‘Those were the days of affordable eating’: Redditor’s old Zomato order receipt sparks nostalgia

As food delivery platforms evolve and prices continue to climb, an old Zomato order has sent Indian Redditors down memory lane. A recent post on Reddit has gone viral for perfectly capturing what many now call the “golden age” of food delivery — when discounts were real, delivery was free, and ordering food didn’t feel like a luxury.

The user shared a screenshot of their years-old order and reflected on how much had changed since. “This was the time when Zomato was actually affordable to order… back when coupons actually meant discount no gimmick,” the user wrote in his post.

The Redditor pointed out that the same order today costs nearly twice as much, saying, “Today the same order is around ₹300… would love to eat at home at these prices or in other words, around the same affordability of food delivery apps.”

What struck the user most wasn’t just the nostalgia, but the realization of how recent that “affordable era” actually was — roughly between 2017 and 2020, when food delivery apps were still in rapid expansion mode across Indian cities.

 

 

 

 

 

The post went viral on the platform, with hundreds reminiscing about the days when food delivery apps competed for customers through heavy discounts and cashback offers.

One Redditor summed up the changing economics bluntly, “Well every platform was affordable back then but compare it with the living costs and wages. Cannot get everything for less now. Always remember there are costs everywhere. If you are getting paneer chili at 150 then who is even making a profit. Zomato takes 30%. 100 left with restaurant. You'll obviously get fake paneer then. Not even enough to cover rent or salaries.”

Another was surprised at how quickly prices have surged, “When I read 7 years ago.. I automatically thought maybe 2013-14 then I saw 2019.. damn ”

A third commenter shared how their own spending habits have changed, “I remember around 2019, my border for ordering was 150rs max.. Now it has changed to 300/350 :(”