Click to order in
Click to order in
We tried out two portals which allow people from Bangalore to order online from restaurants of their choice.
Hungryzone.com
Hungryzone.com was launched two and half years ago in the year 2006 by Priyanka and Ritesh Kumar Dwivedi. The duo felt that restaurants in the city needed visibility—online visibility. “We picked up very slowly. It took time for people to get online and trust us with their food orders," says Priyanka.
Hungryzone lists reviews for at least 5,000 restaurants in 10 cities in India, but offers its delivery and booking services only in Bangalore, so far. They are planning to expand to three other metros in the next six months.
The good stuff
Hungryzone.com allows subscribers to order food from at least 500 restaurants in Bangalore. Apart from being a one-stop shop for takeaways, Hungryzone.com also reserves tables, sells restaurant gift vouchers and event tickets for the restaurants it is affiliated with. The website has restaurants and their menus listed along with reviews written by visitors.
Hungryzone sends the user a confirmation email or sms of the order or table booking followed by an estimated time for delivery. The service is free of cost and payments for delivery are made to the restaurant delivery man. Binita Thakkar, who works with a software company in Bangalore, has used the website’s services often. “I prefer making my order online, since the menu is right in front of me and I know what exactly my bill is going to be like."
The not-so-good
Restaurants without a takeaway service are not listed.
Menulog.in
Menulog.in has been in action in Bangalore for around eight months now, and is present in nine other countries across the world. In its India version, Menulog offers only takeaway services and is affiliated with around 100 restaurants across Bangalore. The website plans to expand to Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai in the first quarter of 2009 and is also considering table reservations as part of its services.
The good stuff
Menulog.in allows users to see updated restaurants menus and place their orders. The order is faxed to restaurants and users are sent an automated an email or sms update on the expected time of delivery. The usual time for delivery is around 45 minutes.
Menulog also helps corporate users get in touch with caterers and dabba (packed meals) services. “We reduce one hop in the process of ordering food, by making it just a click away. We have noticed that expatriates grab the services because everything is in writing and there is no miscommunication during telephone calls," says Shashank S.H., assistant manager, operations. The service is free of cost and payments are made to the delivery person of the restaurant.
The not-so-good
Menulog.in does not make restaurant table reservations. It also does not list restaurants with their delivery system.
Lounge Tags: Website review/Food/Restaurants/Menulog/Hungryzone/Lounge Review/Lounge Exclusive
Find more articles by: Pavitra Jayaraman
Caption:
1) Doorstep delivery
2) Hungryzone also reserves tables, sells restaurant gift vouchers and event tickets.
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