App connecting strangers for dinner rolls out in London: ‘Build community’

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London’s getting a whole different kind of dinner reservation, one that brings six strangers around the table for conversation and camaraderie. Time Left is a novel app that lets users share a meal at a local restaurant with folks they’ve never met before, a bid to translate virtual interactions into real-life experiences. Our Jennifer Bieman reports on its London rollout.  

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WHAT IS IT?

Time Left is a mobile app and online platform that uses algorithms to pair a person with five strangers for dinner.  

The app launched in London in late September after a rollout in several of Canada’s largest cities, starting with Montreal in May 2024. It now has approximately 50 regular users in London, said Lara AlBarazi, the manager of Time Left in Canada. 

Time Left is not intended to be a dating app, but instead bills itself as fighting big-city loneliness, one dinner at a time. The app, which began in Lisbon, Portugal in May 2023, is now in 300 cities around the world. 

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Users sign up on the Time Left app and do a quick personality quiz to get started, AlBarazi said. The algorithm then matches the user with five others it thinks would be a good fit for the Wednesday dinner.  

On Tuesday evening, the users get a glimpse of the strangers they’ll be dining with. 

“You learn their astrological signs, their professions and their nationalities, but you get them in percentages. You’ll know that 20 per cent of your table is French, for example,” AlBarazi said.  

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“It’s a way to give some hints, but we want to keep some mystery until the meeting.” 

The morning of, users get the name and directions to the local restaurant they will be meeting at that evening.  

When the strangers arrive for the meal at 7 p.m., the app has a few standard ice-breaker questions to get conversation flowing. Each diner pays for their own meal and is invited to after-dinner drinks at another location where users in other Time Left parties converge.  

“It’s a moment to build community and rekindle connections made during previous dinners and be part of the Time Left community,” AlBarazi said. 

The app has a user fee, in addition to the cost of whatever the diner orders at the Wednesday dinner. One dinner match is $21.98, one month of matches is $34.99 and three-month membership is $74.99.  

WHERE ARE THE DINNERS?

Time Left changes up where the meals take place and tries to find quality restaurants at varying price points and with diverse menu options, AlBarazi said. The dinners are always on Wednesdays.  

In London, Time Left has planned dinners at Garlic’s of London, a Richmond Row culinary mainstay for decades, and relative newcomers to the city’s food scene such as ANNDining, Ironwood Kitchen and Bar, Lucy’s Pizza and Cocktails and The Mule.  

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The app solicits feedback from users about their experiences at the restaurant and uses the data to plan future host locations, AlBarazi said.  

WHY DO PEOPLE DO IT?

There are a lot of reasons people use the app, AlBarazi said. Some are new to a city and want to meet others and get to know their new locale. Others may be a little shy and see Time Left as a low-risk way to improve their social and conversation skills, AlBarazi said.

Some Time Left devotees are just plain curious and like meeting new people with different experiences and backgrounds.

And since it is a dinner, the joy of trying a new local eatery is a draw too, AlBarazi said.

Time Left asks people to rate their experience with the strangers and has found mostly positive feedback about the algorithm matches, AlBarazi said.

“People are enjoying the people they’re meeting. They’re finding the compatibility accurate,” she said. “It’s an experience of putting yourself out there and finding community.”

jbieman@postmedia.com

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