We re-score every restaurant from its Google reviews, give less weight to 5-star reviews that look solicited, and flag places with review-gathering patterns. No paid placements.
Google's own rating, plus OpenTable's where the restaurant takes OpenTable bookings. OpenTable counts double: only diners who actually ate there can review.
We read the newest reviews and search the full history. Discounting suspect 5-stars (burst days count 0.2, blank ones 0.5) shows how much they inflate the average, and that amount comes off Google's rating.
A place is flagged when reviewers say they were asked or rewarded for reviews, or when 5-star reviews repeatedly arrive in bursts (2+ burst days holding 10%+ of its 5-stars). Two or more reviewers reporting review requests, or the same freebie in 5+ five-star reviews, also flag it. Flagged places lose 0.5★ plus 3× the share of 5-stars in bursts, at least 1★ for reports or freebies, up to 1.5★.
Places with weaker warning signs (one reviewer reporting a review request, a single burst, reviewers doubting the rating, staff named in many 5-stars, or recent reviews far above the all-time rating) lose 0.2★.