YAMU FAQ: How Stuff Works

Last Updated: June 2016

10 Rules Of Restaurant Reviews

1. YAMU reviews are conducted anonymously and without prior notice.
2. We never request or accept payment for our reviews. 
3. We never accept complimentary food or drink during the course of a review or otherwise. We pay for everything we write about (sometimes people send us thank you cakes, which we do eat).
4. If a YAMU writer has any personal interest in or connection to a restaurant, they won’t review it. Another writer will.
5. Significant and/or interesting restaurants will be re-reviewed on a yearly basis.
6. New restaurants will receive an initial descriptive ‘First Look’, and a complete review after 6-8 weeks of full scale operation.
7. Restaurants that receive either 1 star or 5 stars will receive a re-review after 3 months by a different YAMU writer.
8. Re-reviews can be requested if significant changes have been made to the restaurant, ie. change of chef/menu, etc.
9. If a restaurant has a serious issue with a review, YAMU will consider a re-review if the complaint seems justified.
10. The YAMU editorial team doesn’t attend openings, launches or press events.

Hotel Reviews

Our budget doesn't always allow for hotel stays, so we're open to accepting complimentary hotel stays. Acceptance is at our discretion, so we will still continue to be honest about our experience and stay. Please note this is only applicable for hotel reviews, and not restaurants. 

Review Ratings

Ratings are considered within the context of what each restaurant is hoping to establish. For example, we judge a buth kade as a buth kade and a French restaurant as a French restaurant.

Here’s what the stars mean:

1. Don’t Go: Few redeeming features and more than a few unpleasant ones. Best avoided.
2. Go if you must: Overall a disappointing experience
3. Go if you’re in the area: Not a full experience, but certain aspects are good.
4. Go: Very, very good. A quality experience.
5. YAMU! Go Right Now: A stellar performance all round, essentially one of the best dining experiences you’ll get in Sri Lanka.

Advertising

YAMU’s primary source of revenue is currently advertising. However, Editorial and Advertising are strictly separate. If there’s a conflict, Editorial wins. The value we deliver to advertisers depends on us being a trusted and popular resource for users. Therefore the user always comes first.

Written features and videos (never reviews) can be sponsored by brands, but the content of the feature is entirely at the discretion of YAMU’s editorial team.

FAQs

Do you have a degree in food reviewing?

We’re not really sure that a MA in Culinary Critique exists, but even if it did, none of us have one. We don’t claim to be experts or gourmets, we’re experienced writers who enjoy good food. We try to give our readers an honest impression of our dining experiences, as we would to a friend.

We’ve collectively dined at over 800 restaurants in Sri Lanka alone. We’ve sampled a broad range of cuisines from around the world and most of us are experienced, published writers.

I don’t like my review. Can you take it down?

Sorry, we don’t remove reviews. If you’re really unhappy with your review or feel like we’ve been unfair, you can talk to us about it (preferably without yelling). Our editorial team will review your complaint and, if justified, will return for another review.

There are mistakes in this review. Can you correct it?

Apologies. Please email us at info@yamu.lk and we’ll fix this ASAP.

My comment got deleted, and I got banned from your page. Why is that?

You probably violated the comment policy.

Can we sell/donate our hair to you?

No, as dope as your hair undoubtedly is, we don’t actually buy or distribute human hair. We’re not sure why we keep getting asked this. Try Trendz hair salon.