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It may be stating the obvious, but the basic requirement of a good restaurant is good food. We can all agree on that, at least. Thereafter, it gets trickier. For a start, good food itself is a subjective matter, leaving aside the absolute judgement that a dish is burnt or raw. When it comes to taste, we are not all the same and it cannot help but affect our views even when we strive for fair, informed opinion on the matter.

Next comes consistency. Good restaurants need staying power. Few customers want to play Russian roulette at the table, gambling mediocre offerings for the occasional flash of brilliance. It's no good a new restaurant opening in a blaze of culinary pyrotechnics only for the chef to burn himself out in a trail of disappointing dishes six months down the line. Keeping standards high is one of the hardest tricks in the book.

In theory, the best restaurants should also offer the best service, the warmest welcome, an interior that matches the food (unless you really want the dissonance that hot dogs served in a Louis Quinze setting is bound to induce), a menu that tempts you to try all the dishes and an astute selection of drinks at modest mark-up prices. Then there is the difficult issue of atmosphere or what the pretentious call ambience. Eating is about mood and moment: some diners seek the small, quiet and intimate as opposed to the loud, noisy and exuberant. Nonetheless, the most brilliant meal can fall flat if served in a room with as much character as a morgue; equally, you're more likely to forgive a dinner that is slightly under par in a room that is busy, buzzing and full of people having a good time.

The important thing is the restaurant delivers what it both indirectly implies and explicitly promises. The bottom line is two-fold: does the restaurant, whether top-end or budget, deliver value for money, and does it achieve the aims it sets out to achieve? Answer those two questions with a yes and that's a restaurant where you're likely to return.

by Clarissa Hyman