A restaurant discovery app that maps where you eat from linked card transactions and recommends places based on your history and your friends' favourites.

Zest's AI concierge that works over text message from any phone. It recommends restaurants, answers questions about them and can book a table.

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Zest is a restaurant discovery app from Zest Maps Inc., founded in November 2024 by CEO Mario Gomez-Hall.

Promotional graphic with the words Date night in one text next to a phone showing a text chat with Zest that suggests a French restaurant and offers a 7pm booking. — Zest launches an AI agent that picks restaurants and books tables over text message

AI Agents31 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

Zest launched Text Zest, a free AI concierge that recommends restaurants from your real dining history over SMS and books tables, including in group chats.

Summary

Restaurant discovery startup Zest launched Text Zest on 29 October 2026, an AI concierge that works over text message on any phone. It recommends places from the user's card-linked dining history and friends' favourites, answers questions about a restaurant and books tables, according to TechCrunch through OpenTable, Resy and SevenRooms. It can join group chats and run a vote. The service is free, and Zest says it plans food ordering next.

About Zest

Zest is a restaurant discovery app from Zest Maps Inc., founded in November 2024 by CEO Mario Gomez-Hall. It builds a personal dining map from card transactions linked through Plaid and recommends places based on where users and their friends actually eat. In October 2026 it added a text message agent that also books tables.

Reviewed 31 Oct 2026

Facts at a glance

Type: Consumer app for restaurant discovery, with an AI concierge over text message
Founder and CEO: Mario Gomez-Hall source
Founded: November 2024 source
Funding: $1.8 million pre-seed from 776 (Alexis Ohanian) and Kindred Ventures (Steve Jang) source
Data source: Read-only card access through Plaid, filtered to food and drink purchases; amounts are not shown source
Scale claimed: More than 250,000 verified visits on Zest (company figure) source
Price: Free, no paid features or subscription source

Questions people ask

What is Zest?: A restaurant discovery app that maps where you eat from linked card transactions and recommends places based on your history and your friends' favourites.
What is Text Zest?: Zest's AI concierge that works over text message from any phone. It recommends restaurants, answers questions about them and can book a table.

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Zest launches an AI agent that picks restaurants and books tables over text message