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    Editorial Manifesto

    I run this guide on a few rules I don't bend. They keep my recommendations honest, they protect your trust, and they protect the places I choose to include.

    Old olive tree silhouette against a pale Cretan dawn sky
    An old olive tree against a pale dawn sky.

    No paid inclusion

    No business can pay to be listed. No sponsorship or commercial deal has any say in what appears in this guide. If a place is here, it's because I believe it belongs. When there is a commercial link, I say so, and it follows my judgment; it never creates it.

    No ratings

    I don't give scores, stars, or rankings. A number flattens a place into something it isn't, and a good taverna deserves better than a decimal point. A place is either worth your attention or it isn't in the guide.

    Selection based on evidence

    I only recommend a place firsthand after a visit I have documented. Public places and practical guides can also be included on the strength of research from official and primary sources. Either way, what a claim rests on has to be clear enough for you to check and solid enough to back up what I say.

    Removal without explanation

    I may take a place out of the guide at any time. I don't publish the reasons, and I don't notify the business. This isn't a directory. A place in the guide is earned, not owed.

    Slow updates by design

    This guide changes slowly. I don't chase trends, react to every new opening, or rush to write up a place before it has proven itself. Patience isn't a limitation here. It's how the work gets done.

    These rules aren't up for discussion. Everything else on this site is built on them, and they stay in place for as long as this guide exists.

    Editorial note

    This page sets out the rules I hold this guide to. For how the site is run and how I handle conflicts of interest, see Independence & Ethics.

    Written by Leo Novak.