Silverbrow, your point is one I actually struggled with for a long time before deciding on this system. The more complex iteration I mentioned actually addressed the direct comparison of very different types of meals by using a 10 point scale, but assigning a maximum possible for a given restaurant. For example, the best imaginable tacqueria might top out at only 7 out of 10, with any tacquerias then rated essentially out of 7. The problems with this system though included how to decide what the maximum should be, and whether it should be by category, or price, or…? In the end it just seemed too complex and in some ways even more subjective in its specificity than the broad strokes of 1 to 5 stars.

To your question though, I’ve edited the post to add more insight on why those definitions of stars and the purpose I hope they will serve.

Thanks!
Olivia

I’d be interested to understand what your criteria are for achieving the various ratings.

I felt it was misleading to give truly outstanding high-end restaurants the same rankings as informal places that served great food that I thoroughly enjoyed. On their day, they might be perfect for what I was after, but I felt it wasn’t helping my readers to compare them directly. Therefore, I ditched my rating system and hopefully my writing speaks for itself - as it were.

I hope your system works better for you and if it does, you might inspire me to have another go.