Users on social media reported a strange trend on Zomato in which restaurants providing only one meal item were found on the app in sections of Chandigarh. The outlets have only been serving one dish at absurdly high prices, and netizens are perplexed as to what the culinary item is. According to a Reddit thread, numerous Zomato users have discovered such establishments with no or just bad evaluations in recent days.
"Came across some odd listings on Zomato in Chandigarh - so-called 'restaurants' that only offer a single dish, priced absurdly high. It's got me wondering: could these be fronts for money laundering or some other shady business?" read the post.
Bizarre names and hefty prices
What's even more unclear is the names of the dishes. From 'Naughty Strawberry' to 'Blue Adventure' to 'Citrus Punch', the names do not specify what food item is being offered, but this has not stopped users from speculating about the type of goods being sold.
The user further stated that in order to investigate the things for sale, he attempted to make an order for them but received no delivery. "I tried placing an order but it got automatically cancelled after some time and the restaurant is now showing as closed," he wrote.
While some accused the outlets of being drug delivery or money laundering fronts, others stated that the dish titles alluded to vape flavours.
On Reddit, the poster questioned Zomato consumers if they had seen similar businesses in their area. "Has anyone else noticed similar patterns in other cities? Or does anyone have an idea what's going on here? Would love to hear your thoughts!"
Some individuals proposed conspiracy theories about what the eateries might be offering, while others wanted to test it for themselves and see what they got. "If this is anything illegal, it is too risky to run with gig apps as the business is in the public eye," wrote one of them.
Many consumers also uploaded the screenshots on X, formerly Twitter, tagging Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal and the Chandigarh Police to look into the questionable businesses.
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