There are two awards in each category, aside from Chef of the Year:
‘FAVOURITE’ decided by an online vote and ‘BEST’ decided by our editorial panel and mystery shoppers.
fact Team
GCC
After years of celebrating the best of the GCC culinary scene, fact has become the dining authority across the region with ceremonies in Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia and London. We invite you to join us as we celebrate the leaders in the industry and continue to indulge in the finer things in life…
All winners are awarded based on both public votes and critic opinions and will receive their accolades amongst their peers.
There are two awards in each category, aside from Chef of the Year:
‘FAVOURITE’ decided by an online vote and ‘BEST’ decided by our editorial panel and mystery shoppers.
We bring together a panel of the fact team and reports from mystery shoppers and public votes, as well as analytics our team gathers for each outlet to decide the winners in each category.
Each restaurant is scored on the following criteria:
– FOOD
(Including food presentation, menu composition, taste and the value for money.)
– SERVICE
– AMBIENCE
The public use online voting to decide the Favourite winners in each category. Nominations can be promoted by participating restaurants to create maximum awareness and attract votes by means of the official voting button marketing collaterals are available on our website and will be provided in advance.
Throughout the year, our teams are visiting and checking out venues across the Kingdom, from cafés and burger joints to outlets serving various speciality cuisines and the finest restaurants on the island. Armed with the knowledge we’ve gained, we put together our initial list of nominations, then we ask our partners and members of the public to get involved and tell us if we’ve missed any of their own favourite dining spots that they believe should be added to the list.
There’s no charge for a venue to be nominated, as long as they meet our criteria – the most important of which is that they must serve good food!
Aside from Chef of the Year – which is decided purely via online public vote – each category has two winners. The Favourite, also chosen by public vote, and Best, which is selected by a panel of experts, including members of the editorial team, from among the top three of the favourites, following multiple visits through the voting period. We consider various criteria, including food – flavour, quality, innovation, presentation, value – service and ambience/amenities.
And we don’t just rely on one visit; our team is out and about throughout the year ensuring consistency in both our judging and the quality of our winners.
The Favourite Restaurant of the Year is chosen from the highest scorers among the public voting. The Best Restaurant of the Year is chosen from the highest scorers both among the public voting and across the criteria scores we compile throughout the year. To ensure that we show appreciation to the greatest possible range of those providing excellence in the Kingdom’s culinary sector, the Best Restaurant of the Year does not win in its nominated specialist category and Chef of the Year is not awarded to the same venue as Best Restaurant of the Year.