Every friend group has a "where should we eat?" problem. Someone says "there's this great new place in Indiranagar." Someone else says "I'm vegetarian." A third person says "I went there last month." Twenty minutes later you're all at the same biryani place you've been going to for three years, and the Indiranagar restaurant is already forgotten.
SquadPicks turns restaurant links into group votes. Paste any Zomato, Swiggy, Google Maps, Yelp, or OpenTable link — the bot detects it as a food pick and creates a card everyone can vote on. By the time Friday comes, your squad already knows where the consensus is.
Why squads keep going to the same places
It's not lack of ideas — it's lack of group memory and commitment mechanism. Ideas pile up in the chat, everyone says "yes we should try that", and then decision fatigue takes over when it's actually time to choose. The safest option always wins: the familiar place nobody objects to.
SquadPicks changes the decision moment. Instead of deciding where to eat when everyone is hungry and opinionated, you vote throughout the week when there's no pressure. By Saturday you're picking from a shortlist your whole squad has already vetted — not trying to think of something on the spot.
Supported platforms
SquadPicks auto-detects restaurant picks from:
- Zomato — restaurant pages, menus, reviews
- Swiggy — restaurant pages
- Google Maps — place links (smart detection identifies food spots)
- Yelp — restaurant and cafe pages
- OpenTable — fine dining reservations
- DoorDash / Uber Eats — for delivery-focused groups
For restaurant websites, food blogs, or Instagram food pages — paste the link and the squad can vote on it as any pick type. Use the type picker to mark it as 🍽 Restaurant.
How the vote works for food
Food pick votes are simple and honest:
- Tried it — I've been and can give a review
- Want to try — put this on my list
- Skip it — not for me (dietary reasons, price, distance)
The "Tried it" vote is particularly useful — it acts as a soft review signal. If three people have been and all voted "tried it", the card shows that. If those same people later add a note about the experience, the squad knows the ground truth before going.
Real squads, real results
The Bangalore foodie group
Priya's squad of seven had the classic problem: a shared note with 30+ saved restaurants and zero actual visits to new places. They moved the list to SquadPicks. Within two weeks, they'd eliminated 15 restaurants the majority didn't want, identified 5 with unanimous "want to try" votes, and had already visited two of them. The note had been sitting untouched for eight months.
The office lunch crew
Ravi's team of four uses SquadPicks for lunch. Every Monday morning, they each add one restaurant they want to try that week. By Wednesday, the votes are in and the Thursday lunch plan is set. "We've been to more new places in the last month than in the previous year. Having a vote card removes the awkwardness of suggesting something and having it vetoed in front of you." — Ravi, Chennai.
Using it on Telegram vs. the web app
Telegram: Add @SquadPicksBot to your food group, paste a Zomato link, and the vote card appears instantly. Your squad taps to vote without leaving the chat. Great for quick decisions and groups already on Telegram.
Web app: The dashboard shows all your food picks with filter by type, ratings, and vote status. Great for squads who want to browse their full list and plan a month's worth of outings at once.
Both work in sync — a vote on Telegram appears in the web app instantly, and vice versa.
Tips for restaurant squads
- Add on discovery, vote later. When you see a food reel or Zomato ad for somewhere interesting, add it immediately. You don't need the squad to be active — just drop the link. Votes accumulate over time.
- Use the "Tried it" vote as a check-in. After visiting a place, update your vote to "Tried it". This way the squad knows which places have been ticked off.
- Let the "Group ok" signal guide the plan. When nobody says skip — that's your dinner plan. No more negotiation.
- Use Cafes as a separate filter. SquadPicks has both Restaurant and Cafe as contexts within the food type — great for separating "proper dinner" options from "let's get coffee" options.
Get started
Add @SquadPicksBot to your Telegram food group or sign up at squadpicks.io. Paste the first Zomato link that's been sitting in your chat. Watch it become a decision.