I agree with @LuckyGuy about the company, the ambiance and other factors besides food. I am thinking of reviews I have written on Trip Advisor and how once place was new and trendy and had good food but the seats were lined up in a row where you could easily hear and watch the people sitting at the next tables.
A few weeks ago I went to a restaurant with two friends and although the food was “meh,” there were TV screens over the nearby bar and I mentioned that in my review, how I guess that’s what brings guys to the bar but it didn’t help the atmosphere of the restaurant. Also, at that restaurant, I was with two lady friends and one was angry and argumentative, which ruined the meal for me (I’ve posted on here about her recently). Of course, the angry and argumentative friend detail did not make it to the review, but it stuck in my mind as a night ruiner.
I’m not into waiting, either but if I am with someone who really wants to go there, or there’s not much else around and so we’re kind of at the mercy of the wait, then I’ll tolerate it and make the best of it.
I’m not into crowds and noise and packed places. I hate bright lights unless it’s a diner. I hate when the table feels greasy or the sides feel sticky, even if just a little spot, and I’ll ask to have the waiter give it another wipe. I work in a city that has a ton of restaurants, but I don’t want to go to most of them because they have the “Friday night drinking crowd” which is not what I’m into, and with the drinking crowd it’s hard to hear yourself think, let alone talk.
Of course I like the food (quality and price) and the service (and will mentioned a special server by name if it was exceptional). Just mentioning here the extra stuff that’s important to me as a customer.