A free restaurant journal template, for sheets, Notion or paper.

The template

The columns, with an example.

One row per visit, not per restaurant — that way the journal remembers every time you went, and what changed. Copy these headers into row 1: Date · Place · Area · Cuisine · What we ordered · Stars · With · Note · Next time. Here is how a few rows look filled in (some columns left out to fit):

Google Sheets

Set it up in Google Sheets (or Excel).

1. Add the headersType the nine column names into row 1, then View → Freeze → 1 row so they stay put as the list grows.
2. Make Stars a dropdownSelect the Stars column, then Insert → Dropdown and add 1 to 5. Dropdowns keep your ratings consistent.
3. Count visits automaticallyAdd a column called Visits and in J2 type =COUNTIF(B:B, B2), then fill it down. Every row now shows how many times you have been to that place.
4. Find your usualAdd a filter (Data → Create a filter), filter Place to one restaurant and read the What we ordered column top to bottom. Your usual jumps out.
5. Add a summary tabOn a second tab, =UNIQUE(Sheet1!B2:B) lists every place once; next to it, =COUNTIF(Sheet1!B:B, A2) gives the visit count. Sort by that to see your regulars.

Notion

The Notion version.

Create a database (table view) and give it these properties. Notion’s gallery view with the photo as the card cover makes it look like a little food magazine.

• Name (title) — the dish or the night, e.g. “Ana’s farewell dinner”.
• Place (select) — selects build a reusable list of restaurants.
• Date (date).
• Cuisine (select).
• Stars (select: ★ to ★★★★★).
• With (multi-select) — one tag per person.
• Photo (files & media).
• Next time (text).
• Then add a board view grouped by Place, and a calendar view on Date.

Paper

A printable page layout.

For a notebook or a printed page, one visit per half-page works well. Draw it once and copy the layout:

• Top strip: date on the left, place and area in the middle, a row of five stars on the right to colour in.
• Left box (two-thirds): “What we ordered” with four ruled lines; tick the dish you would order again.
• Right box (one-third): a square for a photo, a receipt corner or a doodle.
• Bottom lines: “With”, “Best moment”, “Next time”.
• Back page: an index — every place, with the page numbers you visited it on.

Fill it in fast

How to keep it up without typing at the table.

• Snap one photo of the table when the food arrives; fill the row in later from the photo.
• Keep a phone note called “To add” for nights you can’t open the sheet.
• Copy the previous row when you go back somewhere — only the date and dishes change.
• Use first names in With and keep the spelling the same, so filters work.
• Fill in Next time before you leave. It is the column you will thank yourself for.

When a sheet isn’t enough

What a sheet can’t do.

A spreadsheet is great until you want photos in it, a map of where you have eaten, or to add a meal from your phone in a dark restaurant. That is the gap PlateDiary fills — we make it, so weigh that. One photo of the table cuts out each dish as its own save, the place and date come from the photo, and every restaurant gets a page with your usual, every dish you have had there with a count, and every visit. It runs on your phone, offline, with no account. There is a fuller look at the trade-offs in spreadsheet vs app.