Launch HN: Simmer (YC W19) – Reviews for Delivery Dishes

Hi Hacker News community! We’re Vaibhav and Richard, founders of Simmer (https://usesimmer.com). Simmer aggregates dishes from DoorDash, Caviar, GrubHub, and basically every other delivery platform out there, and tells users the best dishes across the board. We do this by providing dish-level reviews.

Users find highly reviewed dishes on Simmer, choose the delivery platform of their liking, and we deep link them into their chosen delivery app. We essentially lead gen to delivery.

We started working on Simmer because we loved trying new restaurants, but never knew what to order. Especially, when there’s a 5 page menu. We always asked ourselves, “Why aren’t there ratings for individual dishes?”

We launched our app with this restaurant-centric use case (reviews for every dish at every restaurant), but when we rolled out delivery integrations, we realized that users resonated most with the delivery angle. They found it particularly difficult to find great dishes on delivery (after all, there are no waiters to give you recommendations).

As a result, we have doubled down on becoming an aggregator of delivery dishes across platforms. So far, the app features hundreds of restaurants (and even more dishes) that deliver in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.

We’re a young company trying to foster positivity and appreciation of food, but we have a lot to learn. So if you are a big eater, order in a bunch, are indecisive like us, or just want to know what the best dishes are nearby, do check out the app! Shoot us a message at vaibhav@usesimmer.com - we’re eager to hear this community’s ideas, experiences, and feedback :)

Download: https://go.onelink.me/PdWH/hackernews

What is your revenue model? I'd imagine you take a cut from the delivery service that you send customers to?

Just wondering about the long-term unit economics, given 1) many of these delivery companies aren't profitable and 2) they already charge a large premium for delivery.

Congrats on the launch!

> * What’s your fav delivery service and why? DoorDash because best selection and best app. But I don't use it hardly at all because it's expensive. I usually do take-out.

> * How do you decide what to order when you’re ordering delivery? Usually I order something I already know is good, or something on the menu that seems similar to what I already know is good.

>* How could our feed make this easier for you? My number one use case for this app would be to check for the best dishes at the restaurant I'm at. Or when I'm about to order take out.

The app feels like React-Native. I'm probably extra picky (I'm an iOS dev) but I think it makes a difference to go true native.

We are currently working with a few delivery platforms to get affiliate fee. Just to give you some numbers, delivery platforms typically get ~20% of the order value and ~15% of the courier fees. At the beginning, we expect to only get a tiny percentage of their net revenue, but we anticipate us getting more negotiating power over time. Totally agree with your point that users might not like it if we a series of dishes or restaurants disappear.

That's exactly right! We just do reviews for individual dishes and cut the noise that comes with bad service or dirty toilets :)