myTaste is all about real people, doing real reviews.

We all know that word of mouth is the best way to find out which dining experiences are great (and not so great).

myTaste is the fun and easy place where you can find out about what people are saying about restaurants in your area.... and express your own views.

On myTaste you can post reviews, read other people's opinions, add photos, and even post video reviews. Create you own page and share your tastes with friends!

For more information, check out our about page.

Yes! Well, mostly. myTaste is entirely free for reviewers. The basic functions are free for restaurateurs. However there are some optional paid functions available torestaurateurs, which are detailed below.

Free functions for reviewers include:

• Reviewing
• Searching and Browsing
• Using the myTaste cafe
• Adding yourself as a VIP customer
• Using the myTaste booking system

Free funtions for Restaurateurs include:

• Claiming a page, and providing users with details such as opening hours, features, menu, photos and other press.
• Sending a monthly "What's happening" to their VIP Customers
• Being chosen as the feature restaurant on the front page of the myTaste site
• Adding VIP customers from within your restaurant

Optional paid functions for restaurants:

• Some restaurants elect to pay for "Priority Placement" of their business - you will see these as "Sponsored results"
• Restaurants also pay for the myTaste online booking system, but it is free for the myTaste users

Well, let's face it, we all like to eat. We all need to eat. But choosing a new place to eat can be a bit hit and miss. Sometimes you find somewhere great, an undiscovered gem. Sometimes the experience is not so favourable. Word-of-mouth can be a great way to avoid the pitfalls of eating somewhere new.

The basic aim of myTaste is to extend the network through which you hear about various dining experiences, and also to give you a forum to express your opinions and provide feedback to restaurateurs.

When you register, myTaste will send you a verification email. You need to click on the link in this email to confirm your registration.

First you need to log in. Then click on "account" in the top navigation. You can then use the account navigation to change or update your information.

Only your first name and last initial (John S) will appear on the myTaste site.

No. To prevent people posting multiple reviews on the same business it is part of the terms of service that each reviewer holds only one account. Anyone found to be violating this term will be subject to account suspension.

Make it interesting and personal. People like to hear little details. Maybe offer some advice on how to get the best out of the experience if someone chooses to go to this restaurant. If you can add a funny story to make people laugh ... all the better. Most importantly .... Keep it real!

A 5 star rating does not necessarily need to be "fine dining". 5 star can more be described as "this is exactly what I would expect from a restaurant of this style". So if you know of a Hamburger parlour ... where the burgers are fantastic, the price is right, the setting is clean and staff friendly ... it might be a good candidate for a 5 star rating.
Really it just comes back to your opinion - and your taste.

Another way we could put it is like this ... ... imagine you are chatting with a group of friends about where to go for dinner as a group. The following would be an indication of how you would react to different restaurants in this discussion

Upload your video to a video hosting site (like youtube or myspace) and copy the link into your myTaste review.

Keep it interesting and to the point. Take some shots of the restaurant, the food, and try to capture the ambience. Talk in a confident way and get your message across as quickly as possible. Anything more that 1min and people will begin to lose interest. You just want to give people an idea of what the restaurant is like and your opinion of it so that they can make a judgment for themselves on whether or not they should dine there.

Yes. People in your area want to hear the good stuff, and the bad stuff - as long as it is true and factual. Any claims that you make in your review must be based on fact. You cannot base a negative review on anything other than fact, first hand experience, or actual interaction with the business. For example:

• You cannot claim that a business uses imitation chicken in it's chicken rolls unless you can justify it as a fact
• You cannot give a restaurant a bad review because your friend went there and did not like it, and told you about it
• You cannot give a restaurant a bad review because your ex-girlfriend works there ... and she dumped you

Any reviews such as the ones in these examples can be considered as slander, and can have legal repercussions Anything that you say in your review must

1. relate to a specific personal interaction with the business, and
2. it must be factual.

As long as you follow these two rules ... we want to hear about it.

Yes - as long as you disclose the connection in the review.

Not normally. We will remove reviews if their legitimacy cannot be verified by contacting the person who has written the review, or if the review is of a slanderous nature that does not

1. relate to a specific personal interaction between a business and a customer, and
2. is not factual.

myTaste is all about sharing experiences with friends. If there are lots of people on myTaste that you know, then you will have more fun.

To invite your friends just click on the "Invite Friends" button on your myTaste page, and enter the email addresses of the people that you want to invite. Customise your message, and click send - and myTaste will send them a link to your myTaste page

Other myTaste users can add themselves as a fan of you. These are people that like your Taste and want to hear more.

Every time you post a new review they will be notified. They will also see your reviews first when browsing any businesses you've reviewed.

myTaste Cafe is the place to talk about whatever you want. Create a new topic ... or comment on a topic that someone else has created.

• Ask for advice on where people like to eat
• Talk about things that are going on in your area
• Share local knowledge about anything you want

Use messaging to send a private message with another myTaste user.

You can add yourself as a VIP customer of a restaurant. Once a month you will receive an email telling you "what's happening" in the restaurants to which you have added yourself as a VIP customer. This email may include special offers for myTaste users from those restaurants. You may remove yourself at any time.

On the Restaurant page - click on the "Add your as a VIP customer"

Restaurants cannot add reviewers as a VIP on the myTaste site ... only reviewers can add themselves to Restaurants.

Restaurants can add you from within their restaurant by asking you for your email address, and importing that into their myTaste page. This may be the way that you discovered our community of myTasters.

Top 5's are lists of your favourite things ... whatever you like! They could be ... the top 5 best burgers in town ... or the Top 5 spots for a wine after work. It's totally up to you.

New Top5's are listed on the front page of the myTaste site.

You will be automatically allocated your own myTaste URL when you sign up( e.g. www.myTaste.com.au/yourname). To change your URL go to your account settings, click on "profile", and select your URL.

Please read through the myTaste privacy statement for information on this.