Ordering food from a favourite restaurant located on the other side of the city may soon become easier for Zomato customers. The food delivery platform has introduced a new feature called Limitless Delivery, allowing users to order from selected restaurants located up to 40 kilometres away from their delivery address.
The feature marks an interesting shift in how Zomato is approaching restaurant discovery and food delivery. Until now, customers have generally been shown restaurants based on their proximity to their selected delivery location. As a result, several popular restaurants located in distant parts of a city often remained outside the regular delivery options.
With Limitless Delivery, Zomato is looking to change that experience by making more restaurants accessible, even when they are not located in the customer's immediate neighbourhood.
The feature is currently available across seven Indian cities: Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune and Hyderabad.
How Does Zomato's Limitless Delivery Work?
The new feature allows customers to discover and order food from participating restaurants located up to 40 kilometres away within the same city.
Customers can access the feature directly through the Zomato application. A dedicated Limitless Delivery option is available under the 'Explore More' section on the app's homepage. Selecting this option displays restaurants that are available for longer-distance deliveries.
Users can also search for a particular restaurant by name. If the restaurant supports the feature and can deliver to the customer's selected address, it will appear in the search results.
For instance, someone living in Mumbai's Andheri area could potentially discover and order from a participating restaurant in South Mumbai, subject to delivery availability.
However, the 40-kilometre limit does not mean every restaurant within that distance will be available. Actual serviceability depends on participating restaurants, delivery availability and the customer's location.
Seven Cities Get Access to Limitless Delivery
Zomato has initially introduced the feature in seven major urban markets:
- Bengaluru
- Delhi NCR
- Chennai
- Mumbai
- Kolkata
- Pune
- Hyderabad
These markets represent some of India's largest food delivery and restaurant consumption hubs. The initial rollout gives Zomato an opportunity to test how customers respond to ordering from restaurants located much farther away.
The company has not announced a confirmed timeline for expanding the service to additional cities.
What Does This Mean for Restaurants?
Beyond customer convenience, Limitless Delivery could create new opportunities for restaurants that have built a strong following beyond their immediate neighbourhoods.
A popular restaurant in one part of Mumbai, for example, may attract customers from across the city. However, its delivery reach has traditionally depended on the distance it can serve.
By expanding access to selected restaurants, Zomato could help these businesses reach customers who may have previously been unable to order from them through the platform.
This could be particularly relevant for speciality restaurants, regional food brands, premium dining establishments and outlets known for signature dishes
For restaurants, the potential opportunity is a wider customer base without necessarily opening additional outlets. However, the actual benefit will depend on delivery costs, kitchen capacity, food quality during transit and the number of customers willing to place longer-distance orders.
Delivery Charges and Waiting Time Remain Key Questions
While the feature expands the distance from which customers can order, questions around delivery economics remain.
Zomato has not clearly specified whether Limitless Delivery orders will attract additional delivery charges or how delivery timelines will change for longer-distance orders.
These factors could influence how frequently customers use the feature.
Delivering food across a city involves different operational challenges compared with serving nearby neighbourhoods. Longer routes can increase delivery time, fuel expenses and the complexity of managing delivery partners.
For Zomato, the challenge will be to balance a wider restaurant selection with a reliable delivery experience.
Customers will therefore need to check the estimated delivery time and applicable charges displayed in the app before placing an order.
Zomato Also Introduces Host Mode for Group Orders
Alongside Limitless Delivery, Zomato has introduced another feature called Host Mode, designed to make group food ordering more convenient.
The feature addresses a familiar situation when someone hosts friends or family and shares their phone so everyone can select what they want to eat.
When Host Mode is activated, food prices are hidden across restaurant menus and the shopping cart. This allows guests to browse and add dishes without seeing their individual prices.
Once everyone has finished selecting their food, the host can switch off the feature using their phone's passcode or biometric authentication. Prices then become visible again, allowing the host to review the total bill and complete the payment.
The feature is designed to make group ordering more comfortable, particularly during family gatherings and social occasions.
A New Direction for India's Food Delivery Market
Zomato's Limitless Delivery launch comes at a time when India's online food delivery market is becoming increasingly competitive. Platforms are looking beyond basic food ordering to improve restaurant discovery, customer convenience and the overall ordering experience.
Expanding delivery access to restaurants located farther away could become an interesting differentiator, particularly in large cities where customers often have favourite restaurants spread across different neighbourhoods.
However, the long-term success of the feature will depend on how effectively Zomato manages delivery costs, restaurant participation and customer expectations around delivery time.
For now, the feature offers customers something they have often wanted: access to more of their city's restaurants without having to travel across town.
And if Zomato can make longer-distance food delivery commercially viable while maintaining food quality and reliable delivery times, Limitless Delivery could open up a new opportunity for both restaurants and the wider food delivery industry.