Review: Hate splitting the bill but love going out? Try to dine and Dash
There are few things more irritating than the moment at the end of a meal when everyone breaks out their sixth-grade math skills in an attempt to fairly split the bill. Friends get irritated (they only had salad, not steak!), and wait staff begrudgingly listen to diners' explanations of how much should go on which credit card.
Dash aims to change all of that. The mobile-payment app offers patrons a simple way to divvy up a night out at a restaurant without waiting on pals or a check.
Newly launched in Washington after successful jaunts in New York City and Chicago, Dash is available in a limited number of restaurants so far. After you download the app, you're asked to enter your personal and credit card information (or link to a Venmo or PayPal account), and then you're ready to go.
The home screen of the app shows you the distance to each Dashable restaurant, as well as other useful information. It ranks an eatery's ambience at the moment ("quiet," "relaxed," "active"), details the type of place it is (Nellie's Sports Bar is categorized as "sports bar, brunch, gay"), calculates the distance from your location, and estimates how much it would cost to Uber there.
When you sit down for your meal, you "check in" at the respective restaurant on Dash, and let your waiter know that's how you will be paying. The app has access to your phone contacts, so to divide the meal, you simply select "split bill" and pick the companion whom you will be paying with.
My experience using the app at the Fainting Goat was almost as great as the restaurant's roasted cauliflower appetizer. (Seriously delicious.) After a waiter puts in your order, the items appear on your app. By using plus or minus symbols, you differentiate who ate what. My friend and I were able to get drinks of varying prices and split appetizers and entrees without a second thought. (We both selected "+" for the pasta, which divided the cost in half, but only Miranda hit the key for hot tea, so it wound up on her part of the bill.) The app tabulates gratuity based on your portion of the bill, and each person can then tip using a precalculated percentage (15 percent, 20 percent, etc.) or enter a customized amount.
The only hiccup I experienced was that if one person wants to pay, and you overrule the prompt that notes the other person in your party isn't ready yet, it'll confirm their payment, anyway. But there's no waiting around for the check with Dash - you get a text to confirm the restaurant received your money and that you are free to leave whenever you're ready.
As the app spreads to more places in Washington, I think customers and restaurants alike will appreciate the fact that technology has given us a totally respectable way to dine and Dash.
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STATS
Cost: Free
Operating system: iOS, Android
Creator: Dash Software
User ratings: Apple, 4 1/2 out of 5 stars (158 ratings); Google Play, four out of four stars (112 ratings)
Bottom line: A simple - and overdue - way to split bills and pay at restaurants. Perfect for groups or dining solo.