How we choose

Nobody pays

Being listed in The South West Guide is free, and always will be. No business has ever paid, or been asked to pay, for inclusion, a better position, or a longer write-up. Featured placement, when it happens, is an editorial choice, not a purchase.

That's the opposite of how most regional directories work - Food Drink Devon and Taste of the West both charge annual membership. We think a business too small or too new to pay a membership fee deserves to be findable too, so ours doesn't ask.

What gets a listing in

An independent South West food or drink business qualifies if it's:

• Independently owned - not a national or regional chain
• Trading, with a real address or a genuine mobile/market presence
• Food or drink led - the actual business, not a side menu
• Worth recommending - the bar is "we'd send a friend here", not just "it exists"

We check every submission ourselves before it goes live - real address, real trading status, real photos of the actual place. Nothing is published automatically from a form.

What keeps a listing out

• Being a chain, franchise, or multiple - the guide is independents only
• Paying, or offering to pay, for inclusion or better placement
• A pattern of fake, incentivised, or review-swapped ratings
• Being outside the South West, or not genuinely trading

The verified seal

Most listings are researched and written up from public sources - the business's own site, its Google Business Profile, direct contact with the owner. A small and growing number carry a verified mark, meaning someone from Vivid Cuisine has actually been. We're building this up honestly rather than claiming it for every listing at once - see the seal on a listing page to know which is which.

Ratings on the page

The Google rating shown on a listing is pulled live from Google, not written by us. The FSA hygiene rating, where shown, comes from the official Food Standards Agency register. Reviews under "What people say" are submitted by readers and moderated by hand before they go live - we read every one before it's published.

Something wrong, or somewhere closed?

Hospitality changes fast, and a directory this size will sometimes lag behind it. If a listing has closed, moved, or is just wrong, tell us at info@vividcuisine.com and we'll check and fix it.