ABOUT EAT OUT
All the inside info on EAT OUT
How the award winners and Eat Out 500 are chosen
Restaurants do not elect to be judged for the Top 10. With input from the Eat Out community and professional critics, the panel of anonymous judges dines around the country and draws up a list of contenders according to the following criteria: The establishment must have been open with the same highestranking chef since November 2017. Changes in décor, closures for winter, renovations or other breaks, and staffing changes (other than of the highest-ranking chef ) over this time period do not disqualify a restaurant. Consistency and excellence must shine through every aspect of the experience. The owners and chef should be passionate, dedicated to uplifting the industry, and prioritise the sourcing of quality produce.
The judges dine at each nominated restaurant and score it out of 100 points. Food counts for 80 points and includes menu composition, seasonality, presentation, ethical awareness, value and wine. Service counts for 15 points and ambience for 5. After all the restaurants have been visited, a list of nominees is drawn up, the winners are calculated and the scorecards audited. In the instance of two restaurants having precisely the same overall score, the average food score of each restaurant will be used to break the tie.
The winners of the Eat Out S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna Chef of the Year Award, the Eat Out Retail Capital New Restaurant of the Year, Eat Out Nederburg Rising Star, the Eat Out Diners Club Service Excellence Award, the Eat Out Wine Service Award, the Eat Out VISI Style Award, the Eat Out Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Eat Out John Psillos Award for Outstanding Contribution to Service are handpicked by the same panel of judges.
The judging panel for the Eat Out Woolworths Sustainability Award is independent from that of the other restaurant awards and consists of Sonia Mountford of Eategrity, Karen Welter of the Longtable Project and Pavitray Pillay of WWF-SASSI. Visit eatout.co.za/sustainablity for more information on the criteria.
The winner of the Eat Out Graham Beck Chefs’ Chef Award is determined by votes cast by the chefs at the 30 restaurants nominated for the Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards. Visit eatout.co.za/awards for more details.
The winners of the Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Best Everyday Eateries are determined by a two-step process. Star ratings given by the public on eatout.co.za and the Eat Out app from 1 September 2017 to 31 August 2018 were tallied. The restaurants that received a large volume of high scores from fans were visited by Eat Out's professional critics, who gave their own ratings. Final results of winners for each category for each province were therefore based on a 50-50 composite score from the public and the critics.