How to find food or restaurants near me?

Whether we like it or not, everyone has got to eat food at one point or another during their travels. It may often be a huge hassle to find a place to eat where the food looks actually appetizing and where it doesn’t look as though it could kill you. But at other times, your search for suitable restaurants or food nearby may become the best part of the trip. It may allow you to try the local delicacies and to experience flavors that you never knew existed.

But when you first arrive in a new country or in a new city, how do you figure out exactly where to go to eat? How will you be able to separate the hidden gems from the overpriced tourist hotspots? What are you going to do when you get a sudden craving for delicious Chinese food in the middle of Mexico City? There is nothing worse than being stranded in an unfamiliar place, hungry and without a clue as to where you might grab a bite to eat.

The Solution to Your Food Problems

But fear not. We have a solution for you. We have compiled a food resources list for travelers. Our list is comprised of the seven best websites as well as applications for your smartphone. You may be planning a trip all the way on the opposite side of the world. Or, you may be planning just a simple and quick trip to a neighboring city. No matter where you might be planning to go, this list of curated websites and apps will prepare you for your trip.

So any time you find yourself asking the questions, “where can I find the best food near me?” or “what are the best priced restaurants near me?,” look no further than our list of these websites and apps. They will supply you with the answers you are looking for and show you the best food nearby.

What the Resources on This List Do

Some of the websites and apps on our list will allow you see which restaurants are available. They also can be used as tools for booking tables at those restaurants. You will be able to find thousands of reviews for a wide range of eating establishments on these apps. They include places to eat such as cafes, bars, takeout food, and luxury dining experiences. The reviews cover everything from the restaurant decor to the quality of desserts.

How Did We Choose the Resources on this List?

We compiled this list by taking into account a wide variety of factors. We highlighted the characteristics that made each resource stand out from the rest. At the end of each review, we provide you with a list of the pros and cons. This comes in the form of a set of bullet points that is easy and quick to read and understand. This allows you to scan over the bullet points in a quick way to get a sense of what to expect from each food resource.

As we were reviewing each of the platforms, we considered a number of different features.

Proper Filters

One of the first features that was considered was what kind of search tools were available on the app or site. When you are using the resource to search for places to eat, you should be able to filter your results. This will allow you to narrow down the list of possible places to eat to find the place that matches what you desire. The filters we looked for included budget, type of cuisine, and dietary requirements. Another essential filter was the opening hours of each eatery, so that you can find a place open at the time you want. We also checked for a filter of the different meal types they provide. This will allow you to know if the eatery serves breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, or dessert.

The resources we included on our list have most or all of these important filters. Thus, you can use any of these resources to find the place to eat that best matches your preferences. For instance, if all you want to eat is a cake and some coffee, a list of dozens of Thai restaurants will not help you at all. You may be hungry and in a rush, and you may not have time to scroll through a bunch of irrelevant results. A good selection of filtering options will solve this problem for you. This will allow you to pinpoint exactly what kind of food and experience you are searching for. Proper filters will make for a much more comprehensive food resource for travelers. With regards to this filtering feature, TripAdvisor and Foursquare come out on top.

Reviews

In assessing each platform, we also took its review system into consideration. User based reviews have made the word of guidebooks, newspapers and magazines a thing of the past. The arrival and popularity of customer reviews gives people like you significant power. With a few short sentences, customers can influence an establishment’s success (or failure). Most of these review systems also allow users to upload their own photos to go with their reviews of the eatery. This allows users to compare the customer photos to the restaurant’s own photographs.

But as we were testing review systems, we had to think about another aspect of this feature. This was the legitimacy of the reviews themselves. For example, in the past, TripAdvisor has been criticized for not checking the reviews. The most famous instance of this was about a restaurant in Dulwich. This establishment did not actually exist. But in spite of this fact, it somehow became the number one rated restaurant in London on TripAdvisor. Other resources such as OpenTable and ResDiary have found a way to make sure that reviews are reliable and legitimate. On these services, users must first book a table at the restaurant through the service. Only then is a user allowed to leave a comment or review on the platform for that restaurant. This ensures more reliable reviews from people who have actually visited the restaurant.

