There ’s no debating the fact that most everyone living in New York City is reliant on Seamless for at least a fourth of their hebdomadal meals ( or more ) , but the world ai n’t all temperateness and soup dumplings . In fact , despite all thepositive things about Seamless , there ’s plenty to kvetch about : long waits , occasional high minimum and delivery fees , ghost eating place , suspiciously eminent military rating for random sushi plaza you ca n’t Google ( ghost restaurants ? ) , and a lack of curation ( have you really ever ordered from one of the 900 jazz group pizza pie / bagel / kebab places ? Are those ghost eating house too ? ! ) .
Well , perhaps your Seamless day are behind you . Uber lately unveiled its standalone food legal transfer app , UberEATS , with avail currently available below 100th St in Manhattan . In a similar vein to other unseamed competitors like Caviar , UberEATS features a well - curated inclination of over 100 NYC restaurants ( some – though not all – of which are n’t uncommitted on Seamless ) , like Court Street Grocers , Noreetuh , Empellon al Pastor , and Egg Shop . you could pay with your Uber story , and ( like unseamed ) orderliness from places that are within your delivery zona . But does UberEATS have more go for it than its contender ? get ’s evaluate .
It’s faster
received saving time for Seamless is anywhere from 35 to 55 minutes , with Caviar and Postmates somewhere in the same realm . UberEATS is arguably the dissolute , pop the question as low as a 15 - 26 minute wait on some orders . There ’s also aninstant deliveryoption that call to get you intellectual nourishment in under 10 minutes from a list of daily specials from local restaurants ( this feature is presently only available between 14th St and 59th during the calendar week from 11am-2pm ) .
It’s cheaper… for now
Menu prices stay the same on UberEATS , but unlike some unlined marketer , there ’s no requirement to meet a minimum in club to place an order on UberEATS ( many on Seamless can be as high as $ 15 or $ 20 ) . And , whereas Caviar and Postmates charge a delivery fee on ALL orders , there ’s none of those on UberEATS either . So you could theoretically order a $ 3.25 carne asada taco from Otto ’s Tacos and call it a day – an option unrivaled by any other livery service out there .
A rep for Uber enjoin me this wo n’t last forever though , and there are only no minimums and no speech fees “ for a circumscribed clip . ” They ’ve insure that when the variety is made , the fee , which will be tacked onto all orders , will be low ( though no number was specified ) . One thing that wo n’t switch ? Like a unconstipated Uber , you do n’t have to tip .
There are no ghost restaurants
This really ca n’t be emphasized enough . While Seamless / GrubHub has made a concerted effort to remove these " bastard " restaurants ( a repp told me in January , " We made alteration as presently as the publication was brought to our care . Since then , we have get rid of the small fistful of restaurants that were in violation of our terms from our platforms " ) , it ’s still worth emphasizing that UberEATS is free of ghosts and full of some of the urban center ’s unspoiled eating place . But there ’s also arguably a downside to this high - floor of curation – you certainly wo n’t find any 24 - 60 minutes diner or late - night pizza home on here to gormandize your post - bar hunger .
But will it outshine the competition?
peradventure . But other than the speed and ( temporarily ) humiliated prices , UberEats is n’t offering that much more than its competitors . With the ability to get literally anything you want from anywhere via Postmates , it ’s hard to really argue that this app ( or any other ) offers a venue you ca n’t enjoin form on any other platform . So it ’s really just about maintain fee lowly and bringing fast .
One thing Seamless still really has going for it ? Reviews . Like Caviar and Postmates , UberEATS does n’t take into account user to review eatery ( though you could give a thumbs up or down rating on solid food items and the overall experience ) . Again , the tilt of restaurants on the app is pretty well - curated ( there are no combo pizza pie / bagel / kebab plaza here ) , but that does n’t mean people are n’t still curious what others have to say , in point , about that mac & cheese bagel ( I just want to order a friend about it , OK ? ! ) .
ratify up herefor our daily NYC e-mail and be the first to get all the solid food / drink / fun New York has to tender .
Jennifer Bui/Thrillist
