The aim of this study was to examine the grammatical and linguistic differences between anonymous and public food critics and to study how restaurant reviews affect restaurant owners. The three questions that have examined the aim was: How does the language differ in the anonymous reviews in comparison to the public and is the language in a review affected by the anonymity? How is a review perceived by a restaurant owner and does it matter if the review is written by an anonymous or public critic? How does the language differ depending on if the review is positive or negative?

The study has used a quantitative method where text analysis as a tool for the examination was chosen. The analyses have been conducted on 60 reviews in total, written by three anonymous critics and three public critics. 

The second aim was to investigate what influence food reviews have on restaurants. This part of the study was qualitative where interviews have been conducted with two restaurant owners.

The outcome of this study shows that there were linguistical differences between anonymous and public food critics reviews. It also demonstrated in its qualitative section that food reviews have major impact on restaurants. Consequently, restaurants are greatly affected by reviews published regarding their restaurants. The conclusion of the study was that restaurant reviews differentiate between anonymous and public writers and that restaurants are affected by both negative and positive reviews. This opens a debate regarding the culture about having anonymous critics in Sweden.