Making Reservations

This leads into the next feature we considered for each resource on our list. This was the ability to book or reserve tables through the platform directly.

No longer do you have to be able to speak Spanish to secure a place at a busy tapas restaurant. Nor do you need to walk halfway across town the day before to save yourself a spot at that new Italian pizzeria. The online table booking feature allows you to quickly view the restaurant availability. Then you can select a time slot and make a reservation for your party right on the app or on the website. This is an innovative system which still appears to be in its early and formative stages. This is because restaurant owners want to hang onto traditional methods of reservations. Thus, the selection of establishments available on apps such as ResDiary are limited. There are only 9,000 places to choose from on this platform. So in spite of their more reliable verified user reviews, these apps do not have such a large selection of food. (TripAdvisor has a much broader range of selections when it comes to choosing where to eat.) Having said that, these reservation apps are still a fantastic free travelers’ tool. They are especially useful when, as was mentioned, a language barrier or the distance is an obstacle to getting a table at a great restaurant.

Rewards Programs

Rewards schemes are almost always considered a bonus when assessing any service. A rewards program is beneficial whether it is for hotels, flights, or food resources. Such programs offer perks to the loyal customers of a certain platform. For instance, the users are able to collect rewards points with each booking on the platform. They can then exchange those rewards points for free items. These programs were no doubt created as an incentive to keep people using the platforms. The more users a platform has, the more money it makes. But regardless of why they were created, the rewards programs are beneficial to the users. There are generally no downsides for the customers themselves. In most cases, the customers are getting something for nothing. They earn free items and rewards without having to pay for a membership, etcetera.

OpenTable’s Rewards Program, for example, allows customers to collect points on bookings. Some bookings offer more points than others. These can in turn be redeemed for Amazon vouchers. The points can also be used to get discounts on associated restaurants. TheFork’s program, meanwhile, allows users to gain ‘Yums’ when booking for partner establishments. 1000 Yums equals 10 USD off the total cost of a meal at a partner establishment. This separates these platforms from traditional booking methods, which don’t include rewards schemes. Thus, these rewards programs were considered a significant factor when assessing each site.

Blogs and Web Presence

As well as user interface and functionality, the presence of a blog was also taken into account as factor. For example, ResDiary includes on its service a very informative blog. The ResDiary blog features a variety of articles on different restaurants. Each blog article also features high quality photos of the restaurant property. The blog article also includes a link to make a reservation for a table via the relevant website. These articles are submitted by various writers who have been to the restaurants. This qualifies them to provide authentic and inspiring suggestions for where to go to grab a bite to eat. The detailed reviews include factors such as the value you get for the money you pay at the restaurant. They also cover matters such as the quality of ingredients in the food and the dish presentation. The blog articles even include descriptions of the restaurant decor and the ambience. These articles offer a good source of independent guides for a variety of eateries.

Conclusion

Figuring out where to eat is an essential and often time consuming aspect of any traveler’s plans. Thus, you should never overlook the importance of having the right resources to do so. You could have planned out all your transport and itineraries to the nth degree. You might have even secured lovely accommodation. But if you find yourself in a strange place with an empty stomach, all your preparation could be in vain. You won’t be able to enjoy your trip fully unless you are able to find the best food nearby.

For this reason, we have researched and now present to you our list of the best food resources for travel. Our list of food platforms is is an essential tool for anyone planning a trip away from home. These platforms are the best for reading reviews and finding the best restaurants. Some platforms can also be used for booking tables and earning rewards for free items. Some platforms also have blog articles with more detailed and thorough reviews. The platforms can also be used for viewing customer photos, so you can see what the food actually looks like.

If you enjoy eating good food and trying the best of the local cuisine, this list is for you. If you want an authentic experience and to avoid getting ripped off by the tourist hotspots, use our list. We have carefully vetted each site and smartphone application with a detailed eye. This has been done to make sure that we have put on the list only the very best out of the many platforms available. We have taken into account all the factors mentioned above. Thus, you can be assured that our list is the definitive food related travel resource.

We hope that with this list, the hassle of finding a place to eat while traveling will be eliminated. We have tried to make it as easy as possible for you to find the perfect restaurant. Happy travels and happy eating!