Another week, another significant funding round for a startup with Uber-like characteristics.
Reserve, often described as the Uber for restaurants, announced on Wednesday that it raised $15 million in a Series A round of funding to expand its operation to more restaurants and cities.
The startup, which launched in select cities late last year, lets you find, book and pay for meals at restaurants in just a few taps, so you never actually have to wait for the check after your meal. This is similar to the way users can book and pay in advance for car rides from Uber and other ride-hailing services.
Reserve now works with more than 100 restaurants in Boston, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The application is available on iPhone and Android devices.
Greg Hong, Reserve's cofounder and CEO, described the app in an earlier interview with Mashable as a "digital dining concierge" designed to alleviate what he believed was a "painful" experience of researching restaurants, trying to get a decent table and waiting for extended periods of time to pay the bill.
The service has more of a claim to the Uber pedigree than most: Reserve is the first product to launch out of Expa, a startup studio that was created by Uber cofounder Garrett Camp.
"Our Series A brings our total amount of funding to $17.3 million, and we intend to use every penny to bring a better dining experience to more restaurant partners and diners, in more cities and on more devices, for special occasions and everyday meals," Hong wrote in a post announcing the funding. "We look forward to bringing the Reserve experience to a broad array of restaurants and guests, and helping them at each and every meal."