Questions & Answers

We are constantly improving our services to achieve a simple and convenient ordering process. The answers and tips below will hopefully answer any questions you might have.

Please Note - For any questions regarding your order, the restaurant will gladly assist you. Their number is in your confirmation email. If you still need more assistance please call us direct on 0203 397 0345.

How can I get my favourite restaurants to be part of your service? What about your WAP service? Are you on Interactive TV? Have you been on the BBC series Dragon's Den? Who is behind Urbanbite anyway? I own/manage a restaurant, can I join your service? How do I find the restaurants that will deliver to me in my neighbourhood? How do I know if the restaurant of my choice is open? Food related instructions? Complicated delivery instructions?

What does 'advance orders' mean? How do I pay; cash, credit cards, Switch? Do I have to pay you for any of the services? How do I know all the information on the site is up to date? How do I know that I will be getting good food? Is your service available outside London and Bristol? Are my personal details safe on your site? What about my privacy? Why should I register with you?

Other questions? Please send us an email at generalFeedback@urbanbite.com

How can I get my favourite restaurants to be part of your service?

Just tell us about the restaurant and we will do our best to add it to our online service. Don't worry if your favourite restaurant doesn't have its own delivery service. We work with a number of specialised delivery companies that can take care of delivery on behalf of the restaurant. We will send you a £10 cheque if you were the first one to recommend a restaurant which eventually joins our service. Click here to recommend!

What about your WAP service?

We're certainly planning to bring you wireless pleasure in the near future, but we'll wait until WAP has become faster and easier to use. Stay tuned!

Are you on Interactive TV?

Not yet, but we intend to be. After all, what's more convenient than ordering straight from your TV when you're watching the football game, or the latest episode of Friends?

Have you been on the BBC series Dragon's Den?

No. You are confusing us with another similar website. We started our business much before Dragon's Den came to be, and have never needed to raise money by baring our soul on national TV. We also don't think that an appearance on Dragon's Den represents any sort of endorsement as to the quality or value in our product. We believe in running our business responsibly and ethically, and delivering the best service possible to our clients. It is relatively easy to raise money once there is a proven business model and thousands of businesses go through that process each year discretely and without turning it into a PR event.

Who is behind Urbanbite anyway?

The original service, Urbanbite.com, was founded in December 1999 by Zsolt Kohalmi (formerly with ABN AMRO Bank) and Reinier Evers (formerly with AGENCY.COM). In April 2000, Urbanbite acquired Orangepip.com, a similar service, and worked with its founders, Ben and David Carmona, to build a state-of-the-art food ordering site. Urbanbite went live in London in September 2000, and was acquired by lastminute.com on July 13, 2001. This service was then re-acquired on the 13th March 2007 by its original founder Ben Carmona and the very same team who were subcontracted to manage it during its time at Lastminute.com.

How can I get my friends to order from your service?

If your friends or family don't know who to order from when you're not around, then let us send them an email informing them about the Eat-In service. It's one way of making sure you have something to choose from next time you have lunch or dinner at their place ;-). Just go to our Tell a friend section and we'll send them a nice email explaining our service on your behalf.

I own / manage a restaurant, can I join your service?

Restaurants are what make our world go round, so please contact us. For further information on how you can become a part of our online service, click here.

How do I find the restaurants that will deliver to me in my neighbourhood?

We will only show you the menus of restaurants that do business in your area. That is why we ask for your postcode at the beginning of the ordering process. We will also let you know whether the restaurants are open for business at the time that you visit the site. Some of them will allow you to order in advance in case they are closed, or if you just want to plan your delivery ahead of time.

How do I know if the restaurant of my choice is open?

When you get the overview of restaurants that do delivery in your area, you will know immediately whether or not the restaurant of your choice is open. There will be a sign displaying the words 'open' or 'closed', including the restaurant's full opening hours. Of course, you can always place an advance order if the restaurant is closed.

Food related instructions?

Some restaurants can accept special food instructions with your order. To ensure that you get exactly what you want, simply state your preferences, such as vegetarian, vegan, or not too salty, extra spicy. If the restaurant of your choice offers this feature, it will be indicated under the 'special instructions' sign on the order page.

