For those who eat

The most selfless love in one’s life is the love for food. Zomato harnesses this very sentiment to provide a platform that takes this love to new levels. It does so with panache and passion. Over the years, Zomato has evolved from being an aggregator of eating places to raising food to a social experience. It’s urban, it’s cool, it’s happening and now it’s becoming a part of colloquial vocabulary.

Zomato provides a crisp, intuitive and engaging experience, be it on the mobiles, or the web. Here are the things that I absolutely love about it –

God Lies in (beautifully presented) Details

Zomato tells me everything that I would ever want to know, and more. When is a place open? What is its specialty? The Menu? How much can it cost? Everything under the sun is right there. And wait, there’s more. Where can I find Tiramasu in DLF Phase II? Where are the Happy hours in Saket? Which metro station should I get down on to reach there?

What more? The information is presented in an amazing manner. It’s organized well (apart from the rating being placed a little too far away from the restaurant title) and it gives a no-nonsense access to all the information one can possibly ask for.

The Human Touch Taste

Zomato is not just about food, it’s also about people who love food (food alone doesn’t stand a chance anyway). I can follow the most credible reviewers, or people whose taste matches with mine, have discussions over a restaurant/review, delve deep in a restaurant’s anatomy by reading reviews before spending a fortune on my birthday party, and such.

The Foodie Network that’s build around Zomato is simply awesome.

On the Go!

What would a discovery be, if it’s done from the comforts of one’s home? Zomato’s pretty amazing mobile apps are a gateway to explore the unknown realms of the eating world. It shows restaurants around me, lets me find the one based on my need of the hour, and it recommends me one with a shake of wrist.

The apps are an integral part of Zomato’s experience. While the mobile versions have their limitations, they don’t lack a bit in doing what Zomato does best – find one the taste that one is craving for.

Overall, Zomato provides a great experience but it would be a lie if I would say that I find it fulfilling in every aspect of the word. And given how it has pampered its users, it’s only fair that I get greedy in wishing for things on Zomato.

Bring on the events!

Events, by far, have been the most underplayed (neglected?) feature of Zomato. It’s difficult to stumble upon one, even when the tab is right there on the restaurant page (if it ever is).

I would love to see “intelligent events” on the homepage. Here’s a concept –

- Show us featured events based on the day of the week it is – Karaoke night, Ladies night, Game night, Sunday Brunch etc. Seeing a tempting offer will certainly entice people to such places.

- Show us festival based cuisines offers – Couple dinners during valentine’s week, Beer places during Oktoberfest, Biryani festivals during Eid week, Navratri thali places during Navratris…

- When on the move, just like the app shows nearby featured restaurants, it should also show featured events around.

Good for what?

Every restaurant has a theme, a feel and ambiance that it plays upon to target like customers. I would love to know what occasion a restaurant is good for (whenever applicable), and for a given particular occasion which restaurant should I head to.

Consider having #hashtag cloud for, lets say, date night, candlelight dinner, boys/girls night out, family dinner, corporate luncheon, breakfast places and such. This could be the mood-specific categorization, which as I user, I see has potential.

Trend in style!

Every restaurant has a popularity index associated with it, but it’s barely visible. It’s good to see trending restaurants on the home page (a list that quite repetitive because being trending on the main page keeps them trending), but rest of the places, even when quite popular, don’t make the cut.

Along with the rating, a hot-meter can be put up on the restaurant page (something like moviemeter on IMDB) which is an indication of how happening the place has recently been. Zomato should show at least a few pages of trending restaurants, first 25, next 25 and so on, to find other hot places in the city. It should let me filter those out which are not in my “been there” list.

Also, there can be a cuisine specific trending listing too. I personally can never get tired of eating Italian, and this would certainly help me discover more places around serving that particular cuisine.

Zomato, by and large, provides an unmatched experience, way ahead of many others in the same vertical. It has evolved, improved and has continued to keep this experience focused and friendly. As a concept and as a brand, I cannot help but love Zomato more every day.

Long live the love for food. Long live Zomato - for those who (love to) eat!