TikTok has become a popular platform for discovering restaurants, with viral videos helping local eateries reach new audiences and attract customers. The company is now expanding this experience with a new feature called “Must Eat”, designed to make finding restaurants easier.
Introduced on Wednesday, the community-driven guide brings together restaurant recommendations from across the US, highlighting venues gaining attention on the platform. The feature aims to make food discovery more convenient by collecting popular recommendations in one place.
The launch places TikTok in more direct competition with platforms such as Yelp and Google Maps. However, rather than focusing primarily on search results, maps and traditional reviews, TikTok is building on its strength in user-generated content to help people discover restaurants through recommendations shared by the community.
“Must Eat” draws on more than 40 million posts and comments to compile restaurant recommendations and curated lists. Users can explore venues by city and narrow their choices using filters for cuisine, price, rating and location, helping them compare options before deciding where to eat.
Restaurant recommendations are organised into two categories: “Everyday Eats”, which features casual dining favourites and popular neighbourhood spots, and “Elevated Dining”, which showcases restaurants suited to celebrations, special occasions and nights out.
The feature also allows users to book tables at selected restaurants directly through TikTok, with reservations supported by OpenTable.
The initial rollout covers New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Users can access “Must Eat” through TikTok’s search bar, the Local feed, restaurant pages and location links attached to videos featuring participating venues.
