Understanding Website Terms When Using Restaurant and Market Listings

Restaurant and food-market websites often serve as a hub for discovering places to eat, reading reviews, and sometimes booking events or buying tickets. But behind the listings is a set of terms that governs what you can do on the site, what the site can do with your submissions, and what responsibilities remain with you as a user. Below is a clear, neutral guide to the types of rules and policies that apply when using a website that offers restaurant and venue information, user accounts, reviews, and e-commerce transactions.

What it means to accept the terms

Website terms of use typically apply as soon as you access the site. By browsing or using the website, you agree to be bound by those terms. If you do not wish to be bound by them, the expected approach is not to access or use the website.

Terms are often updated periodically, and continued use after changes is generally treated as acceptance of the updated terms. Users are usually responsible for checking regularly to see whether the terms have changed, and if they do not agree to changes, they should stop using the website.

Other policies that may apply alongside the terms

In addition to the main terms of use, your website activity may also be governed by related documents such as a privacy notice and cookie policy. If the site enables purchases or bookings, separate e-commerce terms and conditions may apply, and the website may encourage you to read these before making transactions.

Creating and managing a user account

Some parts of a restaurant and market website may require a user account. Accounts can often be created using an email address or by logging in via a social media account. When you use social login, the website may request permission to access selected data from the nominated application so the service can function. That data can be stored against your profile, and the application may check for changes and update your account details.

Account rules commonly include requirements that you provide full and accurate information, including your real name. Users are typically responsible for all activity on their account and are encouraged to keep passwords secure and notify the website immediately if they become aware of unauthorised use.

• You should not create multiple user accounts.
• You should not use another user’s account without prior consent.
• If you deactivate your account, the website may delete your data.

Accuracy of information and practical verification

Food and venue listings can change quickly. Websites may use reasonable endeavours to verify information where practical, but they may not be able to ensure complete accuracy for details that often change—such as opening times, performance dates, schedules, and current prices. A common recommendation is to confirm changeable details directly with the relevant venue, facility, or service provider before relying on them.

Acceptable use: what you agree not to do

Terms of use typically set boundaries designed to protect the website, its users, and its systems. Prohibited actions may include impersonation, misleading identity details, unauthorised access attempts, interference with website functionality, and distributing harmful software.

• Do not impersonate another person or use a false identity or unreliable contact details.
• Do not damage, interfere with, or disrupt access to the website or impair its functionality.
• Do not upload files containing viruses, bugs, trojan horses, worms, or other harmful software.
• Do not send unsolicited emails or use the site for marketing or publicity abuse.
• Do not publish or transmit defamatory, offensive, infringing, obscene, indecent, unlawful, or otherwise objectionable material.
• Do not attempt to obtain unauthorised access to the website.

Linking to the website

Websites often permit linking to their home page, provided the link is fair and legal and does not take advantage of or damage the website’s reputation. Links should not suggest an association, approval, or endorsement unless permission has been granted. The website may also reserve the right to withdraw permission to link at any time without notice.

User submissions and reviews: standards and ownership

Many restaurant and venue platforms allow users to submit communications or materials, including reviews. These “user submissions” generally must comply with the terms and with any additional submission rules published from time to time.

When you submit content, you typically grant the website a broad licence to use it. This can include a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, transferable, irrevocable, non-exclusive right to use, reproduce, share, copy, modify, publish, edit, translate, reformat, host, aggregate, distribute, perform, and display the submission, including as part of other works and across media and technologies. Other users of the website may also receive a licence to access your submission through the site. At the same time, you generally retain your ownership rights in your submission, subject to the licence you grant.

Review rules often emphasise authenticity. Reviews are expected to reflect your own experience (for example, visiting with friends, family, or on your own) and to be your genuine opinion. Policies may require that you have no personal or business relationship with what you are reviewing, that you were not offered incentives or payment, and that you have no personal grievances to air. Some platforms also state a zero-tolerance policy on fake reviews.

