Google will now show users of its search engine full restaurant menus in the US – a move some believe is directly aimed at services like Urbanspoon and Yelp.
“Next time you’re planning a brunch or a date night, check to make sure the menu has something to satisfy everyone in your group, without having to browse through several restaurants’ websites”, notes Google in a Google+ post.
Users can get restaurant menus by either entering “what’s on the menu at [restaurant]?” in Google search or issue a voice command “show me the menu at [restaurant]”.
Google isn’t having its own database of menus and is sourcing the data from a third-party, but it hasn’t revealed who the third-party is. Further, the company hasn’t revealed how many restaurants provides the menu information.
“Just search Google to show you the menu for the eatery you’re considering and you can see it right on the top of your search page—complete with tabs for different parts of the menu (like appetizers, brunch or dinner) and, often, prices—before you make your reservation.”
Currently the feature is only available in the US only for now and Google hasn’t indicated whether the feature will be available to users of other countries.
