Fair Delivery Campaign · NW London
The cafés, curry houses and pizza places on our high streets are run by our neighbours. Eat in, pick up or order direct: you often pay less, and they keep more. Everybody wins.
Why bother?
£26.42 vs £38.04
The same meal, ordered direct and on Deliveroo, in a Which? comparison.
And app prices are often higher: 60% of 112 UK restaurant operators surveyed had raised their prices on delivery apps.
Which?, 17 Jun 2021 (2021, older data); Slerp vendor survey, 13 Apr 2026.
£24.43 vs £14.50
What the kitchen keeps from a £25 order on its own website, compared with Deliveroo at 35% commission plus VAT.
No app commission means more for staff, suppliers and keeping the doors open.
Estimate. See the working and sources.
Direct is often, but not always, cheaper for you. Prices vary, so check with the restaurant.
The local-first ladder
Hungry? Before you open an app, run down this list. The higher up you order, the more of your money stays on your high street.
Sit down, say hello, tip the staff. Nothing goes to an app, and a busy dining room keeps the place alive.
No app takes a cutPhone ahead, walk round, collect it hot. A ten-minute walk keeps the money in the kitchen.
No app takes a cutCall them, or use the restaurant's own website. Many locals deliver themselves. How direct delivery works.
Card fees only: about 1.5% + 20p online
Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat are there when you really need them. Try the options above first.
30–35% commission + VAT when the app deliversCard fee: Stripe UK pricing; commission: Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat rates, read 24 Oct 2026. Direct is often, but not always, cheaper for you. Prices and delivery areas vary, so check with the restaurant.
Why it matters
When you order through an app, the restaurant pays a commission on your order. On margins this thin, every percentage point counts.
23%
23% of UK hospitality businesses are operating at a loss.
The Guardian, 30 Jun 2026
60%
60% of 112 UK restaurant operators surveyed had raised their prices on delivery apps.
Vendor survey. Slerp, an online-ordering vendor, 13 Apr 2026
About 1.5%
The UK's 100 biggest restaurant groups made £204m profit on £13.3bn of sales: a margin of about 1.5%, with profit down 44%.
B&M Magazine, 24 Aug 2