With food influencers buzzing about the latest \u201cmust-try\u201d spots and viral restaurants drawing around-the-block lines, securing a coveted reservation has turned into an art form for many.<\/p>\n
Of course, those who have mastered this skill want to show off their handiwork.<\/p>\n
What if there were a way for them to flex their exclusive reservations, share hidden gems and track their dining adventures all in one place?<\/p>\n
Turns out, there is. Meet Beli, a social app designed to help users track, rank and share restaurant experiences with friends. And it\u2019s become somewhat of a competitive sport.<\/p>\n
What is Beli? <\/p>\n
Launched in 2021, Beli works to function as a public diary of meals out, allowing users to log where they\u2019ve eaten, what they\u2019ve ordered and what they thought of it.<\/p>\n
They can use the app to remember their dining out wins and losses, such as what they ate on their last vacation or where they last took visitors from out of town.<\/p>\n
The app also allows users to share their experiences with friends and view recommendations based on their past dining experiences.<\/p>\n
How does Beli work?<\/p>\n
The app functions like a combination of Yelp and Instagram.<\/p>\n
Users select a restaurant that they\u2019ve visited and create a post where they write about their experience, upload photos, select favorite dishes and give the restaurant a ranking. Like a Goodreads or Strava profile, users can amass a detailed log of where and what they\u2019ve eaten.<\/p>\n
The platform doesn\u2019t allow users to just give places a random score: Users rank spots by comparing them to past spots they\u2019ve visited. Each score gets placed onto an interactive map where reviewers can get a bird\u2019s-eye view of all their favorite eateries in a city.<\/p>\n
Based on these scores, Beli generates recommendations for users. The more users rank restaurants, the more precise their suggestions become.<\/p>\n
The social element of the app comes in as users can \u201cfriend\u201d each other and view a feed of the restaurants their pals have visited. The app also provides a \u201cfriend rating\u201d for different restaurants, which averages all of a user\u2019s friends\u2019 scores for a particular spot.<\/p>\n
Looking through a Beli feed of where and with whom acquaintances recently dined can not only turn dining out into a competition, but, as some users joke, allow for light stalking<\/a>.<\/p>\n Based on all the information they see from friends on Beli, enthusiasts can bookmark spots they want to visit and sort through recs based on price point and location.<\/p>\n Sure, avid diners can use Beli to track the most exclusive reservations that they have gotten their hands on (while humblebragging<\/a> to friends about it), but how one uses the app is entirely up to them. For example, it could be used to rank every McDonald\u2019s location or rate restaurants based on how allergy-friendly they are.<\/p>\n Beli uses the public\u2019s collective experiences at various spots to release different categories of food-based city guides. When searching for the next best burger in New York or ice cream spot in America, users can see what their fellow Beli members recommend and give them a shot.<\/p>\n Dining out as a competition<\/p>\n Like any social media site, Beli has its own influencers. Food-focused content creators on TikTok and Instagram can use the app to share their thoughts with followers.<\/p>\n