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Amazon is launching its restaurant delivery service in London, where it’ll compete with similar services like Deliveroo and UberEats. Orders can be made through Amazon’s Prime Now app, with the company promising "no menu markups or hidden fees," delivery times of "an hour or less," and free delivery on orders over £15 ($20). However, the service is only available to Prime subscribers, which itself costs £79 a year in the UK (compared to $99 a year in the US).
Amazon Restaurants first launched in Seattle in September last year, and has since rolled out to a number of US areas including Dallas, San Francisco, and Manhattan. In London Amazon faces tough competition from Deliveroo and UberEats, which generally advertise quicker delivery times. Earlier this year, Deliveroo even began experimenting with off-site kitchens for restaurants, allowing them to better serve London’s scattered residential areas.
Restaurants available via Amazon’s delivery service include upmarket locations like Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Benares and the European-focused Baltic Restaurant, as well as chains (like Strada) and lunchtime spots (Pod, Tossed, etc). "Based on our own research into what is important to consumers in food delivery, our team have hand-picked a selection of the best quality local restaurants in London," said Amazon UK’s restaurant delivery Al Wilkinson in a press statement. "We're excited to be helping many of these small businesses start offering home delivery for the very first time."
Here are the areas currently being served, via Amazon: "The City, West End, Westminster, Pimlico, and Victoria in central London; Whitechapel, Bethnal Green, Bow, Clapton, and Homerton in the east; Islington, Stoke Newington and Stamford Hill in the north; Kensington and Chelsea in the west; and Southwark, Lambeth, Vauxhall, and Kennington in south London." The retailer says more areas will be added soon.