Restaurants pumping out hundreds of meals without tables, chairs or waiters are a new development in the future of food.

So-called 'dark kitchens' are creating meals exclusively for the booming online delivery market.

One is operating off a laneway in inner-city Melbourne. It houses six restaurants, an ice-cream parlour and a bottle shop — in a space less than half the size of a tennis court.

Two of the restaurants have their home base in Footscray, across town. Two more normally exist in the nearby suburb of Richmond, just a few kilometres away.

The final two are virtual: they only exist through an app.

Levi Aron, the general manager of Deliveroo Australia, said data told exactly what customers wanted. The delivery company is now matching demand with supply.

"We're building kitchens around Australia, around the globe," he said.

"[We] use our data to find where those gaps are — whether that's a cuisine gap, a pricing gap — get a property and build kitchens fit for delivery."

Levi Aron says Deliveroo wants people to use the app three times a day. ( ABC News: Daniel Ziffer )

Powered by apps on smartphones, delivery services racked up $1.5 billion worth of orders in Australian last year.

That appetite is set to more than double to $4.2 billion by 2025, according to a report from Morgan Stanley.

The kitchens are streamlined for delivery. The menus are shorter than the dine-in restaurant up the road, the food and containers are optimised so that menu items travel better.

The restaurants pay for staff and produce, but the space is provided for free by the app.

Deliveroo then takes a higher percentage of the meal costs — potentially up to 35 per cent. Normally it's between 20 and 30 per cent.

Restaurants 'getting burned' by online delivery apps

More of these kitchens are being built in capital cities by Deliveroo and restaurant conglomerates like George Calombaris' Made Establishment Group.

Others can be found in the backyards or next-door neighbours of established restaurants.

Deliveroo uses customer data to capitalise on gaps in the take-away food market. ( ABC News: Daniel Ziffer )

But the development has exposed some of the tensions between restaurants and the apps.

Hospitality expert Wendy Hargreaves of FiveOfTheBest.com said the extra revenue on offer was a huge drawcard for restauranteurs trying to increase turnover.

"But I've seen a lot of restaurants get burned by online apps," she said.

"They all jumped on thinking it was a great new revenue stream but … didn't consider the massive costs of bringing staff in, technology and the pure space to deal with all these extra orders."

The sentiment is echoed by restaurateurs. They said the delivery apps promised to help increase business during quiet periods, but simply added to pressure at times of peak demand.

Caleb Griffiths, business manager of fish restaurant Richmond Oysters has cut ties with one of the app groups, and is cautious about his relationship with another.

When the delivery does not arrive, is late, or mangles the food, it is the restaurant, not the app, which wears the damage to their reputations.

"There's been plenty of times where I've personally driven, or, if I've not been here I've authorised staff to get in a taxi to make sure the customer gets their food," he added.

"Or, ironically, get in an Uber."

Meanwhile, cashed-up success stories are remodelling kitchens and building separate exits and entrances to avoid interrupting the flow of their own orders.

"It's ridiculous money that didn't exist just a few years ago … But you have to spend money to make money," Ms Hargreaves said.

Delivery companies dining out on data

Deliveroo's ambition, according to Mr Aron, is clear: for people to eat with them three times a day.

"People — when they're thinking of food — instead of reaching for the pantry or going down to the supermarket, they might think of getting great food with [us]," he said.

Companies like Uber Eats and Deliveroo are changing the way people eat. ( Reuters: Neil Hall )

To do that, they are using the reams of data they harvest on what people want, when, where, and what they are willing to pay.

The restaurants in this initial experiment, for example, cover cuisines that are not saturated in the nearby area.

The Deliveroo boss said the data exchange was not one-way, and that restaurateurs benefit from knowing more about their customers.

"That data encapsulates what we do. It helps restaurants go to the next level," he said.

Overseas, some restaurant brands have jumped country borders and opened internationally using the new model. Something Mr Aron hoped would happen with an Australian favourite one day.

For Ms Hargreaves, the apps have taught diners a new way to eat. And there is no turning back.

"There's a whole generation of young diners who think that's how you should eat, so it means the industry has to move with it," she said.

"If they don't they can stay their little local restaurant and do very well — if they choose to ride the wave, then they're going to have to really deliver."