Recently, as well as a rather highly strung laptop charger, I also had to contend with a mobile phone which only seemed to charge when it felt like it. Luckily, it did not take too long to get sorted. First world problems, eh?
Seeing as I had to reinstall and review which apps I was reloading onto the replacement handset, I thought I might as well give some insight into the apps I currently use ya lucky devils.
I’ve listed below some of my favourite food and drink apps I use fairly regularly. I’m not too hot on using apps for booking restaurants or anything, as I usually always call, email or just use their booking form. That goes for the rather excellent Ubereats and Deliveroo too, as I want to encourage getting out and about, and visiting your local pubs and eateries when you can.
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Untapped
Untappd is a must for beer geeks which allows them to ‘check-in’ their beer. Once they have checked-in, they can rate, add a photo, write tasting notes and select where it was drunk. I have found to not only remember some awesome beers I’ve had and when, but also discover new types of beer I’m not familiar with. Like many others, I understandably lapse with the updates after several beers…
Many beer lovers are a bit obsessed by Ratebeer, but I tend not to care what others rate beers, as its usually skewed by what they think is trendy, instead of personal preference, especially with many new craft beer drinkers. It’s somewhat possible to use Untappd to track down beers you’d like to try too, and also see some of the beers which are drunk in local pubs.
Untappd also integrates with Swarm‘s check-ins and Uber to get you to the next beery destination.
Download for iOS– Download for Android -
Vivino
As you may have guessed, Vivino is the app to get if you are into wine. It works in a similar way to Untappd, but works by cleverly scanning the label to identify the wine. It’s also possible to scan a wine list whilst in a restaurant, to understand the type of wine you’d like. I’d much prefer to ask a sommelier myself, especially if they have tried it all!
I find that this app helps me to remember which wines I really liked, and especially helpful when exploring and understanding the varietals and growing region differences. It’s also possible to find good prices for wines through the app, as it connects to many different stores. This feature works fairly well for the UK, and seems to be improving over time.
It can be interesting reading the reviews of others, especially if you find some experts to follow.
Download for iOS – Download for Android -
Wotwine
Wotwine is a brilliantly simple app that helps to give some indication of the value of a bottle of wine when you are out shopping. You simply scan a bottles barcode when in a supermarket, and you’ll get a quick one line review, as well as what their reviewers think it is worth. If worth more than the RRP, then it is considered good to great value, if about the same price, then it is fair, and if less, poor value.
Of course, with an app of this nature, you should understand what type of wines you like and which budgets, but it can help when you are tempted by the sometimes false economy of the supermarket discounts. It’s all too easy to spend way too much time scanning every barcode until you find a good deal.
Usually, it seems good value bargains can be found in Aldi and Lidl, with the best example being a Canadian Icewine, which ‘worth’ a whopping £25, but I bought for £15.
Download for iOS – Download for Android -
Foursquare
Foursquare is a great app for finding good bars and restaurants, both where you live and when you are travelling.
In my experience, Foursquare usually works best in cities in Europe and the US, and it’s possible to leave reviews and tips for others, gaining ‘expertise’ in different types of attraction.
Download for iOS – Download for Android
Other Interesting Applications
In some cities, TripAdvisor’s app is useful.It has an immense amount of users providing reviews, and can come in handy, especially if Foursquare fails you. I don’t tend to use it as much, as it sometimes seem that touristy places rise to the top, by sheer footfall volume alone.
If you are into your wine, you can train your brain to remember where wine regions are around the world with the WSET app. There’s a little quiz where you select the region, which you have to get right before you make the next stage. It’s bloody hard! Made for those studying for a WSET qualification (Wine & Spirit Education Trust), but may be useful to others too. Although a good effort, I don’t really rate the app too highly as it needs a bit of polish, and can be tricky to use.
All applications mentioned have been used on iOS. I cannot vouch for the Android versions, although I am sure most are decent on there too.
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