EazyDiner, an online table reservation venture co-founded by well-known Indian food critic Vir Sanghvi, has secured USD 3 million in Series A funding fromSaama Capital (an investor in e-commerce majors such as Snapdeal and Paytm) and its existing investor DSG Consumer Partners (the backer of OYO Rooms, Zipdial and Mswipe).
EazyDiner, which started operations in Delhi in late 2014, has also announced its expansion into Mumbai. The startup will use the funds to further expand into other Indian cities, with plans to launch in Bangalore and Pune by the end of this year, said an official statement.
The latest funding comes four months after the firm secured seed funding of USD 1 million from DSG with participation from Gulpreet Kohli, former Managing Director at ChrysCapital.
EazyDiner is an online restaurant reservation platform that helps users read concise reviews and recommendations by top critics, find great restaurants and bars, and make online reservations within 30 seconds. Diners also have access to and can talk to an experienced food concierge for personalised recommendations, who not only provide recommendations but also assist with bookings at even hard-to-get-into restaurants.
The platform currently lists over 19,000 restaurants and bars with menus, and offers real-time reservations at over 500 partner restaurants in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. It has an advanced database of active diners and recommendations by top food critics.
The company claims that it has grown 25-fold over the last seven months and will book 10,000 diners in August alone, up from the 400 diners in January.
“There is tremendous opportunity in the dining out segment for a focussed reservation play. With the curated content approach led by the illustrious Vir Sanghvi, bringing the convenience and ability to get real-time confirmation when booking along with deals with every booking makes EazyDiner an attractive proposition for the consumer,” Ash Lilani, Managing Partner and Co-founder of Saama, said in a release.
EazyDiner competes with DineOut and Zomato. In April this year, Zomato acquired US-based NexTable with plans to offer table bookings in India, Australia and UAE.
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