Uber launches world-first restaurant booking service in Sydney with top dining spots

• Ride-share and food delivery service Uber has announced Dine Out, a restaurant-booking service.
• Sydneysiders will be the first to try the new service that will launch next month.
• Users will be able to book tables at restaurants already on Uber Eats as well as other well-known foodie favourites.

Global ride-share and food delivery giant Uber has announced the latest industry it wants to disrupt, launching a new Dine Out service, which will have its first trial here in the Harbour City.

Harnessing the restaurant-booking know-how of OpenTable, Uber Dine Out will allow users to book a restaurant and the Uber ride there and back in one move. They will also be able to use Uber’s points system to get perks.

Uber One subscribers will get exclusive access to the city’s top spots and “prime tables”, and OpenTable members will be able to redeem their points on Uber and Uber Eats.

It’s a thrill and privilege for Australia to be the first market anywhere in the world to test and finesse the new Dine Out product — one we know will benefit restaurants and bring additional convenience and value to Sydneysiders and visitors alike

— Ed Kitchen, managing director at Uber Eats Australia and New Zealand,

Hundreds of restaurants are expected to offer dine-in discounts when the new service lands online next month. Your local favourites are expected to appear alongside some Sydney icons.

Catalina, Fabbrica, Wings and Tins, Malabar and Raw Bar are all expected to be online at launch.

Turning up the heat on restaurant bookings

The announcement comes more than a year after TheFork ceased operations in Australia. The restaurant-booking platform is still available in Europe, but Australia’s hospitality industry took a big hit following the pandemic, forcing the beloved booking platform to withdraw from Down Under.

OpenTable is by far the biggest restaurant-booking service in Australia, and Uber dominates Australia’s rideshare and food delivery market, where competitors like Deliveroo, Foodora, Ola and GoCatch have failed. If the likes of Deliveroo couldn’t stand the heat here, this new partnership with Uber could spell the end for smaller restaurant-booking services.

Among those in Uber’s sights may be Kiwi-born First Table, which offers 50 per cent off for diners who book the first table of the night at restaurants. It encourages people to try a new restaurant at half the price, and operates across New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

EatClub is another service that offers up to 50 per cent off at restaurants and is backed by British chef Marco Pierre White. It only works with around 3,000 restaurants and bars across Australia, though — a drop in the water for Uber’s more than 60,000 restaurants in Australia alone.

What restaurants have to say

Catalina is an institution, loved for its luxurious feel, waterside location in Rose Bay and its menu of modern Australian and Mediterranean flavours. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, director Judy McMahon said she was sceptical at first: “You know, I wouldn’t have looked at it years ago, but I do see it as a way forward, I think it’s smart,” McMahon said.

Heading into winter, she’s aware of upcoming challenges. “I know I’m going to be quieter, I am every year,” said McMahon. “It costs me the same to service 50 customers as it does to service 100, so why wouldn’t I do the 100, some of whom are getting a decent whack off their bill?” Restaurants will decide the discount they’re willing to offer and when. While Judy hasn’t decided yet, she’s considering up to 25 per cent off between Monday and Thursday.

Uber has already made huge changes to the food industry.

It’s Uber Eats delivery service boosted take out sales by between 41 and 60 per cent for restaurants (according to Uber Restaurant Pulse Check, October 2024).

Now, the company is suggesting it might reverse the trend by making dining out more popular and easier — with the added incentive of discounts.

Australia’s ride-share industry is hugely competitive, and Uber, which launched here in 2014, has already seen off a number of international rivals.

Only Chinese ride-share company DiDi is left as a real competitor, and it is believed to have e 14 per cent of the market.