Your Zomato rating directly determines your placement in search results and collections. Here's how to collect more reviews compliantly, manage your Zomato rating, and respond to reviews effectively from the Partner dashboard.
By Abhishek Gharat Last updated
When a user in your city searches Zomato for your cuisine, the results are sorted primarily by rating, relevance and recency. A restaurant with 50 reviews at 4.2 typically outranks a competitor with 200 reviews at 3.7. Zomato's algorithm weights recent reviews heavily, which means an older high rating can be displaced by a newer low one faster than you'd expect — and vice versa.
Zomato's collection system ('ProCollection') also uses your rating to decide which restaurants appear in curated lists like 'Best Biryani in [City]' or 'Top-Rated Café Near You'. These collection placements drive disproportionate discovery, especially for newer restaurants. A single collection placement can add 20–40% to your daily orders.
The QR should open a guided flow — not a blank Zomato page. Guided flows that ask what dish the customer ordered and what they'd tell a friend convert at 3–5x the rate of an unguided link. Saint Aura generates this QR automatically and opens the Zomato app directly on mobile.
A small card or sticker inside the packaging with a QR code is the only touchpoint you have with a delivery customer. Make it count: "Love the food? 30 seconds on Zomato helps us reach more people like you." Print 50 stickers at a time, keep the message warm and specific to your restaurant.
"If you enjoyed the meal, we'd love a review on Zomato — the QR is on the bill folder." Brief, genuine, and at the moment of peak satisfaction.
Set up email notifications from your Zomato Partner dashboard so you know as soon as a new review lands. Responding quickly — to positive and negative reviews alike — signals active management to Zomato's algorithm and to diners browsing your page.
Competitor attacks on Zomato typically come in bursts — 3–5 one-star reviews in 24 hours from new accounts. Flag them immediately through the Partner dashboard and escalate to Zomato support with evidence.
Zomato's algorithm and users both value reviews that contain specific details. The most impactful reviews name a specific dish, include a photo, and describe the experience with useful context about service, ambiance, or value. Encourage your customers to:
Saint Aura's guided prompts help customers write this kind of review naturally, without needing to be told exactly what to say.
On Zomato, negative reviews are visible to hundreds of users who are browsing your listing right now. Respond within hours if possible, not days. The format that works:
Never argue about whether the review is accurate. Future diners are deciding whether to order from you based on how you handle this moment — not who was right.
Zomato Pro (formerly Gold) members tend to write longer, more detailed reviews. Their reviews also carry more visibility within Zomato's app, particularly in the 'Trending Reviews' and 'Best Reviews' sections. The best way to get reviews from Zomato Pro members is to provide the kind of experience they specifically value: original dishes, standout service, something worth photographing.
Zomato calculates your overall rating as a weighted average of customer reviews, factoring in recency — newer reviews carry more weight than older ones. Your rating appears in search results, collections (like 'Top 10 Biryani in Mumbai'), and your restaurant's listing card. Moving from 3.8 to 4.1 can push you from the third page to the first for your area and cuisine type.
Yes. Zomato allows restaurants to invite diners and delivery customers to leave honest reviews. You should not offer discounts or free items in exchange for a review, and you should not ask only happy customers to review (review gating). A neutral request to all customers is acceptable and common practice.
Open your restaurant's Zomato page and copy the URL, then append '/reviews' to reach the reviews section (e.g. zomato.com/city/your-restaurant/reviews). In Saint Aura, paste this as your Zomato destination — the system will auto-detect your restaurant ID and create a deep link that opens the Zomato app directly on phones, while desktop users see the web reviews page.
Log in to your Zomato Partner dashboard at partner.zomato.com, navigate to the Reviews section, and click Reply on any review. Responses are public and visible to all users who view your listing. Zomato allows you to reply to both positive and negative reviews.
In your Zomato Partner dashboard, go to Reviews, find the review, and use the Report flag option. You can also contact Zomato support through the Partner portal. Zomato will investigate and remove reviews that violate their policies — fake reviews, reviews describing a competitor's restaurant, or abusive content. Negative reviews from real customers are not removable.
No. Buying reviews, offering incentives for positive reviews, or any form of review manipulation is a direct violation of Zomato's content policies. Zomato's algorithms detect suspicious activity, such as multiple reviews from the same IP address or a sudden spike in 5-star ratings from new accounts. Getting caught can lead to penalties, including the removal of reviews, a temporary suspension of your listing, or a permanent ban from the platform.
Most reviews on Zomato appear on your restaurant's page within a few minutes to a few hours. However, some reviews may be held for moderation if they are flagged by Zomato's automated systems for potential policy violations. This moderation process can take up to 72 hours. Your public reply to a review is also subject to a similar, though usually faster, moderation check.
Zomato Pro was a subscription program that replaced Zomato Gold. While the 'Pro' tag itself is being phased out in many regions, reviews from highly active and trusted users still carry significant weight with both the algorithm and other diners. These users often write more detailed reviews, which are valuable for your listing.
Review gating is the practice of selectively soliciting reviews only from customers who you know had a positive experience. This is against Zomato's policy. You must provide all customers with the same opportunity to leave a review. Systems like Saint Aura ensure compliance by presenting the review request neutrally to every customer who scans the QR code.
Your restaurant's position in Zomato search results is not random. It's determined by an algorithm that considers several key factors, with your review profile at the center. The main components are:
Maintaining a high rating is important, but using prohibited methods can result in severe penalties from Zomato, including the permanent removal of your listing. Adhere strictly to Zomato's content guidelines and avoid these practices:
Focus on earning genuine reviews through excellent service and a streamlined collection process. The long-term health of your Zomato listing depends on authenticity.
Saint Aura generates a Zomato-optimised QR code that opens the Zomato app directly on mobile, bypassing browser redirects, with guided prompts in Hindi, English, and 18 other languages. Customers answer three questions, receive an AI draft in their own language, and post it in under 90 seconds. Used by restaurants across India and the UAE.
