Comments on: Restaurant Review Gigs

By: René S. Garcia, Jr.

René S. Garcia, Jr. — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:42:46 +0000

@Linda Cornetti:

Thanks for reading and I’m glad I could help. Restaurants don’t typically pay diners to write reviews about them since that would be an unethical practice. You will have better chances of getting paid for your reviews by getting hired by your local paper or online magazine. Since paid journalism is somewhat comatose right now — especially with so many writers willing to write for experience — it may be very difficult to find what you’re looking for.

I hope this helps!

By: Linda Cornetti

Linda Cornetti — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:44:42 +0000

Hi,
Your advice has been very helpful to me. I am a published writer, but do not know how to find the listings of restaurants that will pay for writing a review on them? Can you help me? For instance, a new Applebees has opened in our community and I go there all the time because I love it. How do I go about making the contact to write the review?
Thanks,
Lynda

By: Adam D

Adam D — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:58:31 +0000

I personally love the above article. A lot of beginners do end up taking some noticeable notes while in the restaurant! So, if you must take some sort of notes just jot them down on your phone!

Also.. this is one of the most detailed how-to restaurant review articles I’ve ever come across!Thank you Mr. Garcia.

Thanks for the great restaurant review article!
-Adam

By: René S. Garcia, Jr.

René S. Garcia, Jr. — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:25:24 +0000

@Kimberly:

Thanks for reading. It was great conversing with you over email. I hope you’ll come back and let us know how your review turned out.

By: kimberly

kimberly — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:28:18 +0000

Thanks for the clues. I was asked by someone to do a restaurant review and while I have restaurant experience and writing experience, I lacked the combination of the two. This will help, thank you!

By: René S. Garcia, Jr.

René S. Garcia, Jr. — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:40:45 +0000

@Darryl:

Thanks for dropping by my site and for reading. I’m glad my article could help.

First, let me just say that I don’t think reviewers should have to pay for their own meals. Either the publication should foot the bill or the restaurant should eat the tab. Furthermore, I don’t think that the fact that the reviewer is getting compensated necessarily discredits the review. There is a certain amount of doubt we give journalists, because it is (or should be) considered a sacred position. Journalists wield a lot of power, like doctors and mechanics. Until a journalist proves his or her bias, there’s no reason to assume their review is skewed just because they were paid to write something.

Secondly, you should always tip according to the bill amount regardless of if you have to pay for the bill. Keep in mind that the US government automatically assumes the server is getting tipped a minimum of 8% on every bill and taxes the server accordingly. So when you “stiff” a server, you’re actually making them pay for 8% of your meal. If you’re eating at a 5-star restaurant and don’t want to drop a 20-dollar tip or whatever it is, just make sure to charge your publication for it.

In any event, I hope you’ll come back to Working Author and post a link to your review when it goes up.

Thanks for visiting.

By: Darryl

Darryl — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:43:16 +0000

Great piece Rene. I am preparing for my first restaurant review (it’s tonight) and your article is just what I need. How do you feel about reviews where restaurants comp the meals? And in these situations, should the reviewer still tip the waitstaff?

By: René Garcia

René Garcia — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:31:12 +0000

@Kira:

No sweat. When you’ve reviewed your next restaurant, shoot me an email so I check it out.

By: Kira

Kira — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:02:39 +0000

Thanks Rene for giving me extra guidelines. I’ve been reviewing venues, mostly restaurants, in Amsterdam for expats & international travellers. With your tips, I hope to become a better writer and reviewer.

Kira

By: René Garcia

René Garcia — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:54:56 +0000

@Marie:

I knew this article was going to come in handy one day!