The principle of Gault&Millau is to have anonymous inspectors discretely visit and rate restaurants in the guide. They arrive at the restaurant unannounced, pay for their bill and assess several aspects, including; the quality of the food, presentation, originality of flavours and the overall dining experience.
They also assess the quality of service, atmosphere and overall impression relative to the price point. Restaurants are rated on a scoring system from 1 to 20, with 20 being the best possible score.
Restaurants can receive "Toques" (caps), which are akin to Michelin stars. The number of caps awarded to restaurants ranges from 1 to 5 and reflects the level of quality and creativity of the dining experience. The maximum number of caps is 5 , which essentially means excellence in the French guide's system.