Food review templates, six of them, with filled-in examples.

Which one

Pick the template for the job.

Template 1

The one-line review.

Template: [Place] — order the [dish], skip the [dish]; [one detail worth knowing].

Example: “Lamian House — order the beef noodles, skip the dumplings; sit by the kitchen window to watch them pull the noodles.”

If you only ever write one kind of review, write this one. It answers the two questions you will have next time: what to order, and what to know.

Template 2

The short review (Google and booking sites).

Example: “Go for the tacos al pastor alone. They were smoky, sticky with pineapple and gone in three bites each. Loud and cramped in the best way; better for friends than a first date. Fair for the size of the plates. No bookings, so arrive before seven.”

• Sentence 1, the verdict: [Go / go for one dish / skip] — [one reason].
• Sentence 2, the star dish: The [dish] was [taste word], [texture word] and [comparison or detail].
• Sentence 3, the room: [Noise, seating], good for [dates / groups / solo / kids].
• Sentence 4, value: About [amount] each; [worth it / fair / steep] for [reason].
• Sentence 5, know before you go: [Booking, queue, cash only, hours].

Template 3

The long review (blog or newsletter).

• Headline: [Place]: [the one thing to know], e.g. “Odile: come for the bread, stay for the duck”.
• Opening: the moment that sums up the night — the dish arriving, the queue, the first bite.
• The place: where it is, what it looks like, who was there, how busy.
• The meal, course by course: for each dish, what it was, how it tasted and felt, and whether you’d order it again.
• Drinks: one or two lines, unless they were the point.
• Service: one line, longer only if it made or broke the night.
• Price and value: roughly what it came to each, and whether it felt worth it.
• Who it’s for: dates, groups, solo, families, a special occasion.
• The verdict: order this, skip that, go back or not.
• Practical box: address, hours, booking, dietary options, accessibility.

Template 4

The table review (dish by dish).

For a shared table — dim sum, Korean BBQ, a tasting menu, a family dinner — one row per dish is clearer than paragraphs. Copy the header and add rows:

Template 5

The single-dish review.

Example: “Tonkotsu ramen at Menya Ren, 12 October. Arrived steaming, cloudy and smelling of pork and garlic. Rich, salty broth; thin noodles with real bite. A notch below the bowl in Fukuoka, a notch above anything else in town. 8/10 — order again, ask for firm noodles.”

Rating one dish across many places is how ramen and burger lovers build their rankings. The food rating scale explains what each number means.

• Dish and place: [dish] at [place], [date].
• First look: [how it arrived: size, colour, smell].
• First bite: [taste] and [texture].
• Compared with: [the best version you’ve had, or the last one here].
• Score and verdict: [x/10] — [order again / once was enough].

Template 6

The café review.

• Café: [name], [neighbourhood].
• Ordered: [drink] + [pastry or food].
• The coffee (or tea): [strength, milk, temperature, latte art].
• The food: [one line].
• The space: [seats, light, noise, laptop-friendly or not].
• Come here for: [reading / working / a date / a quick takeaway].

Before you write

Fill it in from the night, not from memory.

Stuck on the words? Taste and texture words has a few hundred, sorted by bite. For the full method behind these templates, see how to write a food review.

• Snap the table before anyone eats. It reminds you what everyone ordered.
• Write three words per dish before you leave: “crisp, salty, too small”.
• Note the practical stuff while you’re there: queue time, booking, cash only.
• Write within a day. Details fade fast; verdicts don’t.
• Be specific and kind. Say what didn’t work and why. Real people cooked it.

For yourself

The template, without the typing.

Template 4 is roughly what PlateDiary does on its own (we make it). One photo of the table cuts every dish into its own save under the place; you can add stars and a short note to any of them, and the place page shows your usual and every dish you’ve had there. With Stamps, each restaurant you’ve been to gets a stamp in your book and its own page. It stays private on your phone, so when you do want to write a public review, your notes from the night are already there.