Complicated delivery instructions?

Let's say you live in a hard-to-find mews house, or your doorbell is the one with the red sticker on it conveniently hiding your name or flat number ;-) or you are in the office on the ninth floor, third room to the right from the entrance; now you can let the restaurant know your delivery address immediately in your own words. Just fill in your delivery instructions on the order page and help the restaurant deliver your order more efficiently.

What does 'advance orders' mean?

With advance orders, you can plan your food deliveries at any time, any place. Simply select the type of food you desire (whether you order from the office in the morning to make sure you have a nice Thai meal when you get home after a long day's work, or you need to plan a dinner party or special event with friends), indicate that it is an advance order by clicking on the 'advance order' sign and we will immediately confirm your advance order by email. Restaurants that offer the advance order feature will always indicate the minimum and maximum time required for advance orders.

How do I pay; cash, credit cards, debit cards?

You can choose whatever way of paying for your order you like best. You deal directly with the restaurants, which means that if you pay by cash you pay the delivery person and if you choose to pay by credit card, we will debit the card securely and NOT store the details thereafter. Sorry you will have to enter them again the next time you use our service, but we do this for security of course.
Our anti-fraud measures include the occasional need to contact you and verify the card so please leave a contact number free after placing your order.
Some Restaurants may ask you to show your card to the delivery person, and sign the receipt. This way the ordering process is safe and secure. Please note that
credid and debit cards can only be used when your order is bigger than £10.

Do I have to pay you for any of the services?

No, we don't charge our customers for the services. You pay the restaurant directly for food and sometimes for delivery (extra delivery charges will always be clearly indicated) as you would over the phone.

How do I know all the information on your site is up to date?

With hundreds of menus on our site, we're working hard on keeping our site up to date, day and night. We only work with restaurants that are committed to keeping us fully informed on changes in their menu, prices and any special offers and discounts they may offer through our site. If there is a price discrepancy between what you ordered and what the restaurant is charging, we or the restaurant will let you know as soon as possible. And, of course, you would always be given the opportunity to change or cancel your order.

How do I know that I will be getting good food?

The actual quality of the food is the responsibility of the restaurant and, like any catered meal, the quality can vary. Although we can not assume responsibility for the actual delivery or the quality or quantity of the food ordered, we strive to only represent reliable restaurants on our site. We keep a detailed track record on all the participating restaurants, and will not hesitate to remove restaurants that don't uphold our standards.
We encourage you to let us know about your good and not-so-good experiences with restaurants on our site to be able to take swift action. Eventually, we will move toward a rating system, including customer comments about each participating restaurant, so you will have even more information at your fingertips to make an informed choice. Email us your comments and experiences at generalfeedback@urbanbite.com .

Is your service available outside London?

We're fully operational in the London area and in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, with a steady weekly influx of new restaurants. We are planning to expand our service to other large cities in the UK and beyond (Manchester is next!). Our presence on the continent benefits frequent travellers and corporate customers who'd like to coordinate their food expenditures across their various European offices.

Are my personal details safe on your site? What about my privacy?

We won't store your information online, and your information will never be passed on to third parties without your consent (except for when you place an order and we will let the restaurant know where to deliver) . We strictly use your personal information to facilitate and administer your food orders. Please click here for more information on your privacy.

Why should I register with you?

Registering won't cost you much time, and it is completely secure. We will only ask you the essentials like your address, your phone number(s) and email address. We will then let you choose your own username and password. After this, whenever you visit the site and log on, we can speed up the ordering process, as you only have to confirm your details every time you order instead of typing them in, making it even asier for you to order in a fast and reliable manner. But there's more: as a member you can also store multiple addresses (which you name for fast reference, like 'my office' or 'my girlfriend's place'), access your favourite restaurants straight away (every time you order from an restaurant, it will automatically be added to your list of favourites), or go through your order history and quickly look up that nice Japanese dish you had a week ago, and re-order it with one click!
Naturally you have full control over all this information:
your 'profile editor', accessible via your personal member page, will let you add, delete and change any personal information we hold on file for you.
You can register as a member on the Urbanbite.com home page, in the Member Sign-In section.