Karlsruhe - A German restaurant whose clientele decreased after a particularly bad review in the prestige French food guide, Gault-Millau, won a chapter yesterday in its legal battle against the critics. The German Federal Court ruled that publishers of such guides were accountable and must demand "particularly high standards" from food critics if their comments were "liable to endanger the existence" of a restaurant.
Described as "loser of the year" in the German edition of the guide, the restaurant in northern Isernhagen was criticised for dishing up "old scallops and over-aged shrimps". Its kitchen was said to be "nauseating".