There are plenty of restaurant recommendation apps on the iOS App Store already. Most of you are already settled onto your favorite app. But Ness… Ness is different.
Ness, at its core, is an iPhone app that lets you look up restaurants in different places. The app’s website boasts that it’s a “personal search engine based on your unique tastes, preferences & personality”. Ness features a radically new approach through its UI. In fact, the UI will probably have your mouth watering even before you find that restaurant you’re looking for. Why? Because Ness has a neat grid of some absolutely stunning photographs of different food items in the background while the foreground holds a simple search box, in case you’re looking for something specific in a place. Each cell of the grid at the background is of a different cuisine and type and takes you to the listing of that category. The grid actually extends across six screens — pretty much like the iPhone’s homescreens. If you have a Retina display device, the photographs at the back are simply irresistible.
Tapping on the category takes you to the list of restaurants rates 0-100% based on your liking. The new version has an enhanced emphasis on ‘Sharing’ — using your Facebook and Foursquare data to learn what type of food you like/dislike and then personalizing the first screen for you. The app also lets you post Thank You Notes to Facebook so you can thank your friends for their recommendations. The latest version also adds push notifications.
Ness has a good amount of pixel love spread across every screen, which makes using the app quite a lot of fun. Unfortunately for me, Ness only supports cities in the US so I can only drool at the delicious steaks and those perfect cups of cappuccinos. Ness Dining Guide is Free on the App Store.