In a move that’ll challenge platforms like Yelp and, to an extent, Google Maps, TikTok is launching its in-app restaurant guide. The new section, dubbed Must Eat, uses 40 million posts, reviews, and comments about dining on the platform to recommend popular local restaurants. Users can read and leave reviews, call restaurants, make reservations, and find nearby places on a map.
TikTok launches Must Eat, a restaurant guide built around popular food videos
TikTok’s Must Eat has two categories, “everyday eats” and “elevated dining.” It lets users filter restaurants by rating, distance, cuisine, and opening hours. Each restaurant page also links to related TikTok videos, and users can bookmark places for later. The feature is initially available in New York, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area. Some of the New York restaurants featured on Must Eat include Golden Diner, Semma, and Via Carota.
TikTok is making it clear that restaurants cannot pay to appear in its recommendations. TikTok US CEO Adam Presser described Must Eat as “the compilation of all the conversation that’s happening on the TikTok platform across creators, restaurateurs, and individuals” who make videos or leave comments about local restaurants.
Restaurants cannot pay to appear in recommendations
This isn’t the first time TikTok has done something of this kind. Earlier this year, the company brought the ability to book hotels and attractions through the app. The feature, called TikTok Go, allowed content creators to tag and link locations. Must Eat is sort of an expansion of that capability.
Besides that, the move into restaurant recommendations makes sense, considering the app’s influence on dining trends. TikTok, in a press release about Must Eat, says 27 million Americans visited a restaurant, cafe, or shop for the first time last year after discovering it on the platform. That’s quite a big number, by all means.
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