Final Thoughts: It's Friday evening after a long work week, you're tired, hungry, and craving a well-deserved reward evening watching “The Bear,” and you queue up your favorite delivery app because you can't even think about actually putting on pants to go grab your favorite takeout meal.
What's on the menu tonight? Feeling adventurous, you pick a new place with a good-looking photo and decent reviews. But as you watch your driver move steadily along the in-app map, you realize they're rushing to… an IHOP?
Welcome to the world of ghost kitchens. As technology continues to evolve takeaway, the virtual restaurant scene is keeping hungry consumers on their toes. But can it be trusted? And will consumers go along with the delivery? PS finds out.
Experts featured in this article
Dr. Ernest Baskin is a consumer behavior expert and associate professor and chair of the Department of Food, Drugs and Healthcare at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.
Chris Dane is chef and co-founder of Lucky Bird Fried Chicken in Los Angeles.
What exactly is a virtual restaurant?
First, a little introduction: A virtual kitchen (also known as a “ghost” or “dark” kitchen) is a restaurant concept that does not have a physical dining room and only operates a delivery service. While it's by no means a new innovation, we've seen a noticeable increase in the number of virtual restaurant listings since the pandemic began. And if you've ever been shocked to order from a ghost kitchen without knowing it (haha!), then you're in!
Countless TikTok users have lamented ordering from the virtual kitchen, with some going crazy over gas station salads and others likening the delivery model to “catfishing.” Others on the internet have used more harsh terms, calling the service “shady,” “scam” and “fake.”
“Consumers know that digital brands are new to the market and don't yet have the consumer trust that some of the more established brands have,” Dr Ernest Baskin, associate professor of food marketing at Saint Joseph's University, told PS. “We've seen a lot more consumers have had horrible experiences ordering from virtual restaurants only to find that the food wasn't very good. There are quality issues inherent in this concept.”
Similarly, brands are taking notice. In 2023, The Verge reported that Uber Eats had raised quality standards for virtual restaurants across its app. Last year, an exclusive Wall Street Journal article revealed that Uber had removed about 5,000 digital listings on the platform. The platform's updated policies, outlined on the Uber Eats website, now require digital kitchens to maintain a rating of at least 4.3 stars and not offer overlapping menu items across listings. In other words, at least 60% of the dishes must be different from those in the main restaurant or associated virtual outlets.
“Communicating and beginning to enforce these new quality standards for Uber Eats virtual restaurants is an important step in our program designed to benefit both consumers and merchants,” John Malenholtz, head of virtual restaurants at Uber Eats, said of the company's 2023 changes in an emailed statement to PS.
DoorDash, meanwhile, introduced in-app badges to help users discover virtual kitchen concepts (though of course there's the tried-and-true method of just looking up a restaurant's address.) The company also outlined strict requirements for virtual restaurants, including 50% differentiation in menu offerings, distinctive imagery and family-friendly language (no vulgar words in restaurant or menu names).
It's easy to understand why an existing business might want to open a virtual branch: It could offer fresh menu items to new customers, reuse ingredients already used in the kitchen's main operations, or allow owners to get creative. But virtual back-of-house logistics can put a strain on already-busy kitchen staff.
“I think that's why we've seen a lot of restaurants cut back on their virtual offerings since the pandemic,” Dr Baskin told PS, “because they often can't handle the increased foot traffic both in-store and online.”
Bringing a 'ghost' kitchen to life
On the flip side, virtual restaurants can take beloved brick-and-mortar menus to new heights.
Lucky Bird, the Los Angeles fried chicken stalwart that has built a loyal following at its Grand Central Market location, where chef and co-founder Chris Dane serves up home-style chicken sandwiches and chicken tenders, expanded its operations in 2020 by opening a virtual storefront in Chicago.
The location closed in 2021 due to a change in the parent company that hosted the kitchen, but Dane told PS that the short stint gave Lucky Bird an opportunity to enter the Midwest market. The delivery-only concept was also about gaining chef credibility: ahead of the virtual kitchen launch, Dane personally trained his Chicago staff on how to assemble an authentic Lucky Bird sandwich.
Still, delivery-only options aren't necessarily the ideal experience for those looking to connect with the brand and the people making the food. Customers are less likely to tolerate less-than-perfect food and have fewer touch points to get expert recommendations. Of delivery in general, Dane says, “It's harder to leave a lasting impression on people with a personal touch. Food like fried chicken feels homey and like grandma made it.”
There's a big difference between a straightforward ghost kitchen like Lucky Bird Chicago and a storefront listing that's a bit more vague. And yet it brings up a habitual DoorDasher existential dilemma: Where can I get my favorite pizza? actually Should it be delivered by Chuck E. Cheese's, or should we remain ignorant? Either way, the quality of your experience may depend on the flesh and blood human being behind the delivery.
“You can't be robotic,” Dane says. “I tell my chefs, 'Cook as if your mom is out there. You're cooking for your mom. When you wrap a sandwich for your mom, is that how you wrap it?'” he recalls telling his Chicago staff, “That's what I want you to offer. Don't let these imperfections get in the way.”
These days, that might be the best-case scenario for Friday night takeout.
Nicolette Baker is a freelance writer based in Brooklyn, New York. Her areas of expertise are primarily food, drink, and fashion media, but she enjoys covering all aspects of lifestyle with an accessible approach. She has written for Food & Wine, Byrdie, Business Insider, VinePair, and Flourish.
