Abigail Donnelly knows fine dining. As the editor of Eat Out, she has crafted a gastronomic path through South Africa's eateries — from Paternoster to Polokwane. She shares her eight golden rules to great eating out with us.

The eight golden rules:

1. Look out for seasonal produce

My biggest bug is seeing out of season fruit and vegetables on menus. It's inexcusable to serve asparagus from Chile in June. Eating seasonally enhances your life – when you taste food that's fresh and in season, you'll see how heavenly it can taste. It's a treat to be able to look forward to strawberries in summer, and not eat tasteless offerings throughout the year.

2. About fish and seafood

The sustainability of our resources is crucial for the future of eating out, and as a diner, you should be aware of this. Ask what fish is available, where did it come from and how is it caught.

SASSI (The Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative) provides an sms service so you can find out if the fish you're about to order is legal and sustainable — or not. Text the name of the fish to +27 79 499 8795 to find out if it's on the green, orange or red list. Or visit www.wwf.org.za for more information. And question the restaurant about it too — this is everyone's responsibility.

3. Taste and flavour

For me, the core of the entire eating out experience is taste and flavour, which is the emotional component of a dish. Great chefs love and look after their ingredients and make sure they are not ruined by the time they are on the plate.

Fresh, beautifully prepared food on a plate, is a labour of love. Be cautious whenever the menu description runs into two lines, diners shouldn't pay for experiments.

4. Support innovation

As food costs increase chefs are being creative with cheaper cuts of meat as we are seeing more and more offal dishes on menus. This is an exciting trend which I personally delight in. Think tasty, succullent meats that have been taken care with, to produce great flavour and texture. This is a time to become an adventurous diner, and support chefs creating interesting dishes.

5. Price of wine

Prices of wine should be appropriate to the type of restaurant that you are eating at. Think of how and where it's being stored, whether there's a sommelier and the size of the list, and if it's appropriate to the food on offer.

6. Good service is...

Good service is first of all about hospitality and a caring attitude, and then the service follows. The art of correcting a mistake without causing a fuss, is true good service. But at the same time, we need to learn to complain better, and to the right people. Simply not leaving a tip to a waitron when your food has been bad, does nothing to uplift the service industry. Voice your concern to the manager or owner, and allow them to rectify the problem.

7. Ambience is key

7. Ambience is key to a good restaurant experience. Not only the décor, but the lighting, the music and even the bathrooms all play a role in creating that special moment.

8. Get Streetsmart

Streetsmart is an organisation that restaurants can be affiliated to. It helps the restaurants and diners to help fund education, skills training and family programmes for street children. Your donation which is added to your bill goes directly goes directly to these already established initiatives. This is a hassle-free way that you can make a real difference.

Visit www.eatout.co.za for more.