How the site works

How results are ordered

• Near me and searches for a town or postcode: nearest first. Sellers without a shop front (online or market only) come after, because their location is approximate.
• Text searches: shops whose name, menu or dessert types match what you typed, best match first.
• City, category and other lists: a neutral order that favours complete listings: shops managed by their owner first, then shops with their own logo, then shops that name a signature dish, then the newest.
• Seasonal pages: shops with a logo and a signature dish first, then the most reviewed. Once there is enough activity, the shops people viewed, saved and asked directions to most in the last few weeks.
• Top rated: our members’ own ratings, once a shop has 5 published reviews and a city has 10 such shops. Until then the list uses the neutral order.
• We never use Google ratings to order shops. Paying never moves a shop up the normal results.

Featured

Featured shops have paid to be shown. They are always labelled “Featured” and shown separately, above the normal results, never mixed in. Paying doesn’t change a shop’s reviews, ratings or its place in the normal results. When several shops have paid for the same spot they take turns.

Featured placements aren’t on sale at the moment.

In the supplier directory, suppliers that have paid to be at the top of a category are labelled “Promoted” (only a few per category); the rest are in alphabetical order.

Businesses: see the business terms.

Verified

The Verified badge means only that the shop’s owner or manager has claimed the page, we have checked the claim, and they manage it through a business account. It is not an endorsement or a quality rating. Unverified shops are just as real; nobody has claimed them yet. More: what Verified means.

Independent

The “Independent only” filter shows owner-run businesses: independent sellers with one to three sites, and independently owned local groups of up to ten sites in one region. It is based on our listings, so a listing can be marked independent before its owner has claimed it. The Independent badge shows only when the owner has claimed the page and told us how the business is owned, or when we have checked it ourselves. It is separate from Verified, and a business can have both. Owners confirm their answers when they claim, and a false declaration means we remove the badge.

Shops worth a visit

The “Shops worth a visit” row on the homepage is picked by us. Shops can’t pay to be in it. Paid placements have their own row, labelled Featured.

How reviews are checked

Written reviews, photos and case files are checked by our team before they appear. Quick reviews appear once the email address is confirmed, unless our checks hold them for a look first. Reviews that were for something free say so. Anyone can report a review. The full rules are in the content and review policy.