BY THE PINK TARHA
When the coronavirus pandemic hit Saudi Arabia, one of the first hit sectors was the food and beverage industry; restaurants were ordered to close their dine-in facilities and were relegated to take-away and digital orders. Enter food delivery apps.
Food delivery applications became a trend overnight and they have changed the game for restaurants. They also changed the way we consumers eat. When we found ourselves with a fridge near empty but were afraid to go out, we turned to our phones and click away. Food is within the door in a matter of minutes, we eat, and we are left with no dishes to wash after.
It’s been months since we were required to work from home and from there, we’ve had experiences ordering in some of the Kingdom’s top food delivery services. Somewhere along the way, Uber Eats, one of our favorites and probably the most popular, quit their market in Saudi Arabia. Some apps emerged bringing all types of cuisines to our doorstep, and we’re still using them today.
JAHEZ
Jahez is a Saudi food delivery platform and one of our most used application because of the variety of restaurants it has in its list. We’ve discovered a lot of new restaurants – far and near – with this app. Ordering and tracking are easy and delivery is mostly on time. Payments are made via Apple Pay or credit cards. What we personally love about Jahez is that they tell us when the app is busy and can’t take new orders yet and notify us when they’re ready to take new orders. While their app is easy to use and navigate, it’s not easy to find certain dishes or restaurants if you’re not sure with the spelling.
HUNGER STATION
Hunger Station is not new to the food delivery app game. Developed in Alkhobar, Hunger Station is one of the Kingdom’s most known app. Its cheery yellow design is easy on the eyes and very memorable. Most popular restaurants, mainly fastfood, are available in the app. Apart from food, Hunger Stations also delivers groceries from grocery stores, bakeries, and pharmacies. They also have a unique feature in their app: Faza’a, a personal shopper that can do the buying for you.
THE CHEFZ
We downloaded The Chefz app when it was only available in Arabic version a few years ago. The app has since been updated in English and it is now known as the food delivery app that connects customers to the “top and elite” restaurants in the city. Its list of fine dining restaurants which includes Charcoza, Muuni’s, Yokari, Lusin, NOBU, and even hotel restaurants like La Brasserie of Al Faisaliah and Elements of Four Seasons is impressive. Tracking of order is available but sometimes, delivery needs some following up.
TO YOU
To You is an “all-in-one” platform that promises a seamless experience backed by strong logistics and cutting-edge technology. It’s no wonder it fast became a popular app in the Kingdom. It doesn’t only have restaurants, it also has different stores for pets, oud, flowers, and even fashion. Granted that these stores are not “open” all the time, it’s nice to know there are options to shop for them via an app. To You’s reach is immense and wherever a customer’s location is, they also have access to restaurants that are far from their location.
MRSOOL
This app has been very popular to the locals and it fast became one of the largest delivery platforms in the region. It can literally bring “anything from anywhere in the city”. The name Mrsool comes from the Arabic root word Rasl which means “to send”. Basically, you are sending someone on your behalf to get something whether that be from restaurants, hypermarkets, stores, etc. Mrsool’s app is different from other apps because it serves customers through a chat-based ordering experience which allows them to describe the exact service or product they need and couriers are given the option to bid with their price they see fit. It can be quite confusing at first but once you get the hang of it, you’ll never want to do these shopping errands yourself (esp in this hot weather).
Other food delivery apps you might want to check out:
Careem Now, Talabat, Walem, Ngwah, Wssel, Luqmety
Restaurant delivery through apps is not a trend that will go away any time soon. And while it’s making our life more convenient and easier in these challenging times, it also comes at a cost to our environment with the use of a lot of plastic and the waste of excess food. We’d also like for some sustainable and eco-friendly solutions from them. Hopefully they come up with those soon.
ABOUT THE PINK TARHA
Janelle Vales-Yasay and Reina Tejano-Berina are the power duo behind the successful multi-awarded blog “The Pink Tarha”, an online lifestyle guide in Saudi Arabia. They started their blog in 2009 and since then have inspired many people by showcasing the fun and interesting side of living in KSA. What started out as a hobby for the girls has gained so much positive attention and appreciation in the process winning them the Saudi Excellence in Tourism Award.
Facebook/Instagram: @thepinktarha
Website: www.thepinktarha.com
