How scoring works
One number for the whole pint.
The Excellence Index scores every rated pub out of 100. Five components, weighted by what matters most in the glass.
The pour
40%The heart of it. Was it a proper two-part pour, left to settle? Is the head a tight, domed 18–20 mm? Is the texture creamy all the way down?
Taste & temperature
20%Fresh lines, the right gas mix and a pint served properly chilled, not numbingly cold or lukewarm.
Consistency
15%How much a pub's ratings vary across visits. The same great pint on a Tuesday afternoon and a Saturday match day scores highest.
Atmosphere & service
15%The room and the people behind the bar. Patience at the tap counts for more than fancy fit-outs.
Value
10%Price paid against the city median. A great pint at £5.90 in London beats a great pint at £7.40.
Worked example
An example pub
Each component is scored out of 100 from the pub's ratings, multiplied by its weight, then added up.
Real Index scores also start from a neutral 70 until a pub has enough ratings, so a couple of pints can't send it straight to the top.
The bands
- 95–100Exceptional
The pint people cross the city for. Rare, and hard to hold on to.
- 90–94Gold Standard
A benchmark pint, reliably poured right. Worth a detour.
- 80–89Highly Recommended
A genuinely good pint. You'd happily make it your local.
- —Not yet rated
Fewer than 3 ratings in the last year. Most of London's 3,600+ pubs are here — go and change that.
Verification and fairness
Verified at the pub
Rate with your phone's location on and within 75 m of the pub and the pint counts as verified. Verified ratings carry more weight.
Recent pints count most
Only the last 12 months count, and a rating from six months ago carries half the weight of one from today. No pub can live off an old reputation.
Three pints minimum
No score until a pub has 3 ratings in the year, and no award until it has 10. New pubs start close to 70 and earn their way up.
Credibility weighting
Established raters count for more than brand-new accounts. One rating per pub every 3 hours, and impossible journeys between pubs are blocked.
Harsh and generous raters
If someone always scores a point above everyone else at the same pubs, we take that point back off. The score reflects the pint, not the person.
Suspicious activity
Anyone can report a rating. A sudden burst of ratings flags a pub as under review, and moderators remove fakes.
Pint score and Pub score
Every pub shows a Pint score for the glass alone and a Pub score for the room and service, so a great atmosphere can't hide a poor pint.
Independent
Pub staff can't rate their own pub, and nobody can pay for a placing. We're not affiliated with Guinness or Diageo.
The ratemyGuin Awards
Once a pub has 10 or more ratings, its band becomes an award: Exceptional, Gold Standard or Highly Recommended. Pubs can't enter, nominate or pay. The awards are independent and not official Guinness recognition.