Floating restaurant where divers catch your supper? It all sounds a little fishy "There are many businesses that have had grudge reviews listed on TripAdvisor, mostly from a rival," he said. Many of these are so blatant, any person doing a short check would see the obvious. The chances were better then average that Oscar's could have sailed on for months. It almost did. The restaurant was billed as one of the best places to eat in Britain. Situated on a restored "phantom class" fishing trawler moored on the quayside in Brixham, Devon, it was said to be run by a couple called Colette and Alfredo with food and décor reminiscent of El Bulli, the Spanish restaurant often named as the best in the world. In a series of reviews dating back three months customers raved about the wine menus, the romantic lighting and the beautiful harbour. One said a Michelin star was inevitable but noted that Colette and Alfredo were far too laid back to be star struck and that there was "enough real stardust floating all over this boat already." Another likened the food to "something bordering on sorcery," drooling over the new flavours and noting that even the children were amazed by its "molecular gastronomy tricks." Such was the popularity of Oscar's, that those who managed to book a table this side of autumn 2014 were said to have achieved the near impossible. However, the eagle-eyed might have picked up the hints that something was amiss. One entry said: "I am fortunate enough to live in Catalyuna, home to some of the best restaurants in the world. I have dined at both elBulli and El Celler de Can Roca. Is Oscar's as good? No not quite - but as has been mentioned already, there is an unbelievable quality about it. Another said that chef Colette "seemed to be in another orbit to the rest of us," adding: "Expect the unexpected." Its address was listed as New Quay Lane, Brixham, and shortly after the first reviews appeared online in May, locals reported seeing confused diners arrive in taxis trying to seek it out. Those who were fooled quickly posted warnings to others. One wrote: "I would urge anyone coming to Brixham not to take notice of the reviews attributed to this so-called floating restaurant Oscar's. The restaurant does not exist. But despite the growing list of posts pointing out that Oscar's was a figment of the imagination, its page went undetected until it was finally removed last week, having managed to climb to 29th place in a ratings list of 64 restaurants in the local area. TripAdvisor said it had a team of more than 100 fraud specialists who worked on maintaining the integrity of the site. A spokesman said: "With over 60 pieces of content coming in every minute, occasionally a review or business that does not meet TripAdvisor's guidelines may slip through the cracks, and in these rare cases, our members can report the material to us, helping maintain the high quality content of our site." Chris Emmins, co-founder of the online reputation management firm KwikChex, said the hoax cast doubt on the company's ability to spot fraudulent reviews. He said: "The listing featured over-the-top reviews for a fake business, but it went undetected for more than two months.