My Dining Hell: Twenty Ways To Have a Lousy Night Out

I love Jay Rayner's reviews in the Observer - this book collects a small number of these mini-masterpieces, explaining exactly why one would not wish to dine at any of the featured establishments (almost all of which have closed since the reviews were published but some of which remain inexplicably in business). The reviews target poor/lazy cooking, inadequately briefed staff, the pretension which so often accompanies dining out in the era of "menu-speak". It is funny, and sad, in almost equal measure: the fact is that good restaurants close when poor (but better-marketed) restaurants thrive. And if you don't like Jay Rayner, you can at least revel in his account of various all-but-inedible offerings and reflect that he actually had to try them to write the reviews. It is a short read, but very enjoyable all told.

A first collection of restaurant reviews, focusing on terrible experiences. A fun brisk read, showcasing the ways in which restaurants can mess up spectacularly. Some asides on journalism, and on what happened next with the culprits add additional context.

Jay Rayner. Not just a food critic - a clever wordsmith. This is just a rehash of his newspaper articles - which I have never read - only now he has added on an addendum. 'What happened next.' It was good fun and although I cannot afford his grade of restaurants I can relate to so many incidents similar to my own experiences.

I am, as Mr Rayner observes at the beginning of this book, a Bad Person, because I loved it. Schadenfreude or something. I’m a also an ex Maitre D so I’ve been there. This book is all the more entertaining for the elegance of its expression and some cracking laugh out loud jokes. Well worth £3.99 of anyone’s hard earned dollar

I'm relatively new to Jay Rayner. Discovered him through my Mom's recommendation ("I find him oddly attractive and he's very naughty when he writes").Monk Fish genitalia aside, what I've discovered is a consummate writer at home and at ease with his craft. This short de-construction of restaurants and restauranteurs is compelling, entertaining, superbly observed and well worth the half pint it costs.Next,  A Greedy Man in a Hungry World: How (almost) everything you thought you knew about food is wrongA Greedy Man in a Hungry World: How (almost) everything you thought you knew about food is wrong