By 
When it comes to ordering food, looking up a menu and making a phone call is so passé. Numerous startups have been tackling the challenge of aggregating local food options and providing a unified online ordering experience, and it’s a win-win for all involved. Mom and pop operations that can’t afford to build out a fancy web presence get fully-supported, seamless online ordering. Customers don’t have to deal with waiting on hold, reading credit card numbers over the phone, and misheard orders resulting in the arrival of the wrong food.
OrderUp is just one of several competitors in the space, and they look to stake an even greater claim with the relaunch of their Android app. The app represents a move from a web-portal interface to a truly native experience. Finding your location and nearby restaurants is as simple as a tap, sorting restaurants by cuisine is straightforward, menus are easy to navigate, and restaurant info — including coupons — is a few swipes away.
With an OrderUp account, info is synced seamlessly from the web interface, giving access to saved addresses and credit cards. Checking out is a breeze with options to tip and provide special instructions in case you live in a location particularly unfriendly to delivery drivers (hidden entrances, broken doorbells, etc.).
The whole thing works as you would expect and makes the ordering process as quick and painless as possible. The app is a bit barebones, but it’s hard to imagine what else you would need from a food ordering app.
Depending on where you ordered from, the fulfillment of your order is handled in one of two ways. The individual restaurant provides delivery via their own drivers or an OrderUp delivery driver will pick up your food and whisk it away to your front doorstep. The latter is one of OrderUp’s more unique features, and offers delivery options for restaurants that normally would not do so, but you will need to be within a certain covered delivery zone.
Download OrderUp at Google Play
In my case, the cutoff was literally one block from my doorstep, so once the order was placed everything was in the hands of the restaurant where I ordered from. If you should need to change or cancel an order in a situation similar to mine, you will need to contact the restaurant directly. Otherwise, OrderUp offers full customer service that is quick to respond and plenty friendly.
OrderUp’s Android update makes food ordering so easy you might never see the outside world or the inside of a grocery store again. Now if you will excuse me, this lunch isn’t going to eat itself.
OrderUp’s current roster of supported cities includes:
- Phoenix, AZ
- Tucson, AZ
- Irvine, CA
- San Diego, CA
- Santa Barbara, CA
- Boulder, CO
- Denver, CO
- Northern, CO
- Northwest Atlanta, GA
- Iowa City, IA
- Boise, ID
- Naperville, IL
- Bloomington, IN
- Indianapolis, IN
- West Lafayette, IN
- Lawrence, KS
- Manhattan, KS
- Baltimore, MD
- Towson, MD
- Columbia, MO
- Fayetteville, NC
- Raleigh, NC
- Gloucester County, NJ
- Buffalo, NY
- Columbus, OH
- Norman, OK
- Eugene, OR
- State College, PA
- West Chester, PA
- Nashville, TN
- Katy, TX
- Sugar Land, TX
- Charlottesville, VA
- Norfolk, VA
- Virginia Beach, VA
- Williamsburg, VA
- Morgantown, WV
I know I’m being lazy, but Play Store link?
And… it’s not in my area. No calories for me.
Steve, where are you? We’re continually expanding!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.trigger.forgee0fcf19eadbe11e2ba6012313d00dc45
Yelp has menus. Sometimes. Sorta.
So you’re supposed to tip before it even gets there? What if they’re super slow should they still get the same tip?
I tip cash… I’ll never tip until I know what I’m tipping for.
That’s like someone telling their friends how awesome their date was beforehand, and being date-raped later!
Nothing in West Haven/New Haven, CT area?
Yale, UNH, one of the largest Veteran Affairs hospitals in the VA system, and no service? Wow.
I guess I’ll wait until I hear someone bring this app up by word of mouth locally, so that I’ll know when it’s available.