GrubHub.com

It’s neat to use GrubHub to see what delivers to my house — it even will tell me who is delivering NOW, who accepts credit cards or who is cash only, and whether they send their own delivery or it is 3^rd party. So that is nice! How else would I know that I can have ribs delivered at 2am?
Sadly, GrubHub is the bastard child of delivery methods. GrubHub consistently takes twice as long to deliver versus straight up calling. Also, we have had a lot of places call us back to say they don’t have X or Y on the menu anymore. You can’t use coupons that you may have received in the mail, and even the coupons on GrubHub aren’t always easily applied to your order. Sometimes, GrubHub puts a hold on my credit card which is fine, other than they don’t warn you. The reviews are all weird, too, they tend to focus on delivery times not on food and the suggested menu options are typically a little random.
It’s a Catch-​22. I love to hate it and I hate to love it.

I was just about to write a nasty update on GrubHub when the phone rang. It was Paul from GrubHub, telling me there would be no charge for my dinner tonight. Which makes this a mixed experience.
In my original review, I recommend using GrubHub to see what’s out there, but to order directly from the restaurant. Of course, I don’t follow my own advice. So tonight I ordered online, confident that my order would be speeding on its way. I had ordered from this restaurant before, and the order had come in half the time predicted.
Not so this time.
About 20 minutes after the order had been estimated to be delivered, I called the restaurant. I negotiated through the language barrier to communicate that my order had not yet been delivered, and that I had ordered through the Internet. «
!?» «No, GrubHub!» «GrubHub? Oh GrubHub! You can order again with me!» «But I’m afraid I’ll be charged twice!» «Oh. I call!» Eventually we were able to agree on my address and last name, and I prepared to call back in 10 minutes for an update.
That’s when Paul called. Apparently, GrubHub has a confirmation system in which each order had a unique order number, and the restaurant has to enter the order number into their fax machine to indicate that they received the order. This way, if an order does not transmit or isn’t picked up at the restaurant, it doesn’t get confirmed. My order was confirmed at 6:15. (It is now 8:10.) So where my order went, only Buddha knows.
Still, I was impressed that GrubHub picked up the charge, and even more impressed that they called me back to let me know what was going on. I have still mixed emotions about the experience. But while anyone can make a mistake, the sign of a good company is that they make the error right. So for now, GrubHub actually steps up in my estimation, despite the lost order. I won’t post this until I actually get my food, though.
*****
Well, they made it, and everything was delivered. So I guess we’re friends again.

Ah yes… I just ordered from this site and it was pretty painless. I also loved using this site before as a reference for menus to see what a restaurant offers before going there. A handy tool I like to keep around.

I’m not going to try to write something lengthy here, because I can summarize the experience with GrubHub in one simple word:
STUPENDOUS.
And «stupendous» is not a word I use often or with little consideration, so take that for what it’s worth… and next time you need delivery, do try GrubHub. It’s easy, fast, and so much easier than trying to overcome language barriers on the phone. Plus, the ability to see your total as you add items and know that the restaurant will see a clear documentation of your order gives you peace of mind as you order.
Fast, easy and stupendous. ‘nough said!

I have never used this site personally, but my girlfriend swears by it. Every time we have used GrubHub together, the delivery time was fast and efficient.
I wish I would have thought of this idea.
Kudos to the owner!

Instead of
workers and order network workers commenting on how bad
is (oh, I wonder why), how about focusing on how to improve your service?
Mr. JC (obviously a
worker) has only reviewed GrubHub (1 star) and Foodler (5). Give me a break.
It’s slowly becoming more innovative than other companies.
now charges the credit cards for online orders, made the site more secure (https://), and are making adjustments to the online menu (like view the description of a food item).
Mr JC and all other workers of other companies, please, stop writing fake reviews!

