I love eating at good places, I like fresh food, and if someone wants to cook it for me and bring it to my house, I'm not going to refuse. When Suppertime launched, I was slightly skeptical as it almost sounded too good to be true, but then I started seeing more and more restaurants in my hood sign up to the service. So I signed up to Suppertime. For the Glebe area, they have a pretty solid database of restaurants who are willing to deliver for lunch and/or dinner.
My first order was from Dimitri's Pizzeria, which is located on Crown St. I ordered the salt-roasted beetroot and ricotta tagliatelle and a salad and chose the Cash on Delivery option (you can pay by credit card but there's a 1.5% surcharge on Visa/Mastercard and 3% on Amex. F*** that).
Total: $33.65 ($17.90 pasta + $8.80 salad + $6.95 delivery charges).
The food came in 30 minutes (what, this is not Dominos!) but was lukewarm. I don't think the lukewarm food was so much Suppertime's fault - I think this is the restaurant's responsibility.
So why 3 stars?
Firstly...I cross checked the price of my food with the actual menu at Dimitri's. My pasta, which was $17.90 on Suppertime, costs $16 at Dimitri's. If I actually went to Dimitri's, and got a table, Dimitri's would also plate it for me, I'd get some nice ambiance and table service. Instead, my pasta was lukewarm, priced almost $2 more, served in a foil container, and eaten in front of my gritty laptop while reading insurance law cases.
Even though the food was delicious, I felt this was daylight robbery - while a premium service is being offered (home delivery of delicious pasta), the customer is being robbed of the other delights such as being served in the actual restaurant. What has dictated such a difference in price? Surely Suppertime would negotiate better pricing for its takeaway customers?
Then there is the delivery charge - $6.95. This seems to be standard. Ordering for one person may not be worth it, especially if your bill is only going to be $30. You will be better off ordering for two or more people (Suppertime take corporate orders too). (There's also the surcharge if you decide to use your credit card to pay)
It's clear Suppertime is made for a more *discerning* clientele - you can tell by the restaurants that are on the list.
After all of this, I agreed and said - ok Suppertime, if you can bring gourmet pasta to my doorstep, I might be willing to spare those few extra dollars. But then, I should be expected to benefit in some way too (apart from that delicious food of course).
I searched Suppertime for a loyalty program but was unable to find one (not even one where you order 10 times with us and get free delivery on your 11th order??). You can sign up as a member and store your details with Suppertime, but that's pretty much it (it also probably gives them a free ticket to spam you with constant e-marketing).
In saying that, I will encourage the public to try Suppertime. I recently spotted one of my favorite restaurants on the Glebe delivery circuit so most probably I will be back on there (this time, with friends!).
Bon appetit! read more