Public venues only
Every Meal Seed is attached to a real, publicly listed restaurant. There are no private homes, no unlisted addresses and no “I'll send you the location later”.
Safety & trust
You're meeting strangers offline. Here's exactly how that's handled.
ToShareAMeal doesn't ask you to trust people you haven't met — it puts structure around the meal so trust isn't the thing holding it up. Public venues, real commitments, private chat, and an easy way out at every stage.
Public restaurants only18+ onlyLeave any time before lock
The six rules the product enforces
These aren't guidelines — they're built into how tables work.
Adults only
Everyone confirms they're 18 or over when creating an account. We ask for an attestation rather than collecting your date of birth, because we'd rather hold less of your data.
Chat is private and scoped
Table chat is visible only to diners at that table, and only from the moment each person joined. It opens when the table is ready and closes after the meal window ends.
Leaving is always allowed
You can leave a table before it locks, without giving a reason and without notifying anyone personally. If the table drops below its minimum it enters Seat Rescue rather than pressuring you to stay.
Money is settled before you sit down
The table agrees a payment approach and it's locked once the table is ready with everyone's consent — so nobody can change the deal at the restaurant.
Anything can be reported
A person, a table, a message or a venue. Reach us through the contact page and tell us what happened — early reports are the most useful ones.
What we ask of everyone at a table
Most tables go well because the expectations are boring and clear.
Please do
- Only take a seat if you actually intend to come
- Say so in the table chat as early as possible if plans change
- Arrive on time — a table of strangers waits awkwardly
- Keep chat to the meal: logistics, dietary needs, where to meet
- Pay your agreed share before leaving the restaurant
- Tell us if something felt off, even if you're not sure
Please don't
- Treat a table as a date — it isn't a matching product
- Push anyone to move on to a second, unlisted location
- Ask other diners for money, investment or recruitment
- Share other diners' details, photos or messages outside the table
- Turn up intoxicated or bring uninvited guests
- Use the chat for anything you wouldn't say at the table
Your first meal, step by step
Before you take a seat
- Check the venue is somewhere you're comfortable going alone
- Check the time and how you'd get home afterwards
- Note the table size — small tables are quieter, larger ones easier to blend into
Before the meal
- Tell a friend where you're going and when
- Confirm the meeting point in the table chat, not by private message
- Plan your own transport there and back
At the table
- Stay in the restaurant — it's a public place for a reason
- You never have to share your address, workplace or full name
- It's fine to leave early; nobody is owed an explanation
Afterwards
- Settle your share as the table agreed
- Report anything that concerned you, even after the fact
- Only continue with people you actually want to see again
Privacy at the table
Discovery pages — including everything a signed-out visitor can see — only ever show a public summary of a table: the restaurant, the time, the kind of meal and how many seats are taken. Diner identities, messages and contact details are never part of that public view.
- Who is at a table becomes visible to you once you've joined it
- Chat history before you joined stays invisible to you, and yours to those after
- We don't publish your exact location, and we don't collect your date of birth
- You can leave a table, and the table chat, without an explanation
Reporting, cancelling and getting help
Someone at a table made me uncomfortable. What do I do?
Leave the table if it hasn't happened yet, and contact us with the table and the person. If you're at the restaurant and feel unsafe, leave immediately and tell restaurant staff — then report it to us afterwards.
How do I cancel a seat?
Leave the table from the meal page any time before it locks. If your seat was holding the table above its minimum, the table moves into Seat Rescue so another diner can take it.
Can I cancel a whole table I planted?
Yes. Cancelling marks the table cancelled for everyone rather than leaving people to turn up. If it's only the timing that's wrong, fork the meal to a new time instead.
What if somebody doesn't pay their share?
The table's agreed payment approach is recorded and locked before the meal, so there's a clear reference. Report anyone who ignores it — repeated cases affect their ability to join tables.
Do you screen or verify diners?
We require an account and an adult attestation, and we act on reports. We don't claim to run background checks — the public-venue rule and the ability to leave at any point are the protections you should rely on.
How do I reach a human quickly?
Use the contact page. Safety reports are read first, and it helps to include the table, the date and what happened.
In an emergency, contact your local emergency services first. ToShareAMeal is not an emergency service and can't intervene in real time. Contact the team once you're safe.
Every table page has a Report a problem link, and every chat message can be reported on its own. Reports go straight to our safety team, and the person reported is never told who filed it. The rules we enforce are on table conduct.
Comfortable tables, by design
Public restaurants, honest commitments, and an exit at every stage.