When you enter a new town, it’s an exciting opportunity to discover good places to dine out. These new restaurants will give you a local food experience and remain a delicious memory. But it can also be an unpleasant experience if you pick up the wrong restaurant.
Before you decide to order, you should look and see whether it’s worth your money or not.
Here are some tips to help you judge whether a restaurant is worth stepping over the threshold.
First Impressions are Important
The first impression you get of a restaurant plays an important role. You will focus on the exterior first and see whether it is clean and inviting. Check whether the outdoor plants, windows, and seating are in good condition or not. If the outside of a restaurant has been overlooked, then it might not provide the best service.
Even if it is a Michelin-star restaurant, you should check whether they got it recently or got an award a long time ago and no longer maintain their standards.
Observe Basic Hygiene
Basic hygiene applies when it comes to choosing a place to eat. You need to look at the tables and glasses to see whether they are sparkling clean. The use of strong air fresheners and cleaning products whose smell hangs in the atmosphere is a real turn-off.
Besides a clean seating area, the furniture and tables should not be worn out as it represents that they might not get as many customers.
Check the First Meal
The first thing that you get when you arrive at the restaurant usually represents how the rest of the meal will turn out. The first edible bite that you get sets the scene. It is a stale or soggy piece of bread then the rest of the meal might follow the same course.
There might be exceptions to this rule, but it helps when you are trying to evaluate a restaurant. Focus on the quality of the food as well. If you are at a coffee shop, then you can start with their coffee and check its quality. A place that uses high-quality ingredients like colombian whole bean coffee should be on your list to visit.
Search Online
Using technology to look for some of the best-rated restaurants is the new trend. Use Google Maps to find suggestions in a new place. Search the restaurants near you and look for the best-rated ones.
Even if some restaurants have the best reviews, you can double-check them by looking at their dishes. Look at how they present and describe the dishes on the menu. You could even search on Instagram and Facebook for customer reviews.
Menu Size
The length of the menu size is another deciding factor. Those restaurants that have around 20 pages and varieties for every cuisine should always be avoided. It is extremely hard to create every type of recipe in the kitchen without industrial-style production.
Instead, you should look for a well-written and well-thought-out menu. If a certain seafood restaurant online website shows that they change their menu often then it is a good sign. Other things to look for on the menu are the seasonal ingredients.