How we rank.

The verdict system

Every restaurant gets two things: a Hit or Miss verdict and a rank on the Hit List.

The verdict is binary — Hit means it's worth your time, Miss means it isn't. The rank is a numerical position (No. 01, No. 02, etc.) that places it relative to everything else that's been visited. Verdicts drop on TikTok first, then get a permanent home here.

The threshold for a Hit is a composite score of 8.0 or above out of 10. A score below 8.0 is a Miss.

How the score is calculated

Every restaurant is scored across four criteria, each weighted differently:

• Taste — 60%
  The food itself. Technique, seasoning, texture, execution. The dominant factor in the score because it's the reason you're there.
• Value — 20%
  What you get for what you pay. A $10 meal that delivers is not the same as a $10 meal that disappoints. Price level is considered against category standards — a steakhouse is not scored on the same value scale as a food court counter.
• Consistency — 15%
  Whether the food holds up across visits. A single exceptional meal doesn't earn a top-tier rank if the next visit is a miss. Where possible, spots are visited more than once before ranking.
• Cleanliness — 5%
  The state of the kitchen, counter, and dining area. A minor factor but a disqualifying one if it's bad enough.

How halal status is classified

Every restaurant on the Hit List is assigned one of four halal status classifications. The classification is determined in person on every visit — not from Google, Yelp, or community claims.

• Fully Halal — Hand-Slaughtered
  The entire menu is halal. Every meat item is sourced from a supplier that uses hand slaughter (zabihah). No alcohol is served on the premises or used in cooking. A certificate from a recognized halal certification authority has been sighted. You can order anything on the menu without further confirmation.
• Fully Halal — Machine-Slaughtered
  Same as above, but the supplier uses machine slaughter. The entire kitchen is halal, no alcohol, certificate sighted. The distinction between hand and machine slaughter matters to some Muslims and not others — both are accepted by major Canadian certification bodies. We distinguish between them so you can make the call yourself.
• Halal Options
  One of the following is true: some menu items are halal and some aren't, or all the meat is halal but alcohol is served or used in cooking. At a Halal Options restaurant, you need to confirm which specific items are halal and whether they're prepared separately from non-halal items. Every Halal Options listing displays a “Confirm before ordering” disclaimer.
• Seafood / Vegetarian / Vegan
  The restaurant doesn't serve meat requiring halal slaughter certification. Seafood (fish, shrimp, crab, lobster) is considered halal by mainstream Islamic scholarship without slaughter certification. If cross-contact or alcohol-in-cooking is a concern, confirm with the restaurant.

How halal status is verified

Halal status is verified in person on every visit before a restaurant appears on the list. The verification standard, from strongest to weakest:

1. Certificate photographed, posted on the wall, issuing authority visible — strongest evidence
2. Certificate photographed, provided by management on request
3. Verbal confirmation from the owner, with named supplier
4. Verbal confirmation from staff, no supplier named — weakest accepted standard; noted as verbal-only on the listing

Community claims, Google listings, and unverified online reports are not used. If we haven't visited and confirmed it ourselves, it doesn't appear on the list.

The main Canadian halal certification bodies recognized on the Hit List are the Halal Monitoring Authority (HMA), the Halal Food Standards Alliance of America (HFSAA), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of Canada (IFANCC).

How a spot makes the list

1. It has to be halal — or have meaningful, verifiable halal options
2. It has to be visited in person — no second-hand reviews
3. It has to be ordered from, photographed, and scored honestly
4. The verdict drops on TikTok first, then gets a permanent home on the site

What we don't do

• We don't take payment for placement or for positive reviews
• We don't inflate scores to be diplomatic
• We don't copy reviews from other sites or publish unverified halal claims
• We don't rank places we haven't visited in person
• We don't guess at halal status — if it's unconfirmed, it's not on the list

Halal status is verified at the time of our visit. Menus, suppliers, and ownership change. Always confirm directly with the restaurant before you order.