauce was over-thymed or whatever the criticism of the actual food might be.

But you would be able to tell if it was under-cooked, burnt, tasteless, or not as described on the menu

 

We----ll I have eaten enough of my own cooking to have become somewhat immune to the scenarios you describe

[Malachy]

Of course you don't need qualifications to know whether you've enjoyed a meal. But that's not all the reviewer does, is it? He/she/they comment on every aspect of their dining experience and my argument is that someone who DOES have qualifications/experience/knowledge of the food industry would be more worthy of listening to than...me, for instance.

 

That's why I find it difficult to accept that the anonymous reviewer, who CAN, to some degree(and I'm not pretending that a Shetland Life review is going to make or break a business), determine whether or not a restaurant is busy or not is a fair thing

 

Marooned in Maywick, I know this is not the Shetland Life forum, but I'd like to respond to a couple of your points since this is specifically about the magazine.

 

Firstly, regarding the reviewers 'credentials'. This is, I believe, a somewhat misleading idea, that food reviews require a reviewer with specific qualifications or experience. A review of food is no different from a review of music or literature - anyone with an opinion can do it. A music reviewer will generally just have a love of music - they need not be a musician themselves - and equally, a food reviewer needs only a love of food. They give their honest opinion on a meal. It is up to the reader to decide whether to act on that review somehow. We don’t claim any authority, and I can tell you that our reviewers (there are, in fact, two) do not work in the food industry. I believe this makes them less likely to be biased in some way.

 

Secondly, on anonymity. This is a difficult one, and was a difficult decision for me. I am absolutely opposed to anonymous reviews generally, but I decided to make an exception in this case, and only because of the specific situation in Shetland. There were two reasons for this, and they are reasons that I think have been justified by events so far. One: a reviewer whose name is published will undoubtedly be known or will become known by food establishments in a small place like Shetland. They may get preferential treatment when they go to eat, or they may not even be allowed in. Anonymity avoids this possibility. Two: I believe that not all restaurant owners in Shetland are trustworthy enough to not react to a bad review, either by banning the reviewer from their establishment(s) or by retaliating in some other way. I do not want this to happen to anyone writing for the magazine, and they should not have to put up with that. As editor, I am happy to be the one who takes the flak for it.

 

In one sense though I agree with you – the fact that the reviews are anonymous does somehow devalue them, because the reader has to take on trust the fact that a review (good or bad) is justified, and we cannot give any evidence to help you believe it. As editor, I strongly believe that my reviewers are honest and unbiased, but you just have to take my word for it. But then again, when I read a good review of a CD in a magazine, there is always a certain amount of trust involved for me to accept that the reviewer wasn’t bribed or coerced into writing it, or that it is not a false name. And if I go and buy that CD and don’t like it then I still can’t say the review was false because, in the end, a review is just a matter of taste, and readers have to remember that.

 

Having said all that, I personally believe the food reviews could do a lot of good in Shetland eateries if they are taken the right way, both by restaurateurs and readers.

 

PS – from April onwards, the food reviews will be published with the initials of the reviewers at the bottom. I hope this will alleviate some of the suspicion.

[Frances144]

I'll be a restaurant reviewer - me, me, please? I am an expert, eaten all over the world, know good service and food and know all about the bad stuff.

 

I am literate, articulate and also a good cook - I make my own gravy without using gravy powder!!!!

 

Send me, send me, please, please.

 

(....... but could you pay my expenses and bill)

 

Just pm me if you are interested in my offer.

[Marooned in Maywick]

Firstly, regarding the reviewers 'credentials'. This is, I believe, a somewhat misleading idea, that food reviews require a reviewer with specific qualifications or experience. A review of food is no different from a review of music or literature - anyone with an opinion can do it. A music reviewer will generally just have a love of music - they need not be a musician themselves - and equally, a food reviewer needs only a love of food. They give their honest opinion on a meal. It is up to the reader to decide whether to act on that review somehow. We don’t claim any authority, and I can tell you that our reviewers (there are, in fact, two) do not work in the food industry. I believe this makes them less likely to be biased in some way.

 

I see where you're coming from, but the reviews I've read seem to have been written by someone with at least some technical expertise of food preparation - e.g. the sauce was a little too something-y

That's why I felt people may have been persuaded into giving them more credence than simply seeing them as one person's opinion.

To carry on the music analogy, if a reviewer was able to write with some expertise on the technical side of it I'd be inclined to pay more attention to him than someone who wrote 'the guitars made a really nice twangy noise'.

At the end of the day it IS about opinions and I'll continue to hold on to my belief that word-of-mouth is the strongest advert.

 

 

Secondly, on anonymity. This is a difficult one, and was a difficult decision for me. I am absolutely opposed to anonymous reviews generally, but I decided to make an exception in this case, and only because of the specific situation in Shetland. There were two reasons for this, and they are reasons that I think have been justified by events so far. One: a reviewer whose name is published will undoubtedly be known or will become known by food establishments in a small place like Shetland. They may get preferential treatment when they go to eat, or they may not even be allowed in. Anonymity avoids this possibility. Two: I believe that not all restaurant owners in Shetland are trustworthy enough to not react to a bad review, either by banning the reviewer from their establishment(s) or by retaliating in some other way. I do not want this to happen to anyone writing for the magazine, and they should not have to put up with that. As editor, I am happy to be the one who takes the flak for it.

 

In one sense though I agree with you – the fact that the reviews are anonymous does somehow devalue them, because the reader has to take on trust the fact that a review (good or bad) is justified, and we cannot give any evidence to help you believe it. As editor, I strongly believe that my reviewers are honest and unbiased, but you just have to take my word for it. But then again, when I read a good review of a CD in a magazine, there is always a certain amount of trust involved for me to accept that the reviewer wasn’t bribed or coerced into writing it, or that it is not a false name. And if I go and buy that CD and don’t like it then I still can’t say the review was false because, in the end, a review is just a matter of taste, and readers have to remember that.

 

Having said all that, I personally believe the food reviews could do a lot of good in Shetland eateries if they are taken the right way, both by restaurateurs and readers.

 

PS – from April onwards, the food reviews will be published with the initials of the reviewers at the bottom. I hope this will alleviate some of the suspicion.

 

Sadly I agree with you that there may be restauratuers who might take exception to what's written and take out their displeasure on named reviewers so I agree that there is the need for anonymity - especially in a small place like Shetland.

Furthermore I DO believe your reviewers are balanced and unbiased - I just felt that if somehow the reviewer's authority to speak on the subject could have been conveyed they would have been 'fairer'. Even if it was just to say Reviewer A has never worked in the food industry, but has been an enthusiastic home chef for 12 years type of thing.

And I'm not suspicious about them in the slightest

 

I can just picture the resraurant owners checking their bookings 'Hmmmm, SD here on a Monday night....that must have been those bloody reviewers. Get them barred!!'

[BigMouth]

If you want good service in an eatery just pull out a notepad and a pen. Look around, write things down. They will be falling over themselves terrified that you are a food critic from the Shetland Life

[Fjool]

If you want good service in an eatery just pull out a notepad and a pen. Look around, write things down. They will be falling over themselves terrified that you are a food critic from the Shetland Life

 

Every restaurant in Lerwick will be full of people brandishing notepads and pens now!

[BigMouth]

I always carry a notebook and pen with me to write down notes about things that I need to remember.

 

You get some funny looks when you are doing it in a restaurant - but hey ho!