After filling my belly at restaurants like Thumbling in Chino Hills and Tamaya Ramen in Hacienda Heights, my dining experience isn’t complete without also filling up my “Beli.” With the personalized food review app, I’m able to share both local, well-known grub spots and also hidden food gems that I’ve gotten the opportunity to try with my closest friends.
Beli is a social platform for rating and sharing restaurant experiences that officially came out in June 2021 with a dominantly Gen-Z demographic, but has resurfaced as a popular experience as of recent amongst my peers. Since Beli is invite-only, I was pretty skeptical when my fellow Hoofprint friend Lucas messaged me a link to access this app I had never even heard of before. However, I had no idea the food-based social media app would increase my enjoyment of eating out with loved ones tenfold.
My favorite thing about Beli is that it encourages you to be a part of a community. In comparison to other review platforms like Yelp, you are given a more accessible option to follow your close friends and an easy way to connect with people who are already your contacts. I prefer keeping my Beli circle small and reliable with friends whose taste buds I trust, rather than having to scroll through public ratings from people I don’t know. Seeing my friend’s review of the restaurant Thumbling on my feed—for example—is what encouraged me to go try the yummy dumpling place for myself, so I love how Beli allows me to peek into where my friends are eating locally and what they recommend.
Beli also offers a feature where you can tag other Beli users you dined with in your reviews, a feature that makes the experience feel way more personal and fun. In my review of Korean barbecue restaurant Thirsty Cow, I tagged my friend Brandon since I ate there with him and the rest of our friend group. Not only are you able to give a review of what you ate, you are also able to capture the memories you made at the respective restaurant by adding cute photos, favorite dishes and personal notes. Similar to Instagram, I love scrolling through my own visually appealing Beli profile and recalling all the good times I’ve had at places I’ve eaten recently.
However, a primary flaw of Beli is its inaccurate ranking system. You are unable to rate each restaurant individually, but instead have to rank each restaurant in respect to previous dining experiences so that you create a list of which places you like best to worst. Then, Beli analyzes the list in order to give each restaurant an average score out of 10 based on how you ranked it. This means a lot of my Beli-generated ratings are somewhat inaccurate and much lower than my own personal ratings. For example, Wallace Chicken is currently ranked near the bottom of my list at a rating of 7.2 out of 10, but realistically, I’d give it more of an 8 out of 10. However, the more restaurants you review and try, the more balanced and accurate your list becomes—so this drawback isn’t too bad in my opinion. There’s also a “too tough” option if you have trouble choosing between two restaurants, which is helpful for someone frequently indecisive like me.
Another nice touch that Beli adds is that it makes your experience feel like a mini video game rather than just a normal dining experience. The app keeps track of your restaurant streak similar to language app Duolingo (mine currently being four weeks) and allows you to set goals like how many restaurants you want to try in 2026 (I’ve tried 20 so far out of my hoped-for 50 this year!) As you build your status and rank on Beli, you also gain access to new features like personalized recommendations from the app based on restaurants you’ve tried. The coolest part in my opinion was discovering Beli’s interactive map feature after reviewing a ramen restaurant I tried in New York City, where I can unlock different locations and countries if I rate eating spots around the world. Beli prioritizing user interactivity, progress and also exploration makes me more excited about trying new places and experimenting with different foods.
Overall, I am so glad to have discovered Beli and recommend it to anybody looking for an accessible place to discover new food gems and interact with their close friends at the same time. I hope everybody enjoys eating until their Belis are full!
