UBER on Thursday announced the expansion of its global food delivery app to the Kingdom’s capital. Starting Thursday, residents of Riyadh will be able to download the Uber Eats app or visit ubereats.com and order meals from a wide selection of the city’s best loved restaurants — freshly prepared and reliably delivered in an average of 30 to 40 minutes.

Powered by the same global technology that enables riders to travel seamlessly from A to B, Uber Eats is an on-demand food delivery app that partners with more than 80,000 restaurants in 200 cities around the world to bring millions of people the food they want at the tap of a button.

Partnering with over 100 restaurant locations in Riyadh, locals can order meals from their favorite restaurants for every taste, occasion and location seven days a week with Uber Eats. From local favorites such as Cafe Bateel, Manoosh and Hamburghini to everyday national brands including McDonalds and PizzaHut, Uber Eats customers will find a wide-selection of food options on the Uber Eats app, all conveniently available in one place and delivered fast and fresh, with the reliability they’ve come to expect from using Uber.

"We’re hugely excited to be launching in Riyadh today. People in the city can now use Uber Eats to choose from hundreds of dishes to get the food they want, when they want it, delivered at Uber speed — whether that’s at dinner home, lunch at work or a snack when out with friends.

With this launch, Riyadh joins the hundreds of other cities around the world who’ve embraced Uber Eats as a new way to get great food delivered fast.

We’ve revolutionized the way people move, now we’re transforming the way people enjoy food,” said Mohamad Jardaneh, general manager, Uber Eats KSA.

While Uber Eats is a global brand, the Uber Eats app in KSA has been custom built to meet the needs of local residents and businesses. In recognition of the fact that many people and restaurants rely on cash for the majority of their transactions, Riyadh will become the first Uber Eats city in the world to launch with cash as a payment option. This is a reflection of Uber’s continued commitment to helping bridge the gap between digital services and the cash economy.

The Uber Eats app has also been redesigned for the first time to meet the specific needs of the Arabic language.

“Just like on our rides business, we know the importance of building technology to meet the everyday needs of locals. Whether that’s by opening up the benefits of our technology to more people with things like cash, or by investing in redesigning the app to offer customers the local experience they expect,” said Jardaneh.

From Feb. 1 more than 100 restaurant locations opened their virtual doors via the Uber Eats app. As seen around the world, the Uber Eats app can help local restaurants connect with more customers, with the technology and data to help them access, adapt and thrive in the growing food delivery market.

Riyadh becomes Uber Eats’ third city in the region, after launching in Dubai and Abu Dhabi last year.

Uber Eats — how to order:

Download the app or go to ubereats.com

Sign in — follow the steps to create your account

Enter your delivery location — add your home, work, or any other address you’d like.

Browse local restaurants — Search for your favorite restaurant or alternatively, sort by cuisine, price, delivery time, or dietary restrictions.

Check out with a tap — pay with cash or your card on file

Track your order — watch as your order gets picked up and delivered right to your door in around 30-40 minutes.

Why Uber Eats — key app features

Personalized recommendations —when you open Uber Eats you should be able to find what you want with ease. We are using machine learning to help surface recommendations like your go-tos, less than 25 minute delivery options, and popular options near you based on past orders and details like time of day and delivery location.

Filter for the right food — exploring should be just as easy. That is why you can also look up restaurants according to specific criteria like speed, price, and dietary constraints. Want to see all gluten free options available within 30 minutes? No problem. Dish information and average prep times help us share the right dishes that will come at the right time.

Discover the best of your city — just like the five star rating system you know and love in the Uber app, with Uber Eats you can see what others have rated a restaurant right within the app.

Customize the drop-off — whether you’re at home, at the office or even relaxing with your family at the park, you can enter even more specific instructions and request to “meet your food at the curb,” or have your food “delivered to the door.”

Schedule orders — Sometimes convenience means being able to plan ahead. For the planners out there, we’ve introduced the ability to schedule an order ahead of time. You can schedule an order anytime up to an hour before the desired delivery window — and as far as a week out.

Track your order — Say goodbye to the black box of delivery. Now, you’ll know exactly where your order is every step of the way. Watch in real time as your food is prepared, picked up, and delivered to you.

Order Uber Eats when you ride — when you are taking a ride with Uber, you can also open the Uber Eats app to request a meal that will arrive at the same time you do. — SG