I. INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE The classification of restaurants occupies an uncertain position within the European legal order. While hotel stars are governed by detailed national rules and, in some cases, harmonized criteria, the assessment of restaurant quality remains largely outside the scope of public regulation. It is shaped instead by private and semi-private rating systems, such as gastronomic guides, and by voluntary labels promoted through public-private initiatives. At EU level there is no legislation that harmonizes restaurant categories or imposes uniform quality grades2. Instead, EU law defines the economic and regulatory conditions under which restaurants operate (covering hygiene, consumer information, unfair commercial practices, data protection, online intermediation and platform duties), while Member States retain discretion to structure their own administrative regimes and any non-mandatory quality schemes. Two clarifications will guide this analysis. First, by classification this article means either a public law taxonomy, that, in some legal systems, defines types of establishments (restaurant, cafeteria, bar, banquet hall, etc.) and the conditions for access and operation, or to a quality label signaling compliance with verifiable criteria that go beyond minimum legal requirements. Second, the discussion distinguishes binding regulations from standards and schemes that are voluntary or not imposed by statutes on all operators. II. THE EU LEGAL FRAMEWORK: HARD LAW BASELINES WITHOUT A RESTAURANT RATING TAXONOMY The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) guarantees the free movement of services and the freedom of establishment. Secondary law builds a horizontal baseline for service provision but does not prescribe sectorspecific quality levels in this respect. On this issue, three clusters are central. 1. Market access and supervision: The Services Directive 2006/123/EC3 constrains national authorization schemes and requirements that could hinder access to service activities. Any national classification 2 There are no EU instrument harmonizing restaurant quality grades akin to hotel stars; cfr. the Services Directive’s horizontal approach (Directive 2006/123/EC). 3 European Parliament and Council of the European Union. (2006, December 12). Directive 2006/123/EC on services in the internal market. Official Journal of the European Union, L 376, 36–68. 604 AFONSO RIBEIRO CAFÉ
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