Other topics
- How Gault&Millau ranks restaurants: toques and scores out of 20
- What is the Gault&Millau d'Or?
- Who's the Cook of the Century?
- What does the "table d'exception" plaque (5 toques) mean?
- What does the table prestige plaque (4 toques) mean?
- What does the "table remarquable" plaque (3 toques) mean?
- What does the chef's table plaque (2 toques) mean?
- What does the table gourmande plaque (1 toque) mean?
How Gault&Millau ranks restaurants: toques and scores out of 20
Each establishment visited by our experts receives a score out of 20, translated into a number of toques, from 1 to 5. The rating assesses the cuisine; the toque is the visible translation, the immediate reference point for the reader. The higher the grade, the greater the number of toques.
Evaluation is based on precise, consistent criteria: product quality, technical mastery, coherence and personality of the cuisine, emotion in the mouth and consistency.
The pass mark is set at 10/20. Below this mark, a restaurant is not included in our selection.
What do the 1 to 5 toques and scores out of 20 mean?
10 to 10.5 — Original tables. Simple, traditional or contemporary cuisine, but always sincere. This first level marks the entry into the selection, before the first toque is awarded.
11 to 12.5 — Tables gourmandes (1 toque). A solid classical base, good techniques and a fine choice of products, justly cooked.
13 to 14.5 — Tables de chef (2 toques). Impeccable products, prepared by a versatile chef with excellent technique, who indulges in variations on traditional and contemporary cuisine.
15 to 16.5 — Tables remarquables (3 toques). Excellence in execution, where technique and simplicity go hand in hand, in the service of a committed cuisine already bearing its own signature.
17 to 18.5 — Tables prestige (4 toques). An auteur cuisine based on exceptional products, where the personality of the chef and the emotion of tastes and flavors are fully mastered.
19 to 19.5 — Tables d'exception (5 toques). The culmination. Memorable, unique, simply perfect.
The summary table
| Toques | Score /20 | Appellation | In a few words |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | 10 – 10.5 | Original table | Simple, sincere cuisine |
| 1 | 11 – 12.5 | Table gourmande | Solid classic base, good products |
| 2 | 13 – 14.5 | Table de chef | Versatile chef, assertive technique |
| 3 | 15 – 16.5 | Table remarquable | Committed cuisine, clear signature |
| 4 | 17 – 18.5 | Table prestige | Signature cuisine, mastered emotion |
| 5 | 19 – 19.5 | Table d'exception | Memorable, unique |
Why does Gault&Millau never award 20/20?
You'll notice that our scale stops at 19.5. It is a deliberate stance, held since the guide's earliest days: for Henri Gault and Christian Millau, absolute perfection does not exist. So 20/20 remains a goal, never a certainty — which makes every half-point gained at the top all the more rare.
At the very top of this hierarchy, some 5-toque tables are awarded the 5 Toques d'Or, the highest accolade given by the Gault&Millau Academy.
