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Dine out and get paid in the process with the Seated restaurant app

Lulu Chang
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You don’t really need another reason to dine out. We get it —  you’re tired, you know you won’t be able to make coq au vin the same way that those French-trained chefs can, you don’t want to deal with a sink full of dirty dishes tonight (or let’s face it, tomorrow morning), and ultimately, you just want someone to bring you plate after plate of delicious food without lifting a finger. But somehow, if that laundry list of restaurant dining pros still isn’t enough to convince you that tonight is the night for you to treat yourself, perhaps Seated can do the trick. Seated is more than a reservation app — it’s a restaurant discovery app that actively rewards you for choosing to dine at some of the finest establishments in your city.

It’s a restaurant discovery app that actively rewards you for choosing to dine at some of the finest establishments in your city.

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Currently active in 14 cities across the United States — Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, Providence, Rhode Island; San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. — Seated encourages local foodies to explore their neighborhood culinary gems by giving them a little extra incentive. There’s no point system, no delayed gratification. Rather, when you book a meal through Seated, you receive between $10 and $50 in rewards from brands like Amazon, Lyft, and Starbucks. So not only are you finally trying that new restaurant that everyone’s been talking about, but you’re also earning Lyft credits that you can use to get home.

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While there are plenty of other restaurant reservation apps on the market, Seated believes it can make a difference by the quality of its participating institutions. As Brice Gumpel, co-founder of Seated, told Digital Trends at a recent event, customers are more likely to follow through on their Seated reservations and come in with a bigger party. Consequently, some of the most highly rated and sought after restaurants in the U.S. have taken to Seated to attract newer, younger customers (the average age of a Seated user, the company tells us, is between 23 and 38 years old).

For example, one of the more popular restaurants on Seated in New York is Le Coq Rico, the restaurant from three Michelin-starred chef Antoine Westermann. And while The New York Times gave the establishment a rave review, the poultry-focused restaurant may have had trouble convincing younger patrons to give its fine dining a try. Not so with Seated — as Anthony Battaglia, general manager of Le Coq Rico told us, “For Le Coq Rico, a fairly new restaurant in New York, partnering with Seated is a win-win deal for Seated, us, and of course our guests!”

Seated simply requires a photo of your receipt, or you can link your credit card.

While making reservations ahead of time is Seated’s bread and butter, it’s not the only way to earn with the app. This week, the company launched a new walk-in feature that allows you to simply browse nearby restaurants, and where available, select the “Walk-In” option when you’re looking for a more spontaneous meal. The end result is the same — you still receive $10 to $50 in rewards after your meal. To prove that you did, in fact, make good on your reservation, Seated simply requires a photo of your receipt, or you can link your credit card.

“Diners have more options than ever to eat a meal outside of a restaurant thanks to the influx of fast casual, meal kits, and delivery. Seated focuses on getting diners into the physical restaurant more often,” Gumpel said. “Our newest walk-in feature, now live in 14 cities, builds on this mission and provides people deciding to dine last minute with a new solution to discover a great restaurant quickly and still be rewarded for doing so.”

Seated also pledged to donate one meal to a child in need through the ShareTheMeal app for every meal booked on Seated, so your decision to dine out also positively impacts the lives of those in need. And if that alone isn’t reason enough to head to a restaurant tonight, we’re not sure what is.

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Lulu Chang
Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
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