How we rate
“Big antlers, bigger appetite, honest opinions.”
The Moose
Every review starts with a visit
We visit every place in person and eat the food ourselves. We order a range of dishes, always including whatever the place is best known for, and every photo on the site is one we took at the table.
We write the review afterwards, once everyone has had their say. It covers the setting, each dish we tried, the service and the kind of diner the place suits best.
The overall score
Every place gets a single overall score out of 5, in half points. It reflects the whole visit, and it isn't a simple average of the four scores below. Food carries the most weight, so a restaurant with outstanding dishes can still score highly when the service or the setting is only average.
The score breakdown
We also score four things separately, each out of 5:
- Food: flavour, freshness, portion size and how well each dish was cooked.
- Service: the welcome, the wait and how any problems were handled.
- Atmosphere: comfort, cleanliness, noise and whether it's a place you want to stay a while.
- Kid-friendly: the kids' menu, high chairs, space to move and patience with younger diners.
The junior judges
Younger reviewers join us on most visits. They give their own scores and a one-line verdict in their own words, and both appear beside the main review. Their names stay private.
Best bite
Every review names one dish as the best bite. If you order only one thing, make it that.
Listings and featured places
Most places in our directory are marked "Not yet reviewed". Those listings come from open map data, and they carry no score until we have eaten there ourselves.
Businesses can pay to be featured in the directory, and featured places are always labelled. Paying never changes a score, and it can't buy a review.
Updates and corrections
A review describes one visit on one day. Menus, staff and prices change, so when we return to a place we update the review and add the date. If we've got a fact wrong, tell us and we'll correct it.