Apps For Foodies: How To Find a Restaurant In Dubai

by Ashas Bukhari

Apps For Foodies: How To Find a Restaurant In Dubai

21 Mar 2024

Dining out can be a true pleasure, especially for those who appreciate Middle Eastern flavours. The UAE boasts an extensive selection of outstanding dining establishments that will tantalise your taste buds and fulfil your cravings. But with so many choices, it can be overwhelming to decide where to dine. Don't worry, we have prepared a brief list of user-friendly apps that can help you find the perfect dining spot.

Playbook

Playbook is a hidden gem that offers more than just dining recommendations. It's a lifestyle platform, granting users free access to a diverse range of F&B and hospitality deals. Powered by cutting-edge filtering systems fueled by data and intelligence, each search can be customised to fit the unique needs of every user, making it the ultimate hub for discovering events and venues.

Founded in 2022 by Joshua Ashley-Collins and Cem Kapancioglu, Playbook is a revolutionary app that serves as a one-stop destination for discovering events and venues. Whether you're looking for a new restaurant to try, a happy hour deal, or a fun event to attend, Playbook has got you covered.

One of the key features of Playbook is its state-of-the-art filtering system. This system is driven by data and intelligence, allowing users to easily tailor their search results to meet their specific needs. Looking for a fine dining experience? Use the filter to only show high-end restaurants. Want to save some money? Filter for promotions and discounts. With Playbook, finding exactly what you're looking for has never been easier.

But it's not just about convenience for consumers — Playbook also benefits the F&B and hospitality industry. By partnering with top establishments, Playbook helps these businesses reach a wider audience and attract new customers through their attractive offers and promotions.

Playbook is already making a splash in the UAE. This innovative app offers a diverse range of experiences in food, drink, fitness, and leisure. With an abundance of dining options to choose from, this author was particularly impressed by the Top Middle Eastern Eateries and Healthy Options sections.

But don't let the culinary offerings overshadow the other amazing features of Playbook. In the future, we will be covering its Sports & Fitness and Activities & Leisure segments as well. However, there is no need to wait for our review — download Playbook now and discover its wonders for yourself!

Trust us, you won't be disappointed.

OpenTable

OpenTable is an exceptional app with a vast array of choices for every taste. Its slogan, "dine like a local," immediately captures the attention and promises an authentic selection of dining options. The app itself lives up to this promise, boasting a sleek and user-friendly interface that allows you to easily navigate through its collection of budget-friendly and high-end restaurants. Categories such as family-friendly locations, current availability, outdoor seating, and recently added options make it even easier to find your perfect dining spot.

But for those with an adventurous palate, the "get inspired" section offers monthly specials for unique dining experiences. Cuisine categories span from Italian and Indian to Japanese and Turkish, although Middle Eastern cuisine seems to be missing. This does contradict the app's claim of allowing users to dine like a local, as true locals would have easy access to their own cuisine. This is the only downside in an otherwise excellent app.

Reserving a table is effortless; simply select your party size, preferred time, and location. The list of available restaurants will update accordingly, and there always seems to be something for everyone. Options for takeaway and delivery are also available, with the added feature of receiving email notifications when a restaurant becomes available for delivery.

For both dine-in and takeaway options, each restaurant listing includes a menu, location information, minimum order amount (for deliveries), availability, prices, and reviews. With over 10 million downloads and a 4.5 rating on the Play Store, you can trust that there are plenty of genuine reviews for each establishment.

And with Ramadan currently underway, OpenTable offers a selection of iftar specials as well. Overall, this app is truly amazing and is sure to delight any food lover.

Eat

Despite boasting over 100k downloads and an international clientele, Eat has a rating of only 3.6 on the Play Store. And yes, there are some issues. Very slight, though — mostly about design: like a barely visible x in the top left corner of the mandatory sign-in screen.

However, if you overlook these design flaws, you will find some useful features on the home screen. A wide selection of restaurants is conveniently labelled as "verified open," making it easy to find somewhere to eat right now. You can also sort restaurants by popularity or proximity, and making a reservation is a simple process once you choose your number of guests and desired date and time. Just make sure to read the reservation notice at the bottom of the page — another feature hindered by poor design elements.

Additionally, the map view allows for easy navigation to verified open restaurants, and the filter section lets you narrow down your options by cuisine, neighbourhood, and price. Plus, the "restaurants with deals" filter is a great way to score discounts at local favourites.

Restaurant Guru

For food enthusiasts, Restaurant Guru is another app that is almost a must-have. Almost, because there are a few things holding it back. But with its clean and user-friendly interface, finding the perfect dining spot is a breeze — simply enter your location and browse through a vast selection of cuisines. Say goodbye to endless scrolling and hello to delicious options at your fingertips.

What sets this app apart from the others is that it offers more than just a collection of restaurants to choose from. You get intuitive options like five Emirati dishes to try or the most popular type of Ramen in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Another particularly delightful option is Restaurant Guru's list of the world’s fifty best restaurants.

Tourists and globe trotters alike will surely reap the rewards of this discovery. The only drawback is that these top-rated restaurants may not be accessible in your area. For instance, during a search for dining options in Dubai, this I have met with an unfortunate error screen.

The “Best Restaurants” option, thankfully, had no problems loading a list of Dubai’s finest eateries, with all the reviews attached. Once you look for a restaurant, however, the UI seems a bit busy. This could just be down to personal preference, but it has a look of being all over the place. Functionality-wise, however, it works perfectly. You will find everything you need, from menus to directions, booking options, features, and prices.

However, the most exciting feature of this app is yet to come. When you click on the hamburger menu, you can peruse dishes based on your cravings! This way, if you are hankering for a specific food, you can easily find the best restaurant that serves it and make a reservation there.

In addition to this, Restaurant Guru has its own Restaurant Guide! By default, the guide is set to highlight international locations, but once you choose a specific location, like Abu Dhabi in this case, you get… (drumroll), another error page. Hope it will be fixed soon.

Overall, it is the small failings like these that prevent this app from being an absolute hit. We can only hope that they will fix these issues in time, because there is a lot of potential here. With 100K downloads, it seems that many people share this opinion. However, the app has absolutely zero reviews on Play Store at the time of writing. Why? That is interesting.

by Ashas Bukhari