108 The Garage

Open Tues to Sat 12pm-10pm, Sun 12pm-3pm

There is a very common misconception that, when being scored out of 5, 3 is a bad score. This is incorrect. If 5 is the very best and 1 is the very worst* then 3, by very definition, must be better than average. After all, the median score between 1 and 5 is 2.5 and, as far as I know, we don’t do half stars because, if we did, we may as well just score it out of 10.

So if you are getting a 3 star review then you, my friend, are doing well. 3 is not a bad score. It is a good score. You are above average. You are peering down on most of the industry and should be comfortable in the knowledge that not only do you know what you are doing but you are also rather good at doing it. Be proud.

So what about a 4? In order to get a 4 star review then you’ll have to be ‘excellent’. Not many places, if the reviewer is doing their job and has a cursory understanding of maths and how scoring should work, get to this level. Sadly though, they do because 4s are doled out far too often. Maybe you’ve done it yourself? Given a 4 star review to somewhere you knew didn’t really deserve it.

Maybe you liked the place so much you were blinded to its faults and inadequacies or perhaps the service was so attentive, maybe the owner so good to you, that you guiltily plonked on an extra star to say thanks? If you are, bow your head because people who give out 4 star reviews to 3 star venues are creating an imbalance and must be stopped. If you do this, please have a word with yourself. Make that word ‘no’.

So by now you might have a couple of questions. Namely, why have you written such a lengthy and over-indulgent assessment of restaurant reviewing metrics? And, also, what about 108 The Garage?

Well, the answer to the first question is in two parts. 1) For effect and 2) so you know I am not fucking around.

Footnotes

– The menu changes frequently, but suffice to say, everything I had tasted incredible. Just go there and find out.​
– The service was excellent and, being sat at the kitchen bar, it was an absolute pleasure to watch the team at work.
– If you know about wine and want to spend a few quid, you’re in luck.
– If you know nothing about wine and don’t want to splash out, you’re in luck.
– The décor is all brickwork, wood and amber lighting. It’s not fussy, it’s a bit secretive and scruffy, though never not elegant.
– Some excellent cocktails for you, too. You’re being spoiled now.

* Incidentally, I did go to a place that would technically have been awarded 0 stars but I was too embarrassed for them to file the review. It has since gone under and the perpetrators will presumably have an eternity in hell to look forward to, kept in the company of reviewers who dish out 4s to 3 star venues.

The details

108 The Garage; 108 Goldbourne Road London W10 5PS; +44 (0) 20 8969 3769; bookings@108garage.com

 

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