Food delivery in Toronto is one of the biggest reasons we order online. From lazy summers to brutal winters, there are plenty of excuses why we now turn to web sites (or apps on our smartphones) in order to get our fill from our favourite local restaurants. While in the past food delivery from restaurants was largely relegated to the usual Chinese, Indian, Thai and Pizza options, these days it's easy to get pretty much any type of food delivered to your door.
But what site to use? A few years ago there were just a few different web sites that we'd use to place an order online but recently a number of new competitors have entered the space.
Here's a round-up of the current crop of web sites that make it easy to order food online from your favourite Toronto restaurant.
Hurrier
At restaurants like Grand Electric and The Burger's Priest, getting a table can take upwards of an hour. Hurrier, a bike courier service that specializes in the city's hippest food, will let you wait at home instead. Although it's kind of pricey, having your food delivered by bike is eco-friendly, and they can even pay for your food on your behalf.
Cost: $5.50 flat rate, $2 per kilometer from pick-up point to destination
Delivery Zone: Dupont to Lake Ontario, Keele to the DVP
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekdays, 12p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekends
Just-Eat
Powered by a team of "Anti-Cooking Activists," Just-Eat services over 160 cities across Canada, and Toronto is of course one of them. While the site is a little cluttered, they're pretty active on Twitter and seem to make it a priority to deal with customers who need help. And, if you're on the go, they have a free app.
Cost: Service is free.
Delivery Zone: Specific to restaurant.
Hours: Specific to restaurant.
Orderit
Orderit services pretty much every neighbourhood in the GTA and is linked to 340 restaurants in the downtown core. With a food blog, photos, restaurant reviews and the option to collect and redeem GO Points, this site is really user-friendly.
Cost: Service is free.
Delivery Zone: Specific to restaurant.
Hours: Specific to restaurant.
So Hungry
More concerned about the kind of food you're ordering than where it comes from? So Hungry has all of their offerings sorted by food type rather than restaurant, so you can easily compare a souvlaki dinner from The Healthy Greek with one from Souvlaki Express. The site also makes recommendations based on how many people you're ordering for, so everyone at your couch party should have enough to eat.
Cost: Service is free.
Delivery Zone: Specific to restaurant.
Hours: Specific to restaurant.
Realeat.ca
Realeat.ca is your typical online ordering service where typing in your postal code lists lots of restaurant options near you to order from. Connecting Torontonians to over 50 restaurants that serve everything from pizza to Indian food is their mandate, and because they are new, their grand opening special gives you 40 per cent off your order. Another bonus: Realeat.ca offers the option to donate 10 per cent of the profits from your order to a local charity.
Cost: Not yet listed on the site.
Delivery Zone: Boundaries are not listed either, but typing in a postal code north of St. Clair brought up zero options.
Hours: Not yet listed on the site.
Taste Away
This site looks almost exactly like Realeat.ca, and functions very similarly, but it's a little more user-friendly. Taste Away works with hundreds of restaurants in the GTA, and makes great suggestions in your area when you can't decide what you're craving. When you do find your favourites on their site, they track them on your profile, and remember them for your future orders. Also, Taste Away will give you five bucks to spend on food if you recommend the site to a friend.
Cost: Service is free.
Delivery Zone: Specific to restaurant.
Hours: Specific to restaurant.
uEat
uEat.ca looks like most of the other online order services on this site, but unlike the others, it shows you the estimated delivery time for each restaurant relative to your postal code before you even place your order. That's helpful, especially if eating ASAP is at the top of your list.
Cost: Service is free.
Delivery Zone: Specific to restaurant.
Hours: Specific to restaurant.
BONUS
TakeoutCity
A newcomer to the scene, TakeoutCity only has five restaurants on its roster, and all are available for pick up only. So if you're not feeling completely lazy and you are really craving a burger from Big Moe's, this site can help you out. But to have your food arrive at your door, you'll have to go elsewhere.
Cost: Service is free.
Delivery Zone: All restaurants listed are pick up only.
Hours: Specific to restaurant.
What web site do you use to order food online? Give it props in the comments below.