Zomato Cracks Down on Fake One-Dish Restaurants After Social Media Outcry

After social media users pointed out single-dish restaurants listed on Zomato with weird names, exorbitant prices and non-existent addresses, the food delivery company delisted the restaurants.

Zomato, on X, acknowledged the presence of suspicious restaurants on its platform and said that it has identified all such restaurants and delisted them from the app. "To solve this more comprehensively, we have also investigated all other restaurants which have a very limited menu on Zomato and might have listed prohibited items or worked around a way to list prohibited items," it said.

Reiterating its policy, it said that all restaurants listed on Zomato need to have a "FSSAI license" and that the company "actively blocks items such as alcohol, cigarettes/cigars/vapes" from being listed on its platform.

Also Read: Zomato, Swiggy Address CCI Probe, Affirm Adherence to Competition Standards

It further mentioned that the now delisted restaurants were able to bypass Zomato's checks by using generic food names like "Naughty strawberry and Merry Berry".

Two days back, a user on X, posted screenshots of restaurants in Nayagaon area in Chandigarh selling only one food item. It was followed by multiple users expressing concerns about these restaurants engaging in drug-related activities or money laundering. Another user said that they must be exploiting Zomato’s supply chain to push drugs or other illegal things.

Zomato, founded in 2008 by Deepinder Goyal, is the leading player in the food delivery market with 58 per cent share, according to a recent report by brokerage firm Motilal Oswal. It has extended its lead over Swiggy in the food delivery segment. Moreover, Zomato's quick commerce arm Blinkit continues to dominate the 10-minute delivery segment with a 46 per cent market share.

For the Q2FY25, the company has reported a consolidated total income of Rs 5,020 crore, which is up by 13 per cent from last quarter and up 64 per cent from corresponding quarter last year.