Our Restaurant Review Standards

Our Standards

The Stray Gourmet isn’t about being picky.
It’s about respect.

Respect for the food.
Respect for the diner.
Respect for time, cleanliness, and basic competence.

Restaurants don’t exist to impress us.
They exist to serve people well.

These are the standards we use — consistently — when we decide where to eat and what to recommend.

Freshness Is Non-Negotiable

Especially with sushi and seafood.

Fish should taste clean, vibrant, and alive to its preparation.
If it’s dull, tired, or off, the conversation is over.

There are no excuses for poor freshness — not hype, not price, not popularity.

Clean Matters More Than Cute

Old is fine.
Worn is fine.
Patina is fine.

Dirty is not.

A restaurant doesn’t need to be staged or trendy, but it does need to be clean — tables, glassware, restrooms, and the spaces diners actually touch.

Cleanliness is not optional. It’s foundational.

Time Is Part of the Experience

Waiting an hour for a table is not a virtue.

There are too many good restaurants to treat unnecessary waiting as a badge of honor. If long waits are routine, that’s a systems problem — not something diners should tolerate quietly.

Efficiency is not the enemy of hospitality.
Disrespect for time is.

Hospitality Is Not a Favor

Restaurants are not doing diners a kindness by acknowledging them.

Professional service means:

being present
being clear
being prepared
treating guests as customers, not interruptions

Money changes hands. Expectations are mutual.
That’s not harsh — that’s honest.

The Food Should Be the Loudest Thing in the Room

Strong flavors belong on the plate — not in the air.

Overpowering perfume or cologne doesn’t just affect comfort; it affects taste. Dining is sensory, and scent matters.

If the food can’t speak for itself, something is wrong.

What This Means for Our Reviews

We don’t review restaurants to tear them down.

Taste is personal, and a place that doesn’t work for us may still be someone else’s favorite. We don’t yuck someone else’s yum.

That also means we don’t force ourselves to return to places that miss the mark, just to catalogue complaints.

Instead, we focus on what does meet our standards.

When a restaurant is worth your time (and money), we’ll explain why — clearly and specifically.
When something falls short, we won’t dress it up, but we also won’t linger on negativity.

Silence is sometimes the signal.

We don’t chase trends.
We don’t reward hype.
And we don’t sugarcoat experiences that aren’t good.

Our goal isn’t to pass judgment — it’s to help diners make better decisions.