TikTok introduced Must Eat, a restaurant guide built into its app, on Oct. 28, 2026. It starts with New York City, Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Nation’s Restaurant News reported the launch that day, and Forbes described it two days later as a user-generated community guide that ranks places to eat.
The guide draws on more than 40 million TikTok posts and comments, according to Forbes, and splits each city into an “everyday eats” tab and an “elevated dining” tab. Each listing shows TikTok posts from people who visited the restaurant.
How the Guide Works Inside the App
Forbes reported that users can sort by neighborhood, cuisine, opening hours, price per person and a score from TikTok’s in-app ranking system. Tubefilter described the guide as an addition to TikTok’s Local feed, with “Everyday Eats” covering affordable neighborhood favorites and “Elevated Dining” covering standout restaurants for special meals.
Nation’s Restaurant News added that listings include price range, location, the reasons a place is recommended and related TikTok content. Many listed restaurants integrate with OpenTable, so reservations can be booked inside the app. The guide can be reached through the search bar, the Local feed tab, points-of-interest pages and location tags on videos tied to listed restaurants. A sister site has a post titled the traits of people who always save the best bite for last.
Frenz Hub has a list titled 22 red flags that scream run when dining at a restaurant.
Who Can Appear and Who Cannot
Forbes said the guide has no paid listings “for now.” Nation’s Restaurant News reported that independent restaurants and local specialties get priority, that restaurants cannot pay to be featured and that each is checked to confirm it is open and in good standing before a city list goes live.
Forbes compared the guide to Yelp or TripAdvisor but said its distinguishing feature is that social media content is tied to each venue listing. The article did not mention a partnership with Yelp. It also listed Beli, a restaurant-ranking social network launched in 2021, which Forbes said has more than 75 million restaurant rankings and an estimated 30 million users, 80 percent of whom are 35 or younger.
The Numbers TikTok Is Citing
TikTok data cited by Forbes says that 27 million Americans visited an independent restaurant, cafe or shop for the first time in 2025 after discovering it on TikTok, generating an estimated $4.7 billion in local spending. Forbes also noted that more than 200 million Americans use the app. Tubefilter and Nation’s Restaurant News repeated the same TikTok claim.
Forbes also cited Toast data showing that word of mouth is the most popular way Americans discover new restaurants, followed by social media, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. These are company and vendor figures, not independent audits. Frenz Hub also has a list titled 15 best small towns in America to visit.
What Restaurant Owners and Executives Said
Adam Presser, CEO of the TikTok USDS Joint Venture, introduced the guide at a media event in New York City, according to Nation’s Restaurant News, saying, “TikTok Must Eat is the compilation of all of the conversation that’s happening on the TikTok platform.” Wikipedia says that joint venture was formed on Jan. 22, 2026 to run TikTok in the United States.
Forbes quoted Ann Redding, co-owner and chef of Manhattan’s Thai Diner, saying, “What’s been so wonderful about TikTok is seeing how people have made Thai Diner their own.” Sam Yoo, chef-owner of Golden Diner and Golden HOF, told the outlet that TikTok has helped people from all over the world discover the small but mighty diner. Forbes added that Golden Diner, which opened in Chinatown in 2019, regained momentum in 2023 after its viral pancakes were posted on social media.
KTLA reported that the featured Los Angeles restaurants include Villa’s Tacos, The Serving Spoon and Anajak Thai. It quoted Justin Johnson, co-owner of The Serving Spoon, as saying the family’s restaurant grew through word of mouth for over 40 years. A sister site has a list titled 11 old-fashioned manners parents insisted on that still matter.
Part of a Wider Local Push
Nation’s Restaurant News said Must Eat builds on TikTok GO, which launched in May and lets users book hotels, tours and attractions discovered on the app. Tubefilter described it as an extension of the same travel hub, and said the Local feed uses precise user data to make recommendations. Frenz Hub has a list titled 12 laws and rules about food in other countries.
Neither Forbes nor Nation’s Restaurant News described plans for expansion beyond the three starting cities, and Forbes called them a starting point.
A Light Reality Check
The guide launched in three places, and no plans for more were reported. Its lists come from TikTok’s own analysis of its own content, and the economic figures are TikTok’s estimates. What is verifiable from the coverage is the structure: two tabs per city, filters for neighborhood, cuisine, hours, price and score, no paid listings so far and in-app booking at some restaurants. Whether it changes where people actually eat is not something the launch coverage could say. TikTok itself launched internationally in September 2017, according to the same Wikipedia entry, so a guide of this kind is a recent addition to a young platform.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Godsfriendchuck – CC BY 4.0/Wikimedia Commons
