Plan ahead and Grubhub app is a winner

The Miami Herald reviewed seven of the most popular restaurant delivery services in Miami-Dade county.

Using the app

Enter your address into the Gubhub app and a list of restaurants appear. You can refine your search by type of cuisine, rating (one through five stars and up), time of delivery, price, or restaurants that have tracking for your order, restaurants that are new, or restaurants that have coupons.

Restaurant options

I only had 25 restaurants on my list. Most of them require you to order about an hour in advance. Only one had an option to order 30 minutes in advance. Nearly every restaurant also had an additional fee, from $2 to $6.

Delivering to

West Kendall

Ordering

I chose Red in Kendall. I ordered a chicken Caesar salad, and it asked me to choose between grilled or crispy chicken. We also ordered a Red burger and it asked for how I’d like it cooked. Then I just clicked Add to Cart. I had to sign in or make an account with my contact information. After that, I paid (it had an option for Apple Pay). My order included a $3 delivery fee, plus a suggested 15 percent tip, which I accepted. The total order, with a sales tax, came out to $19.08. My estimated arrival time was 60 to 70 minutes, which was considered “ASAP.”

Delivery time

My order actually arrived early. It was set to arrive between 1:15 and 1:25 p.m. but it arrived at at 12:55 p.m.

How it arrived

Both orders came in a white Styrofoam box. The salad had two plastic cups with dressing and plenty of croutons. The chicken was indeed very crispy and warm. The burger was more on the medium rare side. It was also soggy from all the ketchup and mustard. The fries on the side were not soggy like the burger. About two hours later, I got a text message asking me if the food was good and asking for a yes or no answer.

Delivery fee

There was a $3 delivery fee on my order. Other delivery fees ranged from $2 to $6.

Overall experience

The arrival time is a real setback for the app. I couldn’t just order something when I was hungry. I had to plan my order an hour ahead of time or more. A lot of the restaurants also required a minimum order. Mine was $12 minimum.

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Plan ahead and Grubhub app is a winner."