My reviewing process: How I carry out reviews •

Last Updated: 15 January, 2025

In this day of affiliate links and social media posts, not all reviews carry the same level of objectivity and honesty. This page is intended to walk you through how I choose whether a restaurant or a theatre production is worth recommending, describing the various criteria used to carry out my reviews.

My reviewing process

All reviews on Ramonadepares.com are free, honest and transparent. I follow a data-driven process, whether I’m carrying out a restaurant, book, or theatre review. I do not accept payment for reviews, so as to maintain independence and to be able to be 100% honest. Below, you’ll find some more details about the different types of reviews I do. Should you wish to learn more about my expertise, go to About Us.

Restaurant reviews

Do I get paid to carry out restaurant reviews? No, because the restaurant reviews are honest and unbiased.

I am sometimes hosted on a complimentary basis as part of a press event. This will always be clearly indicated in the review itself. However, this does not mean that the restaurant will not be subject to criticism or that I won’t be listing any negative elements I encounter.

Ramonadepares.com is an aspirational site, so I mostly review restaurants that I know will appeal to my readers. My readers look for ideas for a good night (or lunch/brunch) out and this is exactly what my reviews focus on.

The review is always honest and based on a mix of fact and subjectivity. Food is, after all, a very emotional affair. The factual criteria I judge on include the following:

Service
Location
Ambiance
Menu
Food
Price – does this reflect the quality of the experience?

Theatre reviews

Culture vultures can also find a selection of theatre reviews on this site. The purpose of such reviews is not aspirational, but is to inform readers whether a production is worth their time or not while also providing a journalistic commentary about the local theatre landscape.

Do I get paid to publish theatre reviews? No, for the same reason I don’t get paid to do restaurant reviews. All reviews are 100% genuine and will also highlight the negative aspects of the production. This is what theatre companies actually want – a genuine critique that they can use either to show off, or to improve. There have been cases where directors have contacted me to elaborate on a critique, and adjusted their production accordingly.

Do I get paid if I link to the ticket site? Again, no. My reviews do not contain any affiliate links and are done purely to support the theatre scene in Malta. My theatre reviews also contain an element of subjectivity, as is the nature of things. However, the below are the objective criteria I take into consideration when reviewing a theatre production:

Direction
Acting
Pacing
Set, lighting & A/V
Whether the venue works for the piece being put up
Ticket pricing – does this reflect the quality of the experience?

Fashion Reviews

Once again, the same principle applies. I do not accept payment to run Malta fashion coverages of new collections, designer interviews. I do accept complimentary press tickets to events as is standard industry practice. All reviews and news items related to fashion are 100% my own unbiased opinion.

Affialite Links

Do I get paid if I link to a restaurant or theatre ticketing engine? No – none of my reviews carry any affiliate links. I use links purely for the purpose of facilitating the lives of anyone wishing to book a particular restaurant. I will not receive any payment for including such links, even if you do click on them. Should this change at any time, it will be clearly indicated both here and on the review itself. You can also find out more about this in the Affiliate/Advertising Disclosure section.