TikTok Launches "Must Eat" Restaurant Guide to Challenge Yelp

TikTok has entered the competitive restaurant discovery market with the launch of its new "Must Eat" guide. This community-powered feature, now available in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and New York City, aims to guide users to local eateries based on popular content and recommendations within the app.

The "Must Eat" guide categorizes dining options into "Everyday Eats" for casual spots and "Elevating Dining" for more upscale establishments suitable for special occasions. Users can search for restaurants by cuisine type, price point, user score, and location. The platform has also integrated reservation booking through OpenTable directly within the TikTok app.

TikTok reports that 27 million Americans have visited an independent restaurant, cafe, or shop after discovering it on the app, contributing approximately $4.7 billion in local spending. Users in the initial launch cities can access the guide by searching "Must Eat" within TikTok. The feature also allows users to save favorite restaurants to their collections and create personal lists of places they wish to visit.

Restaurant owners have expressed optimism about the new guide. Justin Johnson and Jessica Bane, co-owners of The Serving Spoon in Inglewood, California, stated that TikTok has amplified word-of-mouth, introducing their family's restaurant to a new generation of customers. "Seeing young people walk through our doors excited to try the dishes we grew up on means everything to our family," they said in a press release.

With this new feature, TikTok is positioning itself to compete with established platforms like Yelp, which boasts over 300 million reviews and 76 million monthly website visits, and Beli, which has more than 75 million restaurant ratings across numerous cities. TikTok's user base, with 80% under the age of 35, represents a significant demographic for the dining industry.