For years, I noticed the same problem whenever I wanted to eat outside.
Google Maps tells you what's popular overall. Reviews may be months or years old. Social media is full of sponsored content. None of them answer one simple question:
"Where are people actually going right now?"
That question became the starting point for FeastFriends.
The Idea
Instead of relying only on historical ratings, I wanted to build an app that helps people discover restaurants and cafés based on what's happening in real time.
Imagine opening an app and immediately seeing:
- 🔥 Trending restaurants nearby
- 📍 Live hotspot map
- ☕ Popular cafés
- 🍕 Places people are currently discovering
- 🎯 Fast exploration instead of endless searching
The goal is simple:
Stop searching. Start discovering.
Why Flutter?
I chose Flutter because I wanted:
- One codebase
- Smooth animations
- Material 3 design
- Excellent Google Maps support
- High performance on Android
Flutter made it possible to iterate quickly while keeping the UI responsive.
Some Challenges
Building the app wasn't as straightforward as it first looked.
Some interesting challenges included:
- Managing a map with many interactive markers.
- Designing a UI that feels modern without sacrificing performance.
- Keeping the interface clean on both phones and tablets.
- Making discovery fast without overwhelming users with information.
Performance became just as important as visual design.
What I Learned
One lesson surprised me:
Adding more features doesn't always make an app better.
Sometimes removing unnecessary screens and reducing visual clutter creates a much better experience.
Another lesson was that analytics matter just as much as code. Understanding how users interact with an app is essential for improving it after launch.
What's Next?
I'm continuing to improve FeastFriends by focusing on:
- Better restaurant discovery
- Faster map interactions
- Cleaner Material 3 design
- More community-driven recommendations
It's still early, but every update teaches me something new about building consumer apps.
If you're building with Flutter, I'd love to hear how you've approached maps, discovery features, or performance optimization in your own projects.
Happy coding! 🚀
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