Uber Eats, Minibar and more food and alcohol delivery apps you should know about
The Grilled Cheese Noodles with a tomato pork broth, blistered tomato, toasted gouda, garlic butter croutons and scallions, served at MB Ramen in Huntington. Credit: Daniel Brennan
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With dining out no longer an option amid the coronavirus outbreak, more and more people — and restaurants — are depending on food delivery apps for breakfast, lunch, dinner or maybe even just for a midday pick me up (ice cream, anyone?). Plus, every now and again it's nice to not have to cook and clean up.
Many of these apps have responded to COVID-19 in various ways — by offering contactless deliveries, waiving delivery fees and hiring more workers to keep up with demand.
All 10 apps below are free to sign up for and can be accessed via their websites, too. Keep in mind some delivery turnaround times are higher than usual and restaurant selections will vary depending on the app and location.
You didn’t think Uber was going to stop at passengers, did you?
Good for: All major cuisines from local restaurants and chains, breakfast and brunch, healthy eats, kosher and delis. Participating restaurants include Las Vinas in Mineola, One10 in Melville and Post Office Cafe in Babylon.
How it works: Browse by scrolling its feed for dinner deals, restaurants that are delivering at no cost, popular local eateries and more, or by using several different tools like price range, dietary restrictions or by what people are saying.
Fees and tip: Uber Eats charges a 15% service fee based on your order's subtotal, plus delivery which is set by the restaurant. The tip for the driver is determined by customer.
Good to know: Uber released a new phone-based service for seniors; by calling 1-833-USE-UBER, a live representative will be able to assist with a food order (a phone with texting capabilities is needed to receive a confirmation code and delivery updates). The service is available daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Additionally, Uber riders can link their account to their Uber Eats account. Customers get one point per dollar spent on Uber Eats for future fare and rides.
Grubhub and its subsidiary, Seamless, give customers options beyond pizza and Chinese food. Type in your address and you'll see a whole world of food delivery becomes available right at your fingertips.
Good for: All major cuisines from local restaurants and chains, vegan, vegetarian, desserts, smoothies and juices. On Long Island, options include chains such as Chick-fil-A, crowd-pleasers, like Suburban Eats in Melville and niche eateries such as MB Ramen in Huntington.
How it works: Type in your address and search for nearby restaurants or browse by cuisine that both deliver and/or are nearby for pickup. Once you place your order, you can track it, too.
Fees and tip: Service and delivery fees vary by order and gratuity is not included. For example, an order to Melville from Shah's Halal Food in Lindenhurst that included a chicken over rice platter, French fries and Snapple cost $26.99 ($13.98 for food and drink; $5.99 for delivery, 73-cent service fee and $1.79 taxes. A 20% tip added $4.50).
Good to know: Both services offer coupons and special deals and reviews.
Remember the days when you couldn’t get McDonalds delivered, or any chain food for that matter? DoorDash helped put that to rest more than six years ago with its app that allows consumers to choose from thousands of restaurants that are ready to deliver whenever you’re ready to accept.
Good for: Local restaurants and chains, fast food, healthy eats, desserts, breakfast. Long Island options include Pastrami King in Merrick, Bareburger and Farm Country Kitchen in Riverhead.
How it works: The app can be a bit overwhelming at first considering a plethora of options — you can choose by cuisine, star rating, delivery time, pickup options and price point. Keep scrolling and you'll see recommendations based on “fastest near you” and “trending near you.”
Fees and tip: Service and delivery fees vary by restaurant. A Chick-fil-A meal and drink order to Melville from Farmingdale costs $2.99 for delivery plus $1.80 service fee and tip for the driver.
Good to know: There’s an option for group ordering. DoorDash also offers a subscription service where for $9.99/month, you can order form eligible restaurants with free delivery on orders more than $15.
Curb that chocolate cake craving by skipping the line at your favorite bakery and ordering online — and do the same for pretty much any meal, any time of day.
Good for: Bakeries, coffee shops, juice shops, vegetarian, fast food — be that Shake Shack, Tocolo Cantina in Garden City or Jewel in Melville.
How it works: Postmates is one of the easier-to-navigate-apps. Upon opening, Postmates’ feed suggests its daily deals, favorites, restaurants offering free delivery and more. Each entry offers insight on delivery fees and times and coupon codes per restaurant, too.
Fees and tip: Service: percentage-based fee that varies based on restaurant and order; delivery is 99 cents —$3.99 for partner merchants and $5.99 —$9.99 for all other merchants; gratuity is determined by customer.
Good to know: For $9.99/month, or $99/year, subscribers get free delivery on all orders over $12.
ChowNow's core business is providing online ordering system for restaurants, but it also doubles as a delivery food service to consumers, too.
Good for: All major cuisines, gluten free, vegetarian, kosher, fast food, diners — its Long Island options include Lucharitos in Riverhead, Brasa Rodizio in Mineola and Food for Thought in Garden City.
How it works: Enter your location and choose from a variety of restaurants. Without leaving the auto-populated screen, customers can see what restaurants are currently open and closed, what cuisines are offered, which locations offer pickup and/or delivery, and how far a restaurant is from you.
Fees and tip: Service and delivery fees are determined by each restaurant. Patrizia's in Massapequa, for example, charges $3 delivery to Melville for a full meal including baked clams, salad and a Margherita pizza. When a customer tips on a delivery order, it goes to the delivery driver. When a customer tips on a pickup order, it goes to the restaurant and its staff.
Good to know: You can search by scrolling its feed or switching to a map view.
Delivery.com has been juggling dinner and other household tasks — like sending your clothes to the laundromat — for 16 years.
Good for: Food and alcohol (and laundry pickup and drop-off, too.) Local restaurants include Hurricane Grill and Wings, Salvatore’s in Elmont and Bosphorus Cafe in Port Washington.
How it works: In the app's food section, customers can search for whatever they’re in the mood for by browsing cuisines — for ASAP delivery or a future day and time. Same goes for alcohol.
Fees and tip: Service and delivery fees are determined by each restaurant or small business. You'll need to add your own tip. For example a roughly $30 food order from King Gino’s Pizza and Pasta in Huntington Station recently offered free delivery to Melville and no service charge, either.
Good to know: Delivery.com is one of the few apps that offers cash payment upon delivery. It also provides pickup options, and rewards — each dollar spent accumulates rewards, whether it be app credit, electronics or charity donations (RED, Rise Against Hunger, City Harvest).
At-home delivery service of your favorite beer, wine and spirits in under 60 minutes sounds very of-the-moment — Drizly offers that through more than 50 liquor delivery partners on Long Island.
Good for: Beer, wine and spirits from the likes of Park Place Wine & Liquors in East Hampton to Bottles and Cases in Huntington.
How it works: Choose from wine, beer or liquor; the app then itemizes each category, making it easier to pinpoint what you’re looking for. For example, under liquor, you can then select from whiskey, vodka, tequila, brandy, rum or gin. On top of that, you can also scan a bar code to find the best local price.
Fees and tip: Delivery fees average around $5 and go to retailer; gratuity for the driver is determined by the customer.
Good to know: Stock includes bar mixers, bitters and juices, plus ice, energy drinks, miscellaneous party supplies, snacks, and fruit and garnishes. Gifting options are available.
Well, what’d you expect from an app called Minibar? Although many of us are just becoming accustomed to the whole booze to-go thing, apps such as this one have been delivering wine and spirits since 2014, and beer since 2015.
Good for: Wine, liquor, beer and mixers from retailers such as Six Corners in Westhampton Beach, Michael's Liquors in Riverhead, Green's Wines and Liquors in Hicksville.
How it works: Drinks are separated by categories then further broken down by type; i.e.: if you select liquors, you can then choose from vodka, whiskey, scotch, tequila, rum, etc. Top beer, wine and liquors are sprinkled throughout the app too, as are top brands and gifts.
Fees and tip: Delivery: set by the retailer, not including a tip for the driver.
Good to know: In certain cases, delivery can take a day or more (labeled “shipping only”) and in others, delivery is possible in typically 30 to 60 minutes (labeled “get it today”).
Slice, launched in 2010 as MyPizza, is a pizza-specific delivery app that was rebranded in 2016 to what we know it as today.
Good for: Pizza of all ilk, from crowd-pleasing pies at La Focaccia in Melville to Roman-style pies at Taglio in Mineola and artisanal options at Naples Street Food in Franklin Square.
How it works: Click on a restaurant (mainly independent pizzerias) and you'll get insight on distance, delivery time and minimums, and ratings; then, simply order.
Fees and tip: There's a 95-cent service fee plus a delivery charge determined by the restaurant. Gratuity is not included.
Good to know: The app features thousands of independent pizzerias and their full menus so customers can order sandwiches, wraps, soups, burgers, panini, calzones, pasta, and seafood, dishes, and more in addition to pizza.