Editorial policy

Published 29 September 2026

Independent, with no paid placement

Picton Restaurants is maintained independently by its editor, David Rowell. Venues don’t pay to be listed, can’t pay to appear higher (featured listings are always labelled), and don’t see or approve their listing before it is published. There is no advertising and there are no affiliate links.

No rankings, ratings or reviews

This is a directory, not a “best of” list. Lists are ordered alphabetically, or by walking distance from the ferry when you choose that. We don’t publish star ratings, scores or reviews of any venue, and we don’t describe one venue as better than another.

Where information comes from

Every fact on a listing comes from a source we can point to. For opening hours the order of preference is:

1. the venue’s current Google Business Profile;
2. a recent, explicit announcement by the business (for example a dated post about new hours);
3. the venue’s own website;
4. its Facebook or Instagram page;
5. reputable local sources, such as regional tourism listings;
6. our own older records, as a last resort.

When sources disagree we note which one we used and why. When no source is reliable we leave the hours blank. Cuisine, services (dine-in, takeaway, delivery, bookings), dietary options and price come from the venue’s menu, website or listing. Walking times from the ferry are estimated from map distance and are labelled approximate.

What “Hours last checked” means

It is the date we last compared the listed hours with a source — usually the Google Business Profile or the venue’s own site. It is not a promise the hours are right today: venues change hours with the seasons, close for holidays and sometimes shut early. Hours checked more than 90 days ago are flagged on the venue page. For anything that matters — a late ferry, a booking, a dietary need — confirm with the venue.

“Open now” is worked out in Picton time from the hours on file. Venues without checked hours are never shown as open or closed; they’re listed separately as “hours unknown”.

Unknown means blank

If we don’t know something, the listing says so. We don’t fill gaps with typical hours, likely services or assumed dietary options. A venue with a blank field is left out of that filter rather than guessed into it.

Closures

A venue confirmed as permanently closed keeps its page, with a clear notice, the business now in the premises if there is one, and nearby alternatives. It is removed from every list, filter, count, the map and open-now. Temporary closures, seasonal venues and venues we couldn’t confirm are kept listed with a note.

Corrections

Anyone — especially the people who run these venues — can ask for a correction through the corrections page or at corrections@pictonrestaurants.co.nz. We check each correction against a source before changing the listing.

Descriptions and photos

Venue descriptions are short, factual summaries of what a place serves, written in our own words — not copied marketing text. Photos are only shown against a venue when they show that venue, with credit and licence; see the credits page.