What's a good restaurant ?

What is a good a restaurant ? If you read carefully the pieces of critique of Pete Wells, Sam Sifton, Jonathan Gold or François Simon, you will be struck: a good restaurant does not necessary serve good food. Vice versa: good food does not necessary make a restaurant great. At the Lincoln Ristorante, the pastas are delicious, but, come one, they're overpriced and the place does not have a real identity. At Guy's American kitchen, it is easy: nothing works. The menu of Kenmare is not worth it but you like to eat over there because of the atmosphere (the club, in the basement of the restaurant is likely to influence your judgement.) Even at the best-rated French restaurants, you might be disappointed: the pressure of entering a place of perfection will simply ruin your evening. The critique of the Figaro's magazine, François Simon, says wittily that "sometimes the food isn't great and the wine is mediocre, but the atmosphere is authentic and it's difficult not to be charmed by it."

So, what are we looking for when we go to the restaurant ? If it's not (not only) about food, what is it about ? Of course, depending on our companions, our mood and the place we are at, the adventure of eating out can dramatically vary. Nothing will indulge me more than a kebab at the corner's hash house, shared with the tattooed people I just met at this black metal concert. It is 3am and I reach a nirvana of food-gasm. However, it was not less amazing when I ordered those appetizers -lobster, cream and vegetables- at the top of the Hancock building in Chicago. With cocktails I don't remember the name and two charming men in front of my friend and I, what to wish in top of that ? A good view ? Checked. It was not less amazing in Arles either, when I ate those entire garlic cloves, surrounded by candles on a cozy terrace and soothed by the sounds of the bugs: the magic of south France in the summery twilight. It was as much as amazing, after being starving for more than two hours, to savor the rustic pea soup accompanied with thick brown bread, in a Canadian farm while it was 0°F outside. And there are many more like that.

Is it to say that food criticism is not worth it because eating is an eminently subjective adventure ? Maybe. Food critics clear our horizon of the false idols and, pragmatically, save us from wasting our money. However, the magic of food is never guarantied and to be honest, most of time, it comes where we do not expect it. So, my advice would be: never expect too much.

 My initial question was: what is a good restaurant ? Well, I think it is a restaurant that will surprise you. Another question now is, will you accept the surprise ?