The principle of Gault & Millau lies in evaluation of restaurants during anonymous visits of inspectors. They arrive at the restaurant unannounced, pay for their bills and assess several aspects, including the quality of the food, presentation, originality of flavors and the overall dining experience.
They also assess the quality of service, atmosphere and overall impression relative to the price point. The restaurants are rated according to a scoring system from 1 to 20; and the higher the score, the better quality.
The restaurants can receive "Toques", which are akin to Michelin stars. The number of caps awarded to the restaurants ranges from 1 to 5 and reflects the level of quality and creativity of the dining experience. The highest number of caps is 5, which essentially means excellence in the French guide's system.
