How we rank restaurants

    Every Best Of list on Restaurants.mu comes from the same repeatable calculation. No editorial favours, no paid placements.

    The six steps behind every score

    1. Qualify the restaurant

      A venue only enters a ranking once it has enough recent, verified reviews and confirmed details — name, location, cuisine and opening hours.

    2. Normalise each source

      Ratings from Google, TripAdvisor and Restaurants.mu are converted to a common 5-point scale so one platform's grading habits cannot distort the result.

    3. Weight by review volume

      Sources with more qualifying reviews carry more weight in the merged score, because a larger sample says more about consistency.

    4. Apply statistical shrinkage

      Scores are pulled towards the national average in proportion to how little data exists, so a restaurant with six perfect reviews cannot outrank one with hundreds of strong ones.

    5. Check eligibility gates

      Permanently closed venues, duplicates and places with unresolved data issues are removed before the list is published.

    6. Recompute and freeze

      Scores refresh nightly. On the first of each month the standings are frozen into a snapshot, which is what powers the movement arrows you see on the list.

    7. Rankings never use plans

      A restaurant's paid plan is not an input to any score. The only plan-driven placement on the site is the promotional block on our homepage, and it never touches a ranking, a collection or a search result.

    Our integrity rules

    • •Restaurants cannot pay for a ranking position, and advertising has no effect on scores.
    • •Owners can correct factual details about their venue, never their score.
    • •Reviews flagged as suspicious or removed by their source are excluded from the calculation.
    • •The algorithm settings are versioned, so every change to the formula is recorded and auditable.
    • •Browse and search order also rewards complete listings — menu, photos, hours, reservations — because visitors get a useful answer from them. Completeness is measured identically for free and paying venues.
    • •The promotional blocks on our homepage are the only paid placement, and they are separate from every ranking, collection and search result.

    Frequently asked questions

    Can a restaurant pay to appear higher?
    No. Rankings are produced by the scoring engine alone. Advertising and partnerships have no influence on position.
    Does a paid plan improve my position?
    No. Paid plans unlock tools — menus, photos, videos, reservations, enquiries, offers — and a complete listing does surface earlier when people browse, but the plan itself is never part of any score. Only the promotional blocks on our homepage are sold, and Diamond venues fill them first.
    Why is my favourite restaurant missing?
    It most likely does not yet have enough recent qualifying reviews, or its listing details need verification. It will appear automatically once it qualifies.
    How often do rankings change?
    Scores are recalculated every night. The published movement arrows compare today's position with the snapshot taken at the start of the month.
    Which reviews count?
    Verified reviews from Google, TripAdvisor and Restaurants.mu within our recency window. Reviews removed at source or flagged as suspicious are excluded.
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