Dine with New Friends with These Meal-Sharing Services

One of the latest dining trends is so-called meal-sharing services, which often involve dining in someone’s home, along with other guests. You pay a flat fee for the experience, and then partake in a community meal. They’re available around the world, and offer a great way to glimpse life in a new place and meet fellow travelers or residents. It’s like Airbnb for dinner.

Several services exist: Mealsharing, the original take on the concept, is available in 450 cities worldwide.

A fast growing service is EatWith, which lists meals of various prices, cuisine types and group sizes. It also lists the complete menu of the dinner.

For a more upscale experience, there’s Feastly, which invites potential hosts to apply; only a small number are accepted. The service is available in New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Chicago.

With Kitchensurfing, you set up the dinner personally. The guests are your own, but the surprise comes with the chef, who is assigned to you and kept secret until they arrive. It’s basically a twist on a small, catered dinner party. Clean-up is included in the price.

Other options are popping up too: CookApp, Cookening and Plate Culture have all joined in with their own variations on the concept.