Terms for invited reviews

1. Who we are and how we work

Chiswickish is an independent food review site and photography project about places to eat in Chiswick, run by photographers with years behind the camera.

Most of what we review, we choose and pay for ourselves. Some reviews are invited: a restaurant asks us to visit, and may pay a fee or cover the meal. We are open about which is which, and an invitation never changes what we write.

2. What an invited review includes

• One or more visits by us, on dates we agree with you.
• A written review on chiswickish.co.uk, scored the way we score every place.
• Our own photographs: the food, the room, and, where people are happy to sit for us, portraits of the chef and the team behind the food.
• Posts about the review on our social channels.

What we ask of you: treat us as you would any guest, tell us honestly about the place, and give us time and space for portraits if you would like them.

3. Our independence

A fee or a free meal pays for our time and our photography. It never buys a good review, a score, or any say over what we write.

• We write what we actually think, every time.
• You do not see or approve the review before it is published.
• We will correct facts that are wrong (opening hours, prices, names), but we will not change opinions.
• We will never publish a review we know to be untrue, and we will never pretend a review is unpaid when it is not.

4. If a visit does not go well

We will not lie about a bad experience. Before anything is published, we will tell you what we found and give you a chance to respond.

For a paid review, you then choose one of two options, in writing, within 14 days of us getting in touch:

• Option A: private feedback. You pay the agreed fee in full. We do not publish a review of that visit. Instead we send you our written feedback privately, and the visit is not mentioned on our site or social channels.
• Option B: independent review. You do not pay the fee. We publish the review as we see it, labelled Gifted. You still cover our expenses for the visit (section 6).

If we do not hear from you within 14 days, Option B applies.

For a gifted visit (no fee), we decide on our own whether to publish, publish with your response, visit again, or hold the review back. We may consider holding a review back, but we never promise to.

5. How invited reviews are labelled

UK law requires readers to be told up front when a review was paid for or gifted, so every invited review and every post about it is labelled at the very start.

• Ad: you paid a fee, with or without the meal.
• Gifted: you gave us a free meal, drinks or stay, and no fee.
• No label: we chose the place and paid ourselves.

You agree not to ask us to drop or soften a label, and to label anything you repost the same way. This follows the ASA and CMA guidance for influencers and the ban on fake and hidden incentivised reviews in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

6. Fees and expenses

• Fee. We agree the fee by email before the first visit. We invoice it after the visit, and it is due within 14 days of the invoice, unless you choose Option B in section 4. Once paid, it is not refundable.
• What the fee pays for. Our time, visits and photography, not any outcome or score.
• Expenses. You cover the meals and drinks for our visits in every case, whether the review is paid, gifted, published or not. Either provide them on the day or repay our receipts within 14 days. Any other expense needs your agreement by email first.

7. Photographs and portraits

• We own the copyright in all our photographs.
• You may share the published review and its photos on your own website and social channels, credited to Chiswickish and linked to the review, with its label kept. Any other use (menus, adverts, print) needs a separate licence from us.
• We only take portraits of people who agree, and anyone can change their mind before publication. Please make sure your team knows a photographer is coming.

8. Updating reviews

We may update any review at any time, for example after a return visit, a new chef, or a change in quality. An update is a dated note from us, with revised scores where needed, and the original review stays visible underneath.

If an update within 6 months of the review first being published would be less favourable, we will always try to contact you first to discuss it. After 6 months we may update without notice. Updates are never paid for; a paid return visit is a new invited review under these terms.

9. Other terms

• Cancelling. Either side can cancel before the first visit at no cost. After the first visit, sections 4 and 6 apply.
• No guarantees. We do not guarantee any score, any amount of coverage, or any number of views, likes or bookings.
• Your details. We keep what you send us only to arrange and record the review, and do not share it with anyone else.
• Law. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.

10. Accepting these terms

These terms bind you and us for an invited review when you do any of the following:

• tick the agreement box and send our Work with us form;
• reply to confirm a visit to our booking email, which names the fee and the expenses and links to these terms;
• accept our visit, or pay our fee, for an invited review.

The version that applies is the one in force when the visit is confirmed. We keep a dated copy of every version and of what you sent us. Changes never apply to a visit already confirmed.