(2024) Chowbus Review + $10 Off Coupon on Asian Food Delivery

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

In this Chowbus review, we’ll share with you our experience with the new Asian food ordering platform. Plus, we’ll show you how to get $10 off your first Chowbus order!

Table of Contents hide

1 Key Takeaways from This Chowbus Review:

2 What is Chowbus?

3 How Do I Place an Order on Chowbus?

4 My Review of Chowbus Based on My Personal Experience

4.1 Restaurant/Food Selection

4.2 Timeliness

4.3 Ordering Experience

4.4 Food Quality

5 What Cities Are Chowbus Available In?

6 How Much Does Chowbus Cost?

7 Chowbus Discounts, Rewards, and Coupon Codes

8 Chowbus Plus Review: Is It Worth It?

9 Chowbus Alternatives

10 Looking For More Product Reviews & Deals?

Key Takeaways from This Chowbus Review:

If you value the convenience of having your meals delivered or ready for you to pick up (no waiting in line!), you should consider using the Chowbus meal delivery platform.
Chowbus specializes in Asian food delivery. You won’t really find any other types of cuisines here, but there’s a large selection of Asian food they can deliver within your area. It’s like Uber Eats, but specifically for authentic asian restaurants.
While they are expanding, Chowbus is only available in select cities.
I saved 30 minutes of waiting on my last pickup order. The food was still hot and it was packaged extremely well (complete with all the sauces!)
You can save $10 off your first order of $20+ with the code DWELL10

I want $10 off my order!

What is Chowbus?

Chowbus is an Asian food ordering platform. The food from Chowbus is not the kind you find at the mall or in an airport food court — but the kind you find at top-tier restaurants (big and small) that truly embody the flavor of their culture. Whether you’re craving dim sum, dumplings, or boba, Chowbus has you covered for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (or whenever you are hungry!) If you are unfamiliar with the dishes or do not know what to order, a quick browse through our fullscreen photo menus will help you find your answer.

Chowbus

How Do I Place an Order on Chowbus?

Download the Chowbus food delivery app from either the Google Play or App Store.
Create a Chowbus account, then type in your delivery address
Choose from a range of different restaurants and food items you want to order, then check out!
Depending on the option you choose, the Chowbus app will notify you when your food is delivered or ready for pick-up.

My Review of Chowbus Based on My Personal Experience

Please note that I have only used Chowbus in the Bay Area, specifically San Jose, and San Francisco. As such, I can only speak for my personal experience with Chowbus in this area.

Restaurant/Food Selection

There were lots of options I was able to choose from in the Bay Area. Options ranged from boba cafes (helloooo.. milk tea!) to dim sum restaurants to authentic Burmese cuisine. I do want to note that not all restaurants in the Bay Area are listed on Chowbus – so keep that in mind. However, I was able to discover new restaurants (at least, new to me) that have now become some of my favorites!

Timeliness

In my experience using Chowbus, the food has always been ready on time. I always get a notification exactly on the time it was supposed to be ready, or even a few minutes early. You can typically track where your delivery driver is within the app, too!

That said, I know that some people have had issues with their food delivery being late, but that might be due to the fact that most of those delayed orders are between the 5-7pm timeframe (which is work commute traffic hours). So if, for instance, you chose a restaurant on the other side of the town of where you want it delivered, but ordered it to arrive between the crazy commute traffic period, there is a possibility it might get slightly delayed.

The good news is: when things happen during delivery (like heavy traffic or severe weather conditions) that cause your delivery to be late, Chowbus will compensate you with order credits based on the delayed delivery time. You can reach out to their customer care specialists within the app and they can check your order status and give you an ETA on your order.

Ordering Experience

Honestly, this was a super-easy way to pick up dinner. The times we used the app, we’ve never had issues with lagging or errors during checkout.

The app is available to download for free in the App Store, and account creation takes less than 5 minutes.

From there, we just browsed from a selection of their menu offerings and had our dinners ordered within 10 minutes. I love that dinner is just a couple clicks away!

I will mention, however, that while the app is fantastic – web ordering (using your laptop) is not as seamless as the mobile app option. I’ve tested this a few times, and I’ve found that the app loads much faster and is a better user experience for me.

Food Quality

Even though I hadn’t heard of some of the restaurants featured on Chowbus, each one I’ve tried has been delicious. The food was packaged very well to ensure no leaks, and as I said before, it was still fresh upon opening!

One of my favorite meals through Chowbus was at Sun Maxim’s. We were craving Chinese food and saw that the restaurant was near San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park (where we were). We ordered all of our food from the restaurant’s menu on the Chowbus app. It was the first time we chose the pickup option, and they were ready on time! They had great service, authentic food, and I still think about their delicious set lunch to this day. I’ll definitely go back.

As I’ve not tried every restaurant possible, I can’t say this for all the restaurants on the Chowbus platform, but I do know that the Chowbus team carefully vetted (and tasted!) all of the restaurants that they partner with to make sure the quality is up to their standard. This means that all the restaurants on the Chowbus platform are truly some of the best Asian restaurants.

What Cities Are Chowbus Available In?

New York
Boston
Philadelphia
Chicago
Atlanta
Los Angeles
the Bay Area
Seattle
…and various major cities in North America (they’re always adding new cities to the platform)

How Much Does Chowbus Cost?

Restaurants on the Chowbus app have the option to offer different meals at various prices, so in that sense – the cost of your meal largely depends on where you bought it from and what you ordered.

In terms of delivery, however, Chowbus door-to-door delivery costs up to $4.99 depending on the distance.

For the Lunch Shuttle, the delivery fee is just $1!

If you order at least 2-3 times per month, I would recommend subscribing to the Chowbus Plus (which comes with a FREE 30-day trial) to get free shipping on your orders!

Chowbus Review Exclusive Offer: take a $10 discount when you order $20 or more with the code DWELL10 on your first order.

Chowbus Discounts, Rewards, and Coupon Codes

Right now, you can sign up for Chowbus and get FREE delivery on your 1st order!
Use the code DWELL10 to take $10 off your first purchase of $20+
Chowbus has a Rewards program where you can earn and redeem restaurant “loyalty points,” which you can exchange for free rewards (like that popular dish from your favorite restaurant!).
- You’ll earn 1 point for every $10 spent (not including the delivery fee, tips, and tax).
- You’ll get a bonus point that you can share with your friends each time when you earn points.

I want $10 OFF and FREE shipping on my order!

Chowbus Plus Review: Is It Worth It?

Chowbus has a premium subscription service called Chowbus Plus. Here’s what you need to know:

It costs $9.99 per month
Free delivery on all orders totaling $15 or more.
- New York City subscribers get unlimited free delivery!
There’s a free 30-day trial!
It’s available for US and Canada subscribers.
All members get 10% off for pickup orders, as well as other exclusive delivery discounts for certain restaurants.

Personally, I would recommend Chowbus Plus if you plan to use the platform at least 2-3 times per month – which is pretty easy to do.

By taking advantage of the free shipping, you’ll recoup the subscription cost by your second or third order.

To learn more about Chowbus Plus, click here.

chowbus review asian food delivery service in the bay area US

Chowbus Alternatives

Looking for something similar to Chowbus? Check out these other meal delivery services!

Did I miss anything in this Chowbus review? Please leave a comment below – I’d love to hear your experience!!

Chowbus Review + $10 Off Coupon on Asian Food Delivery

Key Takeaways from This Chowbus Review:

What is Chowbus?

How Do I Place an Order on Chowbus?