• Reviews should be user-friendly and contain no profanities, threats, hate speech, or sexually explicit language.
• Reviews should be unique and independent, typically one review per first-hand experience for a given restaurant, event, or attraction.
• Reviews should be original and not substantially quote material from other sources.
• Reviews should be non-commercial and should not include promotional material, self-promotional URLs, email addresses, or phone numbers.
• Submissions may need to be from persons over 18 and include a valid email address.
• Submissions may need to include no HTML tags and avoid excessive ALL CAPS or typographic symbols.

Websites may allow management or representatives of venues and restaurants to respond to reviews, and may reserve the right to remove reviews, comments, or management responses at any time for any reason.

Moderation, removal, and reporting concerns

Websites commonly disclaim endorsement of user submissions and may not accept liability for opinions, recommendations, or advice expressed by users. They may reserve the right to remove user submissions without notice for any reason, including breaches of submission conditions or intellectual property rights.

Users may also be told they could encounter submissions that are inaccurate, offensive, indecent, or objectionable, and that the website is not responsible for the accuracy, usefulness, safety, or intellectual property rights relating to those submissions. If a user believes a submission is inaccurate, offensive, indecent, objectionable, or infringes intellectual property rights, the terms may provide a contact email for reporting, after which the website may investigate and/or remove the content at its discretion.

Bookings, tickets, and other e-commerce transactions

Some websites allow you to acquire tickets, packages, goods, products, and services, or make bookings for venues and events. These transactions may be offered either directly by the website operator or through commercial partners. Where transactions are with partners, you may need to agree to separate terms and conditions directly with those partners. The website may also state it cannot be held responsible for transactions you enter into with a partner.

Availability, changes, and service interruptions

Websites may aim to keep services available and may be normally accessible 24 hours a day, but they often disclaim liability if the website is unavailable for any period. Access may be suspended temporarily and without notice in cases of system failure, maintenance, repair, or reasons beyond the website’s control. The operator may also modify or withdraw the website (or parts of it) for business and operational reasons, typically without liability for those changes.

Third-party links and external resources

Restaurant and market websites may include links to third-party websites and resources. Those external sites have their own terms and privacy policies, and users are expected to comply with them. The website may state it is not responsible for the availability, content, or privacy practices of external sites, and that third-party links (including advertisements) do not imply endorsement, affiliation, or association.

Content rights and limits on reuse

Website content—such as information, graphics, and images—is typically owned by the operator or licensed to it. Users are often permitted to view content on-screen and print it for personal, non-commercial use only. Other uses—such as copying, publishing, reproducing, modifying, creating new works from content, or using source code—are generally prohibited without prior written consent.

Some terms explicitly prohibit using the website’s content on artificial intelligence or machine learning platforms, tools, software, or systems in any way (including training or retrieval-augmented generation) without prior written approval. They may also prohibit providing archived or cached datasets containing the content to another person or entity.

Liability, warranties, and your responsibility as a user

Terms often state that you use the website at your own risk and that the website is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis for information and personal use only. Websites may disclaim warranties of many kinds, including fitness for a particular purpose, availability, non-infringement, compatibility, security, accuracy, and completeness. They may also disclaim that the service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, or that defects will be corrected.

Some terms limit liability for damages arising from use or performance of the website, including loss of use, data, or profits, subject to exceptions where liability cannot legally be excluded (for example, death or injury caused by negligence) and without affecting statutory consumer rights. Where defective digital content supplied by the website damages your device due to a failure to use reasonable care and skill, the terms may provide for repair or compensation, with limits where damage could have been avoided by applying updates or following installation instructions.

Enforcement and restrictions on access

Websites may monitor activity and content, investigate reported violations or complaints, and take actions such as issuing warnings, suspending or terminating access, attaching conditions to access, or removing materials. They may also restrict access or remove details from databases without prior notice in certain circumstances, including regulatory changes, events beyond reasonable control, or suspected abuse or breach of the terms.

Finally, terms commonly specify governing law and jurisdiction, and explain how notices may be given (often by email). Understanding these points can help users engage with restaurant listings, reviews, and bookings more confidently and with clearer expectations.