How We Rank Restaurants | Where To Eat Dubai's Methodology

The Promise

Our Independence Pledge

We pay for every meal we review. No complimentary visits, no sponsored rankings, no "promoted" content disguised as editorial. We have turned down restaurant PR invitations. If we accept an invitation, we revisit the restaurant anonymously before publishing. Our rankings reflect genuine experience, not marketing spend.

This is fundamental to who we are. In an industry where many guides accept payment for placements or favorable coverage, we remain committed to one principle: you can trust that our reviews are based on real meals, real experiences, and an honest assessment of value.

The Framework

The 5-Point Scoring System

Each restaurant we review is evaluated across five dimensions. These combine to create a total score out of 100. This framework helps us assess restaurants fairly across price points and cuisines, from a small shawarma stand to a Michelin-level tasting menu.

35 pts Food Quality Technique, ingredient quality, flavour, consistency, and creativity. This is the most heavily weighted category—great food is the foundation of a great restaurant.

20 pts Value for Money Does the bill reflect what you received? We apply this equally across all price tiers. An AED 35 biryani that's exceptional scores as highly as a AED 2,000 tasting menu that earns every dirham.

20 pts Service Knowledge of the menu, attentiveness, appropriate speed, and warmth. Service should enhance the dining experience without becoming intrusive.

15 pts Atmosphere Design, noise levels, comfort, and whether the setting matches the restaurant's concept. Atmosphere should complement, not overshadow, the food.

10 pts Consistency We revisit highly-rated restaurants 2–3 times before publishing to ensure the experience we had wasn't an anomaly. Consistency matters.

Ground Rules

Visit Policy

Anonymous Visits Only. We never announce ourselves as reviewers. This allows us to experience the restaurant as any customer would—same service, same food quality, same setting.

Minimum 2 Visits. We visit every restaurant at least twice before publishing a review. This ensures we're not judging a restaurant on a single off night.

Extra Visits for Top Scores. Restaurants scoring 85 or above receive three or more visits. At this level, consistency is critical, and we want to be absolutely certain before recommending them as truly exceptional.

Annual Updates. We update reviews yearly or when significant changes occur—a new head chef, change of ownership, major renovation, or substantial shift in menu or pricing. You'll always see a "Last Visited" date on every review.

Reader Suggestions Welcome. We accept restaurant suggestions from our readers, but we make all visit decisions independently. A suggestion doesn't guarantee a visit or review, but we do take them seriously.

Non-Negotiable

What We Never Do

Our editorial standards are non-negotiable. Here's what you'll never see from Where To Eat Dubai:

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Accept free meals in exchange for positive coverage. We pay for our meals.

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Allow restaurants to read reviews before publication. Editorial independence means final say rests with us.

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Change scores based on advertiser status. A restaurant's ad spend has zero bearing on its review score. Ads keep the guide free — they never influence reviews.

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Use AI to write reviews. All reviews come from real visits by real people who ate real food.

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Rank restaurants based on PR relationships. We have no PR partnerships that influence editorial.

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Accept commissions for "book a table" clicks. Our links are informational only, never affiliate.

Reading the Scores

Rating Scale

Every restaurant we review receives a score out of 100. Here's what each band means:

90–100

Exceptional. Reserve immediately. These are the restaurants we most want to eat at again. They represent the best Dubai has to offer in their respective categories.

80–89

Excellent. A regular's favourite. These are genuinely great restaurants worth your money and time. You'll go back.

70–79

Very Good. Well worth a visit. These restaurants deliver solid food, service, and value. They're not exceptional, but they're reliably enjoyable.

60–69

Good. Reliable and enjoyable. These restaurants are worth visiting, though they may have some gaps or inconsistencies.

Below 60

We don't publish. We don't publish negative-only reviews of smaller or newer restaurants—it's not constructive. If we can't recommend a place, we simply don't write about it.

The Palate

About Our Lead Critic

Fredrik Filipsson

Founder & Lead Critic

Fredrik spent 8 years living on Palm Jumeirah, working as a business executive while eating his way through Dubai's restaurant scene. With previous experience dining in restaurant capitals including Tokyo, New York, London, Paris, São Paulo, Singapore, and Hong Kong, he brings an international frame of reference to Dubai dining. He has personally visited over 1,000 restaurants in Dubai and continues to eat out 5–7 times per week. His palate is broad, his standards are high, and his bias is always towards honest value: an AED 35 biryani that blows your mind scores just as high as an AED 2,000 tasting menu that earns every dirham.

Keeping It Fresh

Editorial Updates

Restaurants change. A chef departure, a renovation, a change in ownership, a new manager—any of these can transform a restaurant overnight. We take this seriously.

Every review is dated. We clearly show "Last Visited" on every article so you know when we were last there. If significant time has passed or a restaurant has undergone major changes, we'll revisit and update the review. We also take reader updates seriously. If you've dined somewhere recently and spotted changes, contact us. We investigate and reinvestigate when things shift.

Right of Reply

Contact Us About a Review

If you're a restaurant operator and believe something in your review is factually incorrect, contact us at [email protected]. We investigate and correct factual errors within 48 hours.

We don't remove opinions—our opinions stand as our honest assessment. But we do correct facts. If we said a restaurant is in Dubai Marina when it's actually in DIFC, or got the head chef's name wrong, we'll fix it.

Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you accept press trips and sponsored meals?

No. We pay for every meal we review. We have turned down restaurant press trips and invitations. If a restaurant invites us to visit, we always revisit independently before publishing any content.

Can I pay to be featured on your site?

No. Where To Eat Dubai is editorially independent. We review restaurants based on merit, not marketing spend. Restaurants cannot purchase higher scores or featured placement.

How do I suggest a restaurant?

Visit our Suggest page. We review all suggestions, though we make independent decisions about which restaurants to visit and cover.

How often do you update reviews?

We update reviews at least annually. We also reinvestigate when we hear about significant changes—new chef, new owner, major renovation, or menu overhaul. Every review shows a "Last Visited" date.

Do you write negative reviews?

We publish reviews for restaurants scoring 60 or above. If we can't recommend a place, we don't publish a negative-only review, as it's not constructive. We simply don't cover it.

Can restaurants appeal their scores?

Our scores reflect our honest assessment based on our visits. We don't change scores based on appeals. However, if there's a factual error (wrong location, incorrect menu item pricing, etc.), we correct it within 48 hours.

How We Rank Dubai's Restaurants