Frequently asked questions

What is Forktune?

Forktune is a wheel of restaurants that decides for you. Type a city, spin the wheel, and go eat. There's no signup, no algorithm learning your preferences, and no premium tier — just a random pick from real restaurants in the place you're standing.

How does Forktune pick restaurants?

When you enter a city, Forktune pulls the top-rated restaurants, cafes, breakfast spots, and food places from Google's Places database. Up to about 60 unique restaurants get loaded into the pool. Spinning selects one at random from whatever's currently on the wheel. The randomness is genuinely random — there's no ranking, no personalization, no house edge.

Where does the restaurant data come from?

All restaurant names, ratings, price tiers, cuisine types, and reviews come from the Google Places API — the same source that powers Google Maps. Ratings and prices reflect what's live on Google at the moment you load the city. Results cache in your browser for 24 hours to keep things fast.

Why doesn't a specific restaurant I love show up?

Forktune loads up to ~60 restaurants per city, weighted toward Google's most popular results for that area. If your favorite spot isn't ranked in the top results, it might not make the pool. Two workarounds: (1) use the Craving search box on the main page to search for something specific ("ramen", "deep dish", the restaurant's name); (2) filter by a specific cuisine to narrow the pool differently.

Can I filter what shows up on the wheel?

Yes. Click Filters to narrow by cuisine (American, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, and more), price ($ to $$$$), and minimum star rating. In Plan-my-day mode each meal has its own independent filter set, so breakfast could be cafes only while dinner could be steakhouses only.

What is Plan-my-day mode?

Pick three restaurants — one for breakfast, one for lunch, one for dinner — in a single sitting. You can spin each meal separately, with its own filters, and even its own city if you turn on the "different city per meal" option. At the end you get a summary card with reservation, delivery, and directions links for each meal.

What is "With friends" (group mode)?

Start a group session, share the link with your group chat, and everyone can veto restaurants they don't want. The wheel only spins on the ones nobody vetoed, and the result appears on everyone's screen at the same moment. No account required — anonymous by design.

Does Forktune track my location?

Only if you tap Use my location. Your coordinates are sent to Google's Places API to find nearby restaurants, then used to compute distance from each result. Your location isn't stored on Forktune's side — we don't have a database of users. See the privacy policy for full detail.

Is Forktune free?

Yes. Forktune is a free tool with no subscription, no premium tier, and no signup. The site is supported by ads.

Does Forktune work outside the US?

Yes. Google's Places API covers most cities worldwide. Type "Tokyo", "Lisbon", "Mexico City", "Melbourne", or any other city name and results appear the same way.

Can I use Forktune on my phone?

Yes — the site is fully responsive on mobile and tablet. Group mode is especially good on phones since everyone in a group chat can join the session from their own device and veto in parallel.

Why a wheel instead of a list?

Because decision paralysis is real. Reading a list of ten restaurants makes you compare, weigh, and second-guess. The wheel makes the pick for you — and your only job is to react ("yes" or "spin again"). It's faster, it removes the analytical layer, and honestly, it's just more fun than scrolling Yelp.