
There are three main food delivery players in Prague; Dรกme jรญdlo, Wolt, and UberEats. I hadnโt tried any of these services before the restaurants closed โ now Iโve tried all three. So which delivery service is best?
Wolt
My first app download was Wolt. I chose Wolt because they seemed to deliver from several quality restaurants that I liked to visit when open โ wasnโt just focussed on existing takeaways. It was pretty easy to set up my details โ the app was in English and I liked that I could use Apple Pay so I didnโt have to enter my credit card details again.
My first order experience was perfect. The menu was automatically translated and I was able to add items to the cart, add a tip (you can revoke later if needed), checkout and immediately see the progress of my order. The progress was updated until it showed that my order had been collected. I could see the progress of the courier on a map and delivery time, so I was at the door just as they arrived. The food handover was easy and the courier was friendly.
UberEats
I already had the Uber taxi app and so I used that for my first order. I would have used Wolt except that I wanted a McDonalds Bacon Big Tasty and Wolt donโt deliver McDonaldโs. I subsequently downloaded the full Uber Eats app and found it slightly better, although both are very similar. The app is in English and I was able to set Apple Pay as a payment option.
My first order experience was very good. Automatic translations of the menu werenโt available, but it wasnโt difficult to figure out what I needed โ especially as this was just McDonalds! I was able to add items to the cart, add a tip (you can revoke later if needed), checkout and immediately see the progress of my order. The progress was updated until it showed that my order had been collected. I could see the progress of the courier on a map and delivery time, so I was at the door just as they arrived. The food handover was easy and the courier was friendly.
Dรกme jรญdlo
I probably wouldnโt have bothered to install the Dรกme jรญdlo app, except that I wanted to order from Cafรฉ Buddha and they didnโt appear on either of the other two apps. The app is in English but it was difficult to set up my details and there was no option to set up a payment type.
I chose the items I wanted from Cafรฉ Buddha and was taken to a payment screen where I had to manually enter all my credit card details (many apps offer a scan option using the camera). I clicked pay and the app just sat for a few minutes until I was prompted to enter a verification code. I entered the code and the payment failed. I had to repeat the process a second time and then it worked.
The app showed delivery in one hour โ that seemed like a long time but I assumed the restaurant was busy. The app didnโt show any updates, but I did receive an email with an โOrder Statusโ button. That opened the Dรกme jรญdlo website, with โOrder not foundโ but then the order shown underneath.
I clicked to open the Dรกme jรญdlo app โ it opened but my order wasnโt shown at all.
At 7.25 pm, the delivery driver called to say that heโd arrive in four minutes. I was actually pleased that I didnโt have to wait until the time shown, but also irritated that the progress didnโt show โorder on its wayโ, nor a map to show the driver progress.
The food handover was easy and the courier was friendly.
I checked the order status to see if it had been updated. It did show โfood has been collectedโ but still showed a delivery time of 7.49 pm.
I believe Dรกme jรญdlo were the first to offer a food delivery service in Prague. But it looks like theyโve become complacent. All I can hope is that they take less commission from the restaurants they serve โ that would be the only reason I would consider using them again.
Delivery Fees
In my experience, all three services charged a similar delivery fee. The average was 49Kฤ.
Contactless Delivery
All three delivery services offer โcontactless deliveryโ โ your order is left on your doorstep. I didnโt choose this option as it didnโt seem very practical when living on the 6th floor of the building. With or without โcontactโ the courier will handle your bag. I always wore a face mask when meeting the courier โ more to reassure them than protect myself.
So which delivery service is best?
Wolt has been consistently the best delivery service app for me. They have the best user interface and offer many of the restaurants that Iโd normally visit to dine in.
UberEats is a close second and Iโll continue to use them when I need to junk out on a Big Tasty burger.
Dรกme jรญdlo really need to improve their app or they could find themselves in fourth place following the launch of Bolt, formerly known as Taxify, who just entered the Prague delivery food market.
Why you should stop using these apps when the current restrictions are lifted
All of these food delivery operators take a hefty percentage from the restaurants they serve. You often see platitudes from them that mention how they are โglad to support businesses during these trying timesโ.
If these operators really wanted to support restaurants, theyโd offer free restaurant registration and halve the commission fee they charge on each order โ Iโve read that can be 30-40%. If youโre a restaurant owner, please let me know the fees you pay and Iโll update the summary table below.
When restaurants do open, please support them by visiting and dining in the restaurant. Not only will they save the commission fee, youโll enjoy nicely-plated, hot food, delivered to your table by a lovely waitress, while you enjoy a glass of wine within the ambience of the restaurant.
Support Prague Morning!
We are proud to provide our readers from around the world with independent, and unbiased news for free.
Our dedicated team supports the local community, foreign residents and visitors of all nationalities through our website, social media and newsletter.
We appreciate that not everyone can afford to pay for our services but if you are able to, we ask you to support Prague Morning by making a contribution โ no matter how small ๐ .
-
NEWSLETTER
Subscribe for our daily news