WRITING A RESTAURANT REVIEW

Writing a review for a restaurant can be challenging. Here are three review that might help you. Notice the vocabulary, simple but precise for each section that is described.

ex.1

The House Polo Restaurant

(Name/location)
The ‘House’ is a restaurant situated in the heart of a small village between three national forests and close to the horse´s capital city, Chantilly. It is the favourite hangout place for people from the polo, horse races, and golf world.

(Atmosphere/decor)

As you enter the place you are welcomed by a magnificent setting, a delightful marriage of antique cut stones and the luxuries of modernity.  Sitting in any table you have a wonderful view of the workshop-like kitchen where you can see the chefs working. For those who do not book a table and are waiting, there is a cosy lounge with aged leather armchairs and pictures of polo players displayed on the walls. 

(The menu/dishes)

The menu offers a wide variety of mouth-watering starters. I had the white asparagus accompanied by a mousseline sauce and poached eggs, while my friend tried the zucchini carpaccio served with sundries tomatoes and a mozzarella strudel. They were exquisite. The main course consisted of a risotto with scallop cooked in cream and a cassolette of coley with mussels, which really thrilled us. It all was followed by a delicious apple pie served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert. 

(The ingredients/the wine/the prices)

All the products were fresh and the dishes had the warmth of home-made food. The chefs take great care in selecting the best quality ingredients. The restaurant also caters for all tastes by providing a large selection of the best wines of the region, which are pricy but worth sampling.

(The service/the waiters/the owner)

What a pity that the service does not accompany the high quality of the cooking. You can hardly get a smile out of the waitresses. Thankfully the owner and hostess, a middle-aged charming woman, is always around willing to exchange some kind words with all her clients.

(Recommendation)

Despite the high price of the food and the not so attentive waiters´ service, I had a pleasant dining experience with food of the most exquisite flavours. For this reason I highly recommend going to the House Polo restaurant.    (260-320 words)


ex. 2

The "Aila Nera" restaurant

The "Aila Nera" is a newly-opened restaurant in the centre of town. It is also by far the best place for families and friends to spend a nice and quiet evening eating delicious home-made food.

I had the opportunity to go there to celebrate my father’s birthday and I had a wonderful time.   

As you enter the place you are welcomed by a familiar and cosy atmosphere. The walls are made of stone, which gives the restaurant a vintage and traditional look, and there are just a few tables. There is some soft background music from the 80s and 90s.

Regarding the food, they offer a variety of focaccia bread rolls as a starter, with tomato sauce, mozzarella, zucchini and almonds. They were my favourite part of the meal.   The main course that I had consisted of pasta: gnocchi with different sauces. It tasted like heaven on earth. They also have desserts in the menú; I chose to have creme brulee.

Slightly disappointing though, was the service. I had to wait twenty minutes for the dishes to arrive, as there were only two waitresses. However, I have to say in their defence, that both of them were very young, kind and friendly.

Despite the long wait for the food, it was absolutely mouthwatering, and the atmosphere very pleasant. For this reason, I have no hesitation in recommending going to the "Aila Nera" restaurant. Judging on the taste of the dishes, I would give it 5 stars!       (220-260 words)


ex. 3

Papa Grill

For those who haven't recently been to Papa Grill (in the Loeh's Plaza shopping area on Hillanle Road, close to Rt. 85), it's really gotten quite excellent. This is a classic (and classy) family-run restaurant. Sam Papas is the executive chef, his brother Chris is the general manager and maitre d', and their parents (Glen and Angelika Papas) are the owners. Sam is turning out some wonderful dishes, including a truly superb "confit" of salmon and an excellent roasted lamb; and all of the traditional Greek dishes (the family being of Greek ancestry and the restaurant itself describing its food as "Hellenic and Mediterranean Rim") are also first rate. The restaurant's atmosphere is sophisticated but, at the same time, almost homey, making Papa Grill a very pleasant dining experience. Prices, too, are reasonable for the quality, though certainly not cheap. My only complaint is that the wine list, which otherwise is quite good, does not list vintages.

Celebration Vocabulary

More words we need

"Remember, Remember...."

November 5th- Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire Night

Who was Guy Fawkes? Everything you need to know about the 5th of November.

We all know the rhyme "remember, remember, the 5th of November", when crowds gather to watch effigies of Guy Fawkes being burnt on a bonfire.

But why do we commemorate Bonfire Night with spectacular pyrotechnics, who was Guy Fawkes and what did he do to deserve such a fiery fate?

What is Bonfire Night and why do we celebrate it?

Known as Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night, November 5 marks the failure of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot. A group of English Catholic conspirators, incensed by anti-Catholic sentiment during the reign of King James I, planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament and assassinate the monarch in the process.  

Thirty-six barrels of gunpowder were transported to Westminster and placed in a cellar beneath the Houses of Parliament, where they were guarded by Guy Fawkes. On November 5 1605, guards were alerted to the threat, leading to a search of the cellars and the discovery of both the gunpowder and Guy Fawkes.

Who was Guy Fawkes?

Although he was not the ringleader of the gang, Guy Fawkes has gained the most notoriety. As the member charged with the task of lighting the fuse that would set off the explosives, he was the one caught guarding them during a search of the cellars beneath Westminster.

After his capture Fawkes was to be hung, drawn and quartered - a gruesome death sentence which involved cutting off of prisoners’ genitalia and removing their entrails before their eyes.

However, he managed to avoid this horrifying fate by jumping from the scaffolding where he had been taken to be hung, causing instant death from a broken neck.

How is Bonfire Night celebrated?

Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated with firework displays, whose sparks and flashing colours are intended to resemble the sights and sounds of the explosion that would have been. In the immediate aftermath of the failed plot, bonfires were lit in honour of King James’ survival. This tradition continues today, with effigies of Guy Fawkes made by local communities being burned.

Happiness Idioms

Math Words

Expressions with TIME

 Commonly-used expressions - Expressions with TIME

Expression	Meaning	Example
As time goes by	As the time passes	As time goes by I have become more aware of the necessity to preserve our planet.
Ahead of time	In advance, before the set time	If I finish the project ahead of time I'll be able to focus on the presentation.
Behind the times	Be old-fashioned; have ideas that are out of date	The way he runs his coffee shop is completely behind the times.
By the time	Before reaching the time when something happens (with no specific time mentioned).	By the time Julie arrived at the station the train had left.
By this time	Similar to 'before now'. At some time before the present moment (a specific time).	Look at the time! It's midnight. By this time I'm usually asleep in bed!
By that time	Similar to 'before then'. Before a specific time in the past or the future.	- Past: Julie arrived at the station at 11.15, but by that time the train had left. - Future: What will I be doing in 2070? Not much because by that time I'll be an old man!
Do/serve time	Spend time in prison	He's doing time  for a bank robbery.
For the time being	For the moment; temporarily	Laura has left John and is living with her parents for the time being.
Have the time of your life	Enjoy yourself very much	The kids had the time of their lives at Disneyland.
High time	Past the appropriate time	It's high time  you got out of bed!.
In the nick of time/ Just in time	At the last minute, before it's too late	We arrived in the nick of time. The bus was about to leave!
Make time	Find the time to do something	It's important to make time for your family.
Matter of time	Not long before something happens	It's only a matter of time before the company is taken over.
Pass the time	Occupy yourself while waiting	The train was late so I made some phone calls to pass the time.
Pressed for time	Need to hurry	How long will it take? I'm really pressed for time.
Race against time	Have to work quickly to get something done before a set time	It was a race against time to get everything ready for the inauguration.
Run out of time	Have no time left	Paul ran out of time and had to finish the test quickly.
Save time	Do something the quickest way	We'll save time if we go through the park.
Short of time	Not have much time	I'll be brief because we're short of time.
Spend time	Pass time doing something	How much time do you spend  on  your homework?
Stand the test of time	Something still found valuable and useful after many years	The teaching method has stood the test of time. It is still used in schools today.
Time after time	Do something again and again; repeatedly	Time after time Alex arrives late at school.
Time flies	Time goes by or passes very quickly.	It's hard to believe we've been living here two years already. Time flies!
Time is money	Time should not be wasted because you could be using it to earn money.	Don't waste time on minor details. Time is money!
Time is ripe	A suitable time to do something	I'll wait until the time is ripe before asking my parents to lend me the money.
Time will tell	Only in the future will the result be known	Have we made the right choice? (Only) time will tell.
Waste time	Spend too much time on something	Don't waste time  on unimportant details.
(A) waste of time	Spend too much time on something pointless or useless	It's a waste of time  calling them. You'lll just get an answering machine!