Zomato gets a major refresh; brings social to restaurant recommendations

Zomato is a popular restaurant finder Windows Phone app that gives you recommendations for restaurants in your area and lets you look at menus, pictures, contact info, and directions. The app allows you to check ratings and reviews of restaurants which you can search for by location, cuisine, or name.

Zomato is currently available in 41 cities across the United Kingdom, India, Brazil, the UAE, New Zealand, South Africa, Indonesia, Turkey, Portugal, the Philippines, Qatar, and Sri Lanka.

Zomato was recently updated to version 5 and has a completely refreshed design which, as the change log suggests, is the ‘most delicious Zomato experience yet’. Apart from the new neat and fluid user experience and significant performance improvements, the app redesign is part of an overall change as Zomato is rebuilt from scratch across the board.

The company claims that the restaurant search is now faster-than-ever. You can add your favorite restaurants to Speed Dial for an easy-reference list, build a Wish List of places you want to visit, and keep track of where you've been using the 'Been There' list. The latest update makes searching for a place to eat easier than before. The erstwhile search bar now packs a lot of intelligence behind the scenes. As you start typing what you want – whether it’s a restaurant, a cuisine, or a particular dish – you’ll find the suggestions rolling in.

The latest refresh makes Zomoto a more social platform, and introduces the all-new Food Feed, a social timeline of sorts for foodies. You can see reviews, pictures, and recommendations from folks you choose to follow. You can also show your gastronomic activity by uploading pictures on the move and add reviews for places you’ve been to.

Also, Zomato broadly, and not just with the app, is now a login-only product. Zomato claims that this helps them to know the user better and save their preferences to make sure they serve them what the user would like to see.

The app can be downloaded for free on Windows Phone 7.x and Windows Phone 8 devices from the Windows Phone Store. You can also download the app for your Windows 8 devices from the Windows Store. If you eat out or order in often, download the app, and pin it to your Start screen. I’m in the ‘live to eat’ side of the fence, and would highly recommend the app.

QR: Zomato

Abhishek Baxi