Sometimes you just don’t feel like cooking and decide you want to go out to eat. But where to? The usual Italian place, or do you want to try something new for a change?

Sometimes you have to be brave, and a change of pace is good, too. But to avoid ending up at a lousy restaurant, there are now reviews on the internet. Not professional reviews, of course, but the opinions of other people who have already visited the restaurants (or other places). Logically, this automatically makes the reviews subjective. On the other hand, a sufficient number of reviews should still produce a good average. At least, that’s what I thought.

This Wednesday was one of those evenings when we just didn’t feel like cooking. Since we had to go to the next town over for shopping anyway, I had the idea that we could try an Italian place there. According to Google Maps, there was one with an average rating of 4.7 stars. That’s a whole 0.2 stars more than our usual Italian spot, which is perfectly fine. So, after shopping, we drove over and managed to get a table, though the restaurant was packed.

What can I say? The prices matched the reviews and were about 10-20% higher than what’s typical in our area. The menu wasn’t overloaded, and a positive point was the mention that the spaghetti carbonara was made with guanciale and without cream. However, we ended up choosing a side salad, a pizza with pepperoni sausage, and truffle-parmesan pasta. Dishes we know well and can compare. And in hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t get the carbonara. I would have been worried about it.

The pizza had a thick crust, too much cheese, and was therefore greasy. It had also been baked in a pan, not in a stone oven. More American style than Italian. And the truffle-parmesan pasta? Of course, it wasn’t high-quality truffle, but “simple” summer truffle. No problem, I didn’t expect that. But for that price, I hadn’t counted on store-bought dried pasta. And certainly not on the parmesan nest from a wholesale market. Instead of tossing the pasta in the parmesan, it was served in a small bowl next to the plate. For over €20, it was definitely a letdown. And the salad? Bottled dressing and a lot of corn. The latter adds bulk and weight at a low cost.

On the way home, my girlfriend and I were confused. How could this restaurant get 4.7 stars? After some thought, we came to the conclusion that it doesn’t just depend on the individual, but also on the surroundings. If the other restaurants within reach are worse, then the better restaurant is, of course, better in comparison. But only in relation to the local selection. So, reviews aren’t comparable across different regions.

Then it also became clear to me that a five-star system is actually a stupid system. The majority of reviews give five, four, or one star. So, perfect, it’s fine, and disaster. The two and three are hardly ever used. Why not switch to a three-star system? The ratings would be more meaningful. Still, the restaurant from Wednesday would have been overrated, since the competition is probably terrible.

At least for my part, I’ll be paying much closer attention to the pictures and reading the critical reviews in detail in the future.