Tips You Need To Follow When Ordering Takeout

Considering getting takeout from your favorite restaurant? You're not alone. Takeout has been a popular form of restaurant ordering for decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic has seemingly influenced the way we order from restaurants even more. National Restaurant Association data (via QSR) shows an increase in takeout orders across all meals from the beginning of 2020 to the midst of the pandemic. Lunchtime saw the biggest increase of 6% in takeout orders.

It's not surprising when you consider the convenience of takeout. Just like delivery, you can order food to eat in the comfort of your home rather than in a busy restaurant with long wait times. And, today's restaurants typically offer most of their menus for to-go orders, allowing you to get almost anything you'd order for dine-in packaged for takeout instead. Restaurants also know how important offering takeout is to their customers, so they're often devising ways to make it more convenient, like online ordering and curbside pickup (via Restaurant Business). 

Whether you're a takeout pro or making the switch to ordering more to-go instead of dining in, learning a few tips will help you make the most of your takeout meals.

Food delivery apps, like Grubhub, DoorDash, and UberEats, have soared in popularity in recent years. Many top options also offer customers the convenience of using their apps to order food for pickup to save on delivery costs. This can be a good option for restaurants that don't have their own online ordering capabilities. However, you should be aware that you typically pay more for the convenience of ordering through an app. According to an article in The New York Times, ordering food via an app can mark up costs by as much as 91% compared to ordering your takeout straight from the restaurant, which you can usually do by calling in or stopping by.

Additionally, if you do decide to have a food delivery person from an app deliver your takeout order, you could be more at risk of it being incorrect. Several DoorDash drivers commented in a Reddit thread that they don't usually check orders in-depth. One states, "I rarely give a detailed check of the food anymore. It's hardly worth it...I mostly count items and check for drinks, not much more than that." In contrast, when you pick up your own order, you can personally sift through everything to make sure the restaurant got it right.

The Chicago Tribune reports that restaurants are heavily pushing online and mobile app orders to drive sales. According to the article, customers tend to spend more money when they use an app to order takeout versus when they dine in. Therefore, it seems like a no-brainer that they'd want to prioritize quick and convenient online orders if it could potentially lead to higher revenue. As of the article's press time, Starbucks reported that mobile orders account for as much as 20% of its sales in busy metropolitan areas.

It also makes sense, then, that you could end up with better deals when you order via a restaurant's website or mobile app rather than stopping in to dine. Take a look at the apps for your favorite restaurants to check for deals before ordering, as many offer takeout-only or mobile-only deals. This is very common with fast food places, like Auntie Anne's, which has a rewards program and special offers only found on its app. However, traditional restaurants join in on the fun, too. For instance, Bob Evans lets customers order to-go family meals on its website. And, customers can use the Chili's app to check and cash in their rewards when they're ready to order takeout.

If you or someone in your household has common food allergies or maintains a specific diet, it's important to know what's in the food you're ordering and how it fits into your dietary needs. When you dine in a restaurant, you'll probably have access to some of this information on the menu. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration states that restaurants required to abide by FDA labeling regulations must list the number of calories for menu items and offer additional nutrition information, like fat and protein content, upon customer request.

However, when you're ordering takeout, you may not have a menu sitting in front of you. Before ordering, check the restaurant's website to find the information you need. Many of them list their items' nutrition information for customer convenience, like Olive Garden, which includes an allergen guide, gluten-sensitive options, and nutritional content of its menu items. If you can't find the information on the website, call the restaurant and ask for a manager who can help you.

It's common practice to tip your waitstaff when you dine in at a restaurant. But, what about takeout orders? Is tipping still necessary? According to Mister Manners (via Today), the answer is yes, mostly because it's a simple way to show gratitude to the people preparing your food. Additionally, restaurant owner Lacey Irby tells Today, "Ordering from a restaurant is a luxury. You don't have to cook; you don't have to do dishes." According to Irby, that luxury is a prime reason why tipping should be the standard, even for takeout orders.

Server Jackie Stogner tells Citizen Times that another excellent reason to tip on your to-go order is because of the extra time and care that goes into preparing your order. Because you're not there to eat your meal, Stogner says that restaurants typically go to great lengths to ensure that your order is correct before handing it to you. Therefore, your tip works as a small "thank you" for the extra effort.

You finish up a long day at work and are getting ready to relax. Takeout from your favorite restaurant sounds great, and so does the martini you usually order there. You place your order, only to be told that the restaurant doesn't allow liquor drinks in to-go orders. What gives? Some restaurants have their own rules on this, while others simply follow the state's law on liquor for takeout and delivery orders. That's right — your state might say it's okay to have that martini if you dine in, but not as part of your carryout order.

In fact, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, only Florida and Mississippi allowed takeout cocktails, with some restrictions. During the pandemic, more states temporarily allowed customers to pick up their cocktails as a way to help restaurants stay in business and give consumers access to the drinks they wanted when they couldn't dine in (via Idaho Business Review). TouchBistro reports that, since then, some states have allowed to-go alcohol permanently, but others are still not sold on the idea or have limits on what you can order. For instance, New York allows to-go drinks, but customers can't buy wine or liquor by the bottle, and they must buy their alcohol with food (via Syracuse). Check with your state's liquor control commission to learn its regulations before ordering.

We've all been there at some point: You pick up your takeout order, drive back home, sit down to eat, and realize there's no plasticware to eat with. At home, it may not be a big problem, but it could be an issue if you're taking your meal on the road. However, the reason you don't have it included may not be the restaurant's oversight; instead, it could be that your area doesn't allow plasticware to be included unless you specifically ask for it.

Some localities are making the switch to a more environmentally-friendly takeout experience by not automatically adding plasticware to your order. Los Angeles restaurants with more than 26 employees stopped adding plasticware and paper napkins to takeout bags in November 2021 as the result of a new ordinance, with all food and drink establishments in the city having to abide by April 2022 (via Yahoo). According to WTTW, Chicago followed suit in January 2022, enforcing a similar ordinance on restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and just about anywhere else that served food and drinks. If you do live in an area restricting the free distribution of plasticware, just be sure to ask for it to be included in your bag.

The last thing you want when driving your takeout order home is to have your food spill in your car after stopping too abruptly or taking a turn too quickly. Because food delivery drivers tend to build skills in spillage prevention after completing several deliveries, we believe that taking some pointers from them can come in handy to keep your food upright and secure on the way home.

In a Reddit thread for GrubHub drivers, one delivery driver says that they keep a cardboard box in their vehicle to use specifically for keeping drinks in place. Another driver dittoes the cardboard box idea, stating that they even cut holes in the box to act as cupholders for drinks. Another Reddit thread for DoorDashers shows one smart delivery driver keeping a cooler on the passenger seat, strapped in by the seatbelt. All food deliveries go in there, helping to both keep them secure and prevent spills and smells in their car. These tricks of the trade could work well for your takeout orders, too.