«Somebody has a brain!» My computer programmer/​developer bf exclaimed this when we tried
in an attempt to switch up our usual thai delivery selection. We found the site through a link to our restaurant of choice for the night. We had the choice of two online delivery mechanisms and the second one I wasn’t fond of. So, Grubhub became our selection. To both of our surprises, the site is easy to navigate with menus and popular choices. This ease of use is what garnered the brain reaction. Shortly after making our food choices and plugging in the information, our order made it over the restaurant and we had a reasonable ETA. Also, the order confirmation had a choice of no plastic utensils which was pretty nice considering how they end up in the trash most often. The order arrived 15 minutes early and was nice and hot. Our first experience was pretty good, so we’ll try it again.

Much to the horror and disappointment of my mother, my method of cooking involves going through a drawer full of menus. So like many others who use a delivery website, I was bored from my «rotation» and wanted new options. And following a disastrous experience with
, I thought I give grubhub a chance. And the only reason these guys get 2 stars is because
would get the lowest possible 1 star and grubhub is at least better than those idiots.
The positive: my order was actually received by Kamehachi, something
failed to deliver. But let’s see how it all went down:
7:47pm: I placed an order on grubhub
7:52pm: I got a confirm from them. How does this take 5 minutes? Is there an actual humanoid at the grubhub office typing this up and calling/​faxing it to Kamehachi? They also gave me an estimated delivery time of 9:02pm. So precise! How do they do it? Do they study traffic patterns???
9:02pm: Nothing.
9:20ish pm: My order was finally delivered.
When I order the old-​fashioned way, it never takes more than an hour. Ever. My advice: use these websites for the menus but call the restaurants directly. Another thing that sucked about grubhub is that the ordering page only has the names of different entrees. If you want to see a description of each, you have to open a separate window and switch back and forth.

I have no idea why everyone is drinking the haterade when it comes to grubhub. I’ve used grubhub a bazillion times and have never had any trouble. Granted, I order from the same 3 or 4 restaurants and pay cash for everything. But I like the site — I give it my address, tell it to sort by distance from my house, and badabing! Dinner in an hour.
I’m not sure why everyone is so worried about the reviews — that’s what Unilocal is for! There are fake reviews on every review site. Grubhub has added information about how many orders reviewers have placed, which helps distinguish who is a regular orderer and who is a phony.

After typing in an address, GrubHub populates a sortable menu list of all restaurants that will deliver to your location. You can sort by cuisine, but most importantly there is an option to weed out those places that currently haven’t started/​are done with delivery to avoid getting your hopes up for something unavailable.
I am really surprised to see so many negative reviews on here! I order delivery quite often, and 95% of the time I use Grubhub. I select my cuisine, view the menu, call the restaurant, and in 2 years I’ve never had any trouble. I think what a lot of people fail to realize is that much like Unilocal,GrubHub is an information source and that any poor service is probably a result of the individual restaurant. Some people have complained about the online orders, but this problem is moot when you consider that they provide phone numbers. If XYZ takeout never gets your orders through online ordering, maybe you should just try calling in the next time. I promise you that it’s not that hard! :)
I have no complaints about Grubhub. It’s FREE, it prevents me from having to keep a ton of menus, and it presents options I otherwise may not have explored. Living in Wrigleyville, I have a large variety of takeout options. However, as a WOMAN living in Wrigleyville, I have to be mindful of what time I leave my apartment because Chester the Molester likes to pop up around here every so often. If I eat a late lunch and get a craving for a Buffalo Chicken sandwich at 11PM, I can always turn to GrubHub to point me in the right direction without having to walk around with my mace on guard. I’m not going to lie, it’s also a godsend on the «I can barely move but I NEED an Italian beef NOW» hangover days.
What don’t you people get?

If I could give them 0 stars I would. Order from CEO instead. Grub Hub jacks up the prices of the food from the restaurants. I went online to order a bunch of food from India house for my staff. The original price from GrubHub was $ 450! When I went to CEO it was $ 331! OVER $ 100 DOLLAR DIFFERENCE. That’s BS! Intrigued by the different I called over to the restaurant to see what their price would be and it was the same as CEO! Since it was a lot of food I chose to have it delivered by CEO! CHECK YOUR OTHER OPTIONS GRUB HUB IS A RIP OFF!

