It’s too cold to venture outside for food. Here’s a guide for those of you looking for a way to get great food without leaving your bed. Each app’s user experience, delivery, and overall experience has been assessed on a scale of 1-10 for added convenience. A rating over 5 indicates exceptional service, higher ratings mean faster and more high quality user friendliness and delivery speed.
Seamless
Screenshot of Seamless App. Photo by Jean Vozella.
Seamless is a mobile service that allows restaurants in New York, San Francisco and D.C. to receive orders directly from the app. Upon entering your address into the app, you are given a list of restaurants that deliver in your area. The list can be filtered by style of cuisine, user rating and price for added convenience.
My favorite Seamless feature is the Food Tracker, which shows when your food is being made, when it leaves the restaurant and when it arrives. You can also receive text notifications from the Food Tracker so you don’t even have to open the app to keep tabs on your food. Seamless also keeps track of your past orders and saves dishes to your favorites so you can always go back and get your "usual.”
User experience of the app: 8/10
Delivery service: 9/10
Overall rating: 8/10
OrderAhead
Screenshot of OrderAhead App. Photo by Jean Vozella.
OrderAhead is a more unique food delivery app. Its ability to let you place an order hours in advance for pickup or delivery sets it apart from similar apps. So, if you know you want sushi for dinner, you can place your order in the morning to be delivered to your dorm, apartment or office later that night. OrderAhead has its own delivery people who will go to restaurants like Chipotle, Cava and Z Burger to order for you and then bring the food to your door. You can have lunch delivered from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner delivered 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
OrderAhead is convenient because it allows you to plan your lunch or dinner ahead of time and keeps you updated on where your food is via texts and phone calls.There are really only two drawbacks of the service. Since OrderAhead has its own delivery drivers there is an added delivery fee. Also, be sure to check how many miles away each restaurant is from your current location as there is chance food may arrive cold.
User experience of the app: 8/10
Delivery service: 5/10
Overall rating: 7/10
KlickOrder
Screenshot of KlickOrder App. Photo by Jean Vozella.
KlickOrder is a great way to order online with your friends. The app provides a list of restaurants that have delivery or pick up. The Split feature allows you to split the cost of an order with other KlickOrder users, so sharing your take out is easy. The app chooses to organize its menus by cuisine style so you can browse categories like Asian, Mediterranean, Indian, Hamburgers, Pizza and more.
The user experience of the app itself can be frustrating, as it occasionally glitches as you swipe through the menus and loading can be slow. KlickOrder is great for finding a wide variety of restaurants, however it is not the best for delivery. The app tends to list restaurants that are too far away to deliver or restaurants that have no online ordering, offering only a phone number instead.
User experience of the app: 5/10
Delivery service: 9/10
Overall rating: 6/10
GrubHub
Screenshot of GrubHub App. Photo by Jean Vozella.
GrubHub is probably the most well-known food delivery app available. Upon downloading the app, you are asked to create an account and from there it is easy to personalize the app to your preferences. You can enter your current location as well as any keywords to instantly find the right place. Since GrubHub is available in over 800 cities, you can use it on campus or at home. Each listed restaurant has a user rating (out of 5 stars) and the distance from your current location.
GrubHub lets you save eateries to your Favorites and tracks your past orders, which can be helpful when you are in a rush. The app's design is easier to navigate than most, with only three tabs: search, order tracking and Your GrubHub. Your Grubhub is probably the most useful feature as it can be used to keep track special offers, promotions and coupons for frequent users.
User experience of the app: 10/10
Delivery service: 9/10
Overall rating: 9/10
Eat24
Screenshot of Eat24 App. Photo by Jean Vozella.
Eat24 is the best app for finding the ideal item on the menu right from your phone. Although it can be used to find restaurants that have their own delivery service, Eat24 is best utilized as a tool for locating the most exciting restaurants in your area and browsing their menus without actually having to visit them. When you select a restaurant, you are brought to a menu that lists the available items with descriptions and even photos. Scroll down below the menu to find user ratings and reviews from Yelp so you can be sure about your choice.
Eat 24 is great for traveling, as it is available in over 1,500 cities. It is perfect for users that are looking for the best or newest restaurants in the area, because you can sort your list by newest or highest rated. Foodies and restaurant lovers will probably get the most from Eat24.
User experience of the app: 8/10
Delivery service: 6/10
Overall rating: 7/10
