Following the departure of
Sam Sifton, Wells officially became the chief restaurant critic for
The New York Times in January 2012 While dining editor, Wells wrote an extensive memo about the position of the restaurant critic at the newspaper since
Craig Claiborne formalized the role in 1963. Wells's caustic November 14, 2012, review of
Guy Fieri's American Kitchen and Bar, which consisted entirely of sarcastic questions about the poor quality of the food and service, was described by Larry Olmsted of
Forbes as "the most scathing review in the history of the
New York Times," and "likely the most widely read restaurant review ever." It was the fifth-most-emailed
New York Times article of 2012. Following the review, Per Se's founder and owner
Thomas Keller published an open letter apologizing to patrons for the negative review. Wells also attracted considerable attention for his October 29, 2019, zero-star review of
Peter Luger Steak House. Wells received a sixth James Beard award, the Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Review Award, in 2020. The award cited his reviews of Peter Luger, as well as the restaurants Benno and Mercado Little Spain. In July 2024, Wells announced he would step down as restaurant critic for the
Times the following month. Wells will remain at the
Times in an unspecified role. His last published essay as a restaurant reviewer was on August 6, titled "I Reviewed Restaurants for 12 Years. They've Changed, and Not for the Better." == Personal life ==