Editorial Policy

TastyPals exists to answer one question well: where should I eat, in this city, for this occasion? Everything we publish is built to serve that decision. This policy describes the standards behind our guides and reviews. It sits alongside our methodology, which explains in more detail how we rank restaurants.

1. Who creates our content

Our guides are organized around a small editorial team, each editor responsible for defined beats — fine dining, date night, brunch, value, cocktails and nightlife — and specific cities. The editor named on a guide is accountable for the standards on that page: the framing, the selection criteria, and whether a recommendation meets our bar. We assign coverage by expertise so the voice covering a tasting menu is not the same one covering a late-night burger.

2. How we research and verify

Every guide draws on three inputs:

• structured restaurant attributes — cuisine, neighbourhood, price, service, vibe, and occasion fit;
• public signals such as Google ratings and review volume; and
• editorial judgment about what actually belongs on a shortlist.

Claims are checked against primary sources — a restaurant's own menu and website, plus reputable local coverage. We name specific dishes only when we can verify them, we do not invent prices, and when a place is popular but not a critic's pick, we say so. If we cannot say something true and useful about a restaurant, we do not publish a guide entry for it.

3. How we use technology and AI

We are transparent about how our content is made. TastyPals uses software — including AI-assisted research and drafting tools — to gather information, summarize public sources, and prepare first drafts at city scale. That assistance is always subject to our editorial standards: an editor is accountable for what we publish, verification against primary sources is required, and we do not present unverified claims as fact. Technology helps us cover more cities; it does not lower the bar for accuracy, and it does not replace editorial responsibility for the result.

4. Independence from advertising

TastyPals is supported by advertising, and we may earn revenue from display ads served by third-party networks and from referrals into the TastyPals app. That funding does not buy a place in our guides. Advertisers and partners cannot pay to be ranked, to be added to a list, or to have criticism removed. Rankings and recommendations are made on editorial grounds only.

Advertising is always visually distinct from editorial content. If we ever publish sponsored or paid content, it will be clearly labeled as such so readers can tell the difference between an advertisement and an editorial recommendation.

5. Conflicts of interest

Editors do not accept payment, free meals in exchange for coverage, or gifts from restaurants in return for a review or ranking. Where a relationship could reasonably be seen as a conflict, we disclose it or decline to cover the restaurant.

6. Scores, rankings, and their limits

Scores and rankings are directional editorial guidance, not a precise measurement. Public ratings reflect a moment in time and change. Restaurants open, close, change chefs, and evolve, and our coverage can lag reality. We treat our rankings as a considered opinion meant to help you decide quickly — not as an objective, final verdict.

7. Corrections and updates

Corrections are part of the process. If a price, dish, address, or claim is wrong or out of date, we want to fix it. Email hello@tastypals.com with the page and the issue, and we will review and update it. We refresh coverage as cities and restaurants change.

8. Reader and restaurant content

Ratings, notes, and reviews submitted by signed-in users are governed by our Content Policy. User content is moderated and is presented separately from our editorial guides; a public rating or note is the author's opinion, not a TastyPals editorial recommendation.

9. Relationship to other policies

This Editorial Policy works together with our methodology, Content Policy, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Editorial Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the effective date at the top of the page.