TikTok is launching an in-app restaurant guide in a challenge to other platforms like Yelp and even Google Maps.
The company on Wednesday announced the launch of Must Eat, a new section of the TikTok app built on 40 million posts, reviews, and comments about dining on the platform. The new feature uses videos and discussions of buzzy local businesses to create restaurant recommendation guides. Users can leave reviews of restaurants, call and make reservations, and search for nearby businesses on a map.
At a launch event this week, TikTok US CEO Adam Presser called Must Eat “the compilation of all of the conversation that’s happening on the TikTok platform across creators, restaurateurs, [and] individuals” who make videos or leave comments about local restaurants. Among the featured restaurants in New York are Golden Diner (home of very viral pancakes) and hard-to-reserve spots like Semma and Via Carota.
Must Eat falls somewhere between Yelp and more curated recommendations from publications like The Infatuation. Must Eat is divided into two category tabs: “everyday eats” and “elevated dining.” Users can sort and filter by rating, distance, cuisine type, and what’s currently open, and each page for a restaurant links to videos about the business posted to TikTok. Diners can also bookmark businesses to save them for later. The feature is initially available in a few select regions — New York City, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area. The company says restaurants can’t pay to be featured in the recommendation lists.
It’s not the first time TikTok has tried to bridge the gap for users between seeing a video about a place and actually visiting in person. Earlier this year, the company added the ability to book hotels and attractions through the app. That feature, TikTok Go, allowed content creators to tag and link to locations; Must Eat is an expansion of that earlier capability.
TikTok’s deeper move into the dining space is fitting, given the app’s profound impact on restaurants. Content creators have angled to become the food critics of the short-form video era, each with their own schtick or eccentricities. The popularity of food videos has even changed what restaurants put on the menu to begin with, like extra-long cheese pulls or dramatic presentations. In its press release announcing the launch of Must Eat, TikTok says 27 million US diners went to a restaurant, cafe, or shop for the first time thanks to the platform last year.
