In the business press in post-Soviet Russia noteworthy is the part about the diverse activities of modern restaurants. At first, the absence of criteria makes restaurant criticism subjective and random. Notes in periodicals, Sunday supplements with culinary reviews, recipes and detailed instructions for cooking form a niche for restaurant criticism in the press. Criticism stimulates the development of the restaurant business. A number of topics go under restaurant news and criticism. It forms the direction in business journalism-related professional assessment of restaurant service, national cuisine, the combination of dishes, taste palette. The restaurant topic is growing: there were always new recipes, new restaurants of different cuisines of the world opened, the level of culinary line popularization changed. Criticism can be expressed in different forms and genres, but restaurant criticism finds its best form in opinion columns. Author's column today is experiencing a boom in popularity, being perhaps the most popular segment of a newspaper or a magazine. There is a lot of feedback about a particular place from people far from professional criticism on the Internet on a daily basis, but well-known journalists have their own columns in publications and blogs in social networks. Each correspondent takes on a new theme, creates his or her own system of assessment. Some give points for service, wine list, interior, atmosphere, price and quality; some evaluate places on the basis of reviews; some describe in detail the pros and cons of the served dishes; some reveal the basic concept of the restaurant. The study leads to a conclusion that there is a type of restaurant criticism as an independent professional, gourmet. Professional critics perform a basic task: they help the audience to navigate the diverse culinary preferences and suggestions on restaurant market. The core element of practice is ethics. Unfortunately, many journalists consider writing reviews for restaurants as an additional income. They consider going to restaurants as an opportunity of cooperation with the administration of a place. Sponsored articles are frequently published. The study materials allow to conclude that the purpose of these articles is to increase the rating of the restaurant, attendance, organization of advertising campaigns, elimination of competitors.