A University of Cape Town (UCT) student has launched a free app that lets diners compare restaurant menu prices, helping consumers find better-value meals and make more informed decisions about where to eat.
Bites was developed by 20-year-old Dylan Steiner, a first-year business science student who came up with the idea after discovering that similar meals at two restaurants across the street from each other cost R130 and R79, respectively.
The price difference prompted him to consider how difficult it can be for diners to judge whether a restaurant meal offers value for money without comparing menus.
“I was like, there’s no way I didn’t know that this is nearly half the price across the road,” Steiner said.
The app allows users to compare menu prices, browse food photographs, read reviews and rate restaurants. Its aim is to make eating out more affordable, particularly for students and other consumers on tight budgets.
Building a restaurant price database
To get Bites off the ground, Steiner has personally visited about 700 restaurants in Cape Town to photograph menus and record prices, building a database that users can consult before choosing where to eat.
He also developed software to help upload and categorise the menus, reducing the amount of manual work involved in maintaining the listings.
Keeping the information accurate is a key challenge. Steiner said restaurants would be able to update their menus and prices, while users could submit photographs when they find discrepancies.
The app also has a system intended to identify unusual prices. Steiner said reports from multiple users could be compared, with extreme outliers flagged or excluded to reduce the risk of misleading listings.
Ratings, reviews and food photographs give users additional information to assess whether a cheaper meal offers good value, rather than simply being the lowest-priced option.
Using AI to develop the app
Steiner had no software development background when he started Bites. Instead, he used artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help write much of the app's code, while working on its design, features and user experience.
He said translating his idea into a finished product proved more difficult than getting the basic technology to work.
“The hardest part was more my vision and how I wanted the app to look and feel,” he said. “Enacting that vision was the most difficult part, and it took many months of refining to get it done.”
Steiner spends about five hours a day working on Bites alongside his university studies. He said his experiences as a student had made him aware of how difficult it could be for young people to find affordable places to eat.
Plans to expand beyond Cape Town
Bites is currently free to use, and Steiner intends to keep it that way. A potential revenue stream is a subscription model for verified restaurant profiles, which could give businesses options to promote deals, monitor reviews and access information about customer engagement.
Since launching in Cape Town, the app has recorded more than 2,000 downloads, according to Steiner. His immediate priority is to build a user community and establish the model before expanding into other cities.
Johannesburg, Durban and Pretoria are among the potential next markets. Longer-term ambitions include international food destinations such as New York, London and Barcelona.
Steiner hopes Bites will become a starting point for people deciding where to eat, whether they want to discover a new restaurant or compare prices in their neighbourhood.
He also believes AI tools have lowered some of the barriers facing aspiring student entrepreneurs who lack technical experience.
“I think the technology in 2026 is so advanced that if you really think you have an idea that can succeed, just try your best to get it done,” he said.