I lived in Boston, MA and used
all the time. Its a very popular ordering site there, and when we came here I was disappointed that they were not here.
So, I landed on
. I thought the ordering process was clutered and confusing — scanned menus vs. online ordering, no clear way to sort restaurants by cuisine, etc. However, getting past all that, there was not a single time (out of 4 attempts) that they order was correct.
Either the restaurant does not receive my order, or the menu was incorrect, or the price is different, or a combination of all mentioned. Essentially, we opted for ordering by phone.
All that changed.
is in Chicago now, and I’m smiling again. All you need to do is compare the two sites and you will see what I’m talking about.

I’m giving
5 stars but under the condition that you use it properly: in conjunction with Unilocal.Otherwise, you may end up with food that is a far cry from the lofty (ahem) GrubHub review.
As a service and an aggregator of available delivery options (and menus) in your ‘hood, GrubHub is fantastic. I’ve used it about a dozen times now and haven’t experienced a single snafu.
So, log into
, settle on a few restaurants, then research the hell out of them on Unilocal.In return, you’ll be rewarded with a great meal in probably an hour or less. Best part is, most of the restaurants allow you to place your order online. So no one has to hear your scraggly, vulnerable hangover voice as you order some recovery grease :)

I own it.
I use it.
Its awesome.

GrubHub has come a long way since it’s start into the online ordering business. They have recently incorporated a new site design that makes things much easier to use, but still has a way to go for perfection.
Most of the problems with GrubHub lie with the restaurants themselves– I believe that EVERY restaurant on this sutite should have online ordering, and not by sending credit card numbers by fax. This requires restaurants to have computers with –gasp– the INTERNET on them.
It’s still a great site to order food from when you are stuck inside and don’t want to bother with the sometimes painful experience of ordering food over the phone in the city.
First– find the restaurants that are delivering to you, THEN check Unilocal.Works very well.

UPDATE: 5÷3÷2008−− Found a new place, well new to me called
probably not quite as extensive as Grubhub but atleast i don’t have some delivery person Scratching my CC info onto slips for them to lose. Gee i guess it can be done without increasing costs MATT!!!
actually grubhub is good for what it is. a decent source for online menus. the ‘online order’ option is a whole separate story and the reason grubhub gets only 1 star.
Does anyone remember the old credit card machines where they actually used slips with carbon paper and scratched your CC info onto the paper? Well when ordering online thru grubhub this is how they still do it! so i emailed customer service with the following:
On Dec 29, 2007, at 5:44 PM, Doug D. wrote:
when is Grubhub going to eliminate the need for delivery drivers to «scratch» my credit card info onto slips like it was the 1980’s? this practice does not help in regards to credit card fraud. i will no longer order thru grubhub till it is resolved.
Thanx
Doug
here was the reply:
Hi Doug,
This is actually something the restaurants do in order to receive a lower credit card transaction fees from banks. GrubHub only passes your order information through to the restaurant and they complete your transaction and deliver your meal. Your request is similar to asking the phone book to modify the practices of the businesses listed inside… We work with restaurants to help them provide better delivery service to our users and include your point below in our training documents. However, until the banks realize that scratching a copy of your credit card onto a piece of paper actually increases rather than reduces fraud, we’re stuck with it.
Thanks for your note, and I hope you continue to use our service,
Matt Maloney
Founder & CEO
Now to top this all off i was desperate and used ‘online order’ thru grubhub 1 more time. well i get a phone call from a condo neighbor of mine the next day saying he found a CC slip with my info on it on the sidewalk by our front door. The driver dropped my CC info for anyone to see!!!
here is an idea MATT, if you say owners do it this way to save a couple of bucks than charge me the fee up front and eliminate 1980’s style CC transactions!!!

I like Grubhub for finding places that deliver… but the site itself is flawed and the company that runs it is greedy.
Places pay to be listed at the top of your search results. Fine. But then the same places make fake reviews in order to make you want to order food from them. Ever wonder why Nan’s Chinese is always at the top of your search results (assuming you’re in their delivery area)., and their reviews are mostly overwhelmingly positive on Grubhub, yet on Unilocal they’re pretty much all 1 star?. Most of the reviews are fake.
is well aware that they post fake reviews to make their business look better… And Grubhub does nothing about it. They claim they’re working on a better system to eliminate the possibility of a restaurant continously posting positive fake reviews, but it’s been many months and they’ve done nothing. They know if they tick Nan’s off, they won’t pay to advertise. It would be *very* easy to prohibit the majority of the multiple fake reviews on their site. As a programmer I know it could be done in an hour in a somewhat unsophisticated but not noticeable way, and a few more hours using a login system that actually validates who you are. Or just flat out only allow one review of a restaurant per the same IP. But they don’t care, or it would’ve been done a long time ago. And I’m picking on Nan’s because I had a personal bad experience with Nan’s. I had it delivered, it was terrible. I had only read the Grubhub reviews. Reading the Unilocal reviews, they’re pretty much all bad. So i wrote a bad review of Nan’s, on Grubhub. The next day, there was a fake positive review posted – using MY name… And every day for that week there were multiple positive reviews that were obviously fake. (One easy way to tell… grubhub is a delivery site. people don’t go there to look up Nan’s to dine in. There were a lot of reviews saying «my girls and I go here after a night out, it’s so great!» … totally fake fake fake).
I reported this to Grubhub and they didn’t even pull the obviously fake reviews, let alone try to prevent it from happening. In fact they wrote back stating they realized there were many fake reviews, and they were working on something to fix it. Yet this was MONTHS ago, and still nothing has changed.
There are other restaurants on Grubhub that do the same thing. Probably every place that would otherwise get unfavorable reviews on it’s own does it.
That said, use Grubhub if you want to get a list of delivery places, but come to Unilocal for the real reviews. And many of the restaurants offer coupons through the web site too.
(P.S., why reinvent the wheel on reviews anyway? How many review sites do there need to be… you’re a delivery site, maybe focus on that and not reviews. You could easily and quickly integrate Unilocal reviews right into your site with the Unilocal API… And as far as filtering bad/​fake reviews, Unilocal does a fairly good job simply based off of the volume of reviews and the user rating system it’s a lot more obvious when someone is a faker reviewer.)

Totally convenient… but the site is fucking ugly.
And the fake reviews are super annoying.

I tried this place a few months ago at work and it was a total fiasco. I swore never again. But tonight I read Caroline’s review and decided I’d give them another chance.
Man did they redeem themselves! I used the online order form to get food from Rezza’s. Persian food sounded really good after writing a review for Greek Islands.
I got a confirmation from grubhub that said the food would come by 8:10 (it was 7pm at the time). I almost passed out when the buzzer rang at 7:30.
The driver was friendly, the foot was piping hot. What more could i ask for?
The only reason they don’t get the 5^th star is because the first experience was so terrible that I won’t even get into it.
But since they recovered so well I will promote them without bias, and surely use them again.

I was introduced to
by a friend of mine on a cold Sunday morning last year, when we were severely hung over and hungry. We did not feel like speaking to anyone and wanted as little contact with the world as possible until we felt human again.
So we logged on
, looked through a few menus, placed our order online, and had hot yummy food one hour later.
I don’t really order out often, but when I do,
is an awesome resource. You type in your address, and then view menus from area restaurants that are delivering now. There is tons of variety — Italian, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Korean, American, Burgers, Bakery, Greek, Middle Eastern, etc. You can call restaurants directly or just order through the site.
Give it a try! Perfect for when you’re sick.