Fair Restaurant for Friends – Compare Travel Times & Find Central Dinner Locations
Planning group dinners where someone always gets stuck with the long commute? Find restaurants that are actually fair for everyone.
Geographic midpoints don't account for traffic, transit, or how people actually get around your city. A restaurant equidistant on a map can mean a 15-minute drive for Sarah and a 45-minute bus ride for Tom. That's not fair—and your friends notice.
Why Finding a Fair Dinner Spot Is So Hard
Common challenges:
- One friend always volunteers to travel farther "because it's easier for me" (but it really isn't)
- The group picks restaurants close to whoever suggested them, creating subtle resentment
- Public transit users get stuck with 3x longer commutes than drivers
- You waste 20 minutes in a group chat debating locations without real data
- "Central" restaurants turn out to be unfair once people actually travel there
Your friend group spans downtown, suburbs, and neighborhoods across the metro. You pick a "central" spot based on the map. But Alex (downtown, near trains) gets there in 12 minutes while Jamie (suburbs, driving through traffic) spends 38 minutes. Jamie shows up frustrated, and next time suggests somewhere close to their place. The cycle repeats.
You're coordinating dinner for 6 friends across different neighborhoods. After 40 messages debating "what about this place?" and "how far is that from you?", someone just picks a spot. Half the group arrives late because they underestimated travel time. One friend cancels last-minute because "it's too far."
Why the geographic midpoint fails:
A geographic midpoint calculates equal distance, not equal travel time. If the midpoint is 5 miles from everyone but accessible via highway for half your group and side streets for the other half, some friends will spend double the time getting there. Distance ≠ fairness.
Why manual planning doesn't work:
Manually checking Google Maps for each friend to each restaurant is exhausting. You'd need to test dozens of combinations, account for transportation modes (driving vs transit vs biking), and coordinate feedback from everyone. Most groups give up and just pick somewhere familiar—which is rarely fair.
When one person always travels farther, it erodes group dynamics. They feel undervalued. Others feel guilty. Eventually, someone stops showing up.
How Where2Meet Finds Fair Restaurants with Balanced Travel Times
Where2Meet calculates real travel times for each person to potential restaurants—accounting for driving, public transit, biking, or walking. Our algorithm finds dining spots where everyone's commute is roughly equal, so no one person bears an unfair burden.
How Where2Meet helps:
- See each friend's actual travel time (not just distance) to every restaurant option
- Compare routes side-by-side on an interactive map with real traffic and transit data
- Filter by transportation mode: driving, public transit, biking, or walking
- Vote as a group on the fairest option—everyone can see the tradeoffs
- Discover new restaurants in neighborhoods that work for everyone
❌ Before Where2Meet:
6 friends spend 30 minutes texting back and forth: "What about this place?" "How far is that?" "I can't get there by 7pm." Someone picks a spot. Two friends arrive 20 minutes late. One person drove 5 minutes; another spent 40 minutes on two buses.
✅ After Where2Meet:
6 friends use Where2Meet. Everyone adds their location. The map shows 3 restaurant options where travel times range from 18-22 minutes for everyone. The group votes on their favorite cuisine. Everyone arrives on time, and nobody feels like they got the short end of the stick.
Create an event, add each friend's starting location (home, office, or wherever they're coming from), and choose the transportation mode. Where2Meet queries real routing data to calculate travel times, then shows you restaurants where commutes are balanced. You see everyone's route on the map, vote together, and pick a spot that's genuinely fair.
Pro tip: If your group uses mixed transportation (some drive, some take transit), set the mode to "public transit" to ensure accessibility for everyone. This prevents picking car-friendly spots that strand transit users.
How to Find a Fair Restaurant in 3 Minutes
Create Your Dinner Event
Enter event details: "Friday Dinner with Friends" and the meetup time (e.g., 7:00 PM). Share the link with your group via text or group chat.
💡 Tip: Set the meeting time to when you actually want to eat, not when people should leave. Where2Meet calculates arrival times based on travel duration.
Everyone Adds Their Location
Each friend enters their starting point—home address, work, or current location. Choose the transportation mode: driving, public transit, biking, or walking.
💡 Tip: For mixed groups, ask everyone to select "public transit" so the algorithm finds spots accessible to everyone, not just drivers.
Review Fair Restaurant Options
Where2Meet shows you restaurant suggestions with travel times for each person. The map displays routes, and you can see which spots minimize commute imbalance.
💡 Tip: Look for options where the longest and shortest travel times are within 10 minutes of each other—that's the fairness sweet spot.
Vote & Finalize
The group votes on restaurant options. Everyone can see travel time tradeoffs and comment on preferences (cuisine, ambiance, price). Pick the winner and confirm!
💡 Tip: Use the voting feature instead of another group chat debate. It's faster, transparent, and everyone's input is visible.
Pro Tips for Fair Group Dinners
Pro Tips:
Set Transportation Mode Early
Ask the group upfront: driving, transit, biking, or mixed? If anyone relies on public transit, set that as the default to ensure accessibility.
Consider Time of Day
Rush hour traffic drastically changes travel times. If your dinner is at 6 PM on a weekday, Where2Meet's real-time data will account for traffic jams.
Explore New Neighborhoods
Fair meeting points often reveal neighborhoods you wouldn't have considered. You might discover great restaurants in areas that work well for the whole group.
Use Filters for Preferences
Once you have fair options, filter by cuisine type, price range, or ratings to narrow down choices without sacrificing fairness.
Common Mistakes:
❌ Picking the geographic midpoint without checking routes
Why: The midpoint might be equidistant but inaccessible—located on a highway, in an area with no parking, or far from transit stops
✓ Fix: Always verify travel times, not just distance. Where2Meet does this automatically.
❌ Forgetting about parking or transit access
Why: A restaurant might be "close" but impossible to reach if there's no parking or the nearest train station is 15 minutes away
✓ Fix: Check the map view for parking lots and transit stops near restaurant suggestions
❌ Not accounting for mixed transportation modes
Why: Drivers can reach suburban spots quickly; transit users might need an hour with transfers
✓ Fix: Set transportation mode to the least flexible option (usually public transit) to ensure inclusivity
Frequently Asked Questions
What if my friends are coming from different cities?
Where2Meet works great for cross-city meetups. It will find restaurants in between cities or suggest central locations (like a city along the route between both) where travel times are balanced.
Can I filter restaurants by cuisine or price?
Yes. Where2Meet integrates with restaurant data so you can filter fair options by cuisine type, price range, ratings, and more—without sacrificing travel time fairness.
What if someone is running late?
You can update starting locations in real-time. If a friend is coming from a different spot (e.g., leaving work instead of home), they can update their location and Where2Meet recalculates.
How does Where2Meet handle parking availability?
The map view shows parking lots and street parking near suggested restaurants. For transit users, it displays nearby stops and stations so you can verify accessibility.
Can I save favorite restaurants for future meetups?
Yes. Once you find a fair spot that works well, you can save it for future events with the same group—no need to recalculate every time.
Stop Making One Friend Travel Twice as Far
Find fair restaurants in under 3 minutes. Compare travel times, see routes on a map, and let the group vote on where to eat.
Plan Your Group Dinner