Random cuisine generator

How does the random cuisine generator work?

Tap Pick a cuisine and it chooses one of 42 cuisines at random, such as Sichuan, Peruvian, Georgian or Ethiopian. Each pick lists a few well-known dishes from that cuisine, so you know what to look for. The filters keep it to Asian, Americas, European, or Middle Eastern and African.

The list goes past the usual "Chinese, Italian, Mexican" split. Chinese food is split into Sichuan, Cantonese, Hunan and Taiwanese, and Indian into North and South, because those eat very differently. There are also cuisines people rarely think to pick, like Burmese, Georgian or Nigerian. Nothing you tap is saved or sent anywhere.

Cuisine first, dish second

Let the generator settle the cuisine, then choose one of the dishes listed under it. Two small choices are easier than one big one.

Cooking night

Tap once at the weekend and cook one dish from whatever comes up.

Nothing nearby?

If there's nowhere near you that serves it, tap again.

What can I use a random cuisine for?

A random cuisine is handy for trying somewhere new to eat, a themed cooking night, a date night or a group dinner where nobody wants to be the one choosing. The generator only names the cuisine and a few dishes, so it works whether you're cooking, ordering in or going out.

For cooking, pick one dish from the list and keep the rest of the meal simple, like rice or bread on the side. For eating out, search for the cuisine near you and order one of the listed dishes if it's on the menu. For a group, let one person tap and agree beforehand that the first pick everyone can eat is the one you go with.

Is this the same as a cuisine wheel?

It does the same job as a cuisine wheel: you get one cuisine at random. The difference is the list. A wheel only fits a handful of slices, while this generator draws from all 42 cuisines, or only the ones in the region you filter to.

If you'd rather spin between a few cuisines you already like, type them into the food wheel. It takes your own options, one per line, and spins once.

What if I want a dish nearby, not just a cuisine?

This generator doesn't know where you are, so it stops at the cuisine. For dishes from real places near you, Today's Mealow asks six questions, starting with what kind of cuisine you want, then picks three dishes nearby, each with a one-line reason.

The other five questions are which meal, how you're feeling, what flavor you want, who you're with and where, and what you don't eat. If none of the three suit you, "Show me others" gives you another three. It's free in your browser, in English or Chinese.

Got your cuisine? The cat can pick three dishes at real places near you.

Find it near me