Eat Cape Town has three lists. The same rules apply to every restaurant, and no restaurant can pay to appear on any of them.
Eat Cape Town 50. The 50 restaurants that Cape Town's judges and diners agree on most. We combine the latest editions of the Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards (judged by experts), Dineplan Reviewers' Choice (verified diners who booked and ate), The World's 50 Best Restaurants (51 to 100 list included) and Time Out Cape Town's picks. A higher award or rank counts for more, and a restaurant recognised by more than one source scores higher than one recognised by a single source. Every place shows the lists that put it there. The 50 changes only when one of those sources publishes a new edition. It covers the Cape Town metro and the nearby Winelands (Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl and Somerset West).
Hot right now. Up to 8 sit-down restaurants with unusual activity this week, compared with their own normal week. We only call a place hot when independent kinds of evidence agree: posts by diners describing a real visit, coverage in the press, and what people do on this site (saving a place, asking for directions, opening its booking page). Every diner post is checked before it counts: it must be written by a customer rather than the restaurant or a promoter, it must describe an actual visit, and it must name the restaurant in the diner's own words. Posts that only use a hashtag, restaurants posting about themselves, tours and travel packages never count. If fewer than 8 places qualify, we show fewer. If none qualify, we say so.
New. Restaurants that opened in the last three months, found through Google, ranked against each other by the same evidence as Hot. A place leaves this list when it turns 90 days old.
What we show but do not rank on. Each restaurant page shows the live Google rating (loaded from Google and not stored) and, where we can find it, the restaurant's own public Instagram account and how its following is growing. Follower counts can be bought or inflated with giveaways, and there is no evidence they predict a good meal, so they never move a restaurant up or down.
Chains, takeaways and fast food are not included on Hot right now.
Mistakes. If something is wrong, use "Something wrong?" on the restaurant's page or the form at eatcity.co/corrections. Closures and wrong areas are checked against Google automatically and fixed within a day; anything else is reviewed by a person within 7 days.