Zomato to discontinue UAE ordering service from November 24

UAE: From November 24, 2022, Zomato UAE’s food ordering app will no longer be used to place orders. Users will automatically be redirected to the Talabat app.

The website will reportedly still display menus, opening hours and user reviews, but has in recent weeks not been accepting any delivery orders.

While the Zomato delivery service is coming to an end, the brand is launching a new ‘discovery platform’ called ‘Vibe Check’, which allows restaurants to post engaging updates and videos for users to browse.

“We are redefining the way our customers experience dining out through the launch of a new feature called ‘Vibe Check’ along with ‘Zomato Pay’ which will further enhance the value for our customers as well as restaurant partners,” the email said.

Zomato Pay will reportedly replace the food ordering application in the UAE, giving users the chance to pay via the application in participating restaurants.

As of now, users can still purchase a Zomato Pro membership on the website.

For all those gutted about losing Zomato, here are 10 alternative delivery apps to use instead.

1. Deliveroo
2. Careem Food
3. Locale
4. ChatFood
5. NoonFood
6. UberEats
7. Talabat
8. FoodPanda
9. Carriage
10. EatEasy

About Zomato

Zomato is an Indian multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah in 2008. Zomato provides information, menus and user-reviews of restaurants as well as food delivery options from partner restaurants in select cities. Zomato UAE service closure Zomato UAE service closure

In 2011, it expanded across India to Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. In 2012, it expanded operations internationally in several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Qatar, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, and South Africa. In 2013, expanded to New Zealand, Turkey, Brazil and Indonesia, with websites and apps available in Turkish, Portuguese, Indonesian and English languages. In April 2014, it launched in Portugal, which was followed by launches in Canada, Lebanon and Ireland in 2015.

In January 2015, Zomato acquired Seattle-based restaurant discovery portal Urbanspoon, which led to the firm’s entry into the United States and Australia. This U.S.-expansion brought Zomato into direct competition with similar models such as Yelp and Foursquare. In an effort to expand its business beyond restaurant listing, Zomato piloted an online payments facility in partnered restaurants in Dubai called Zomato Cashless in February 2015. This was discontinued a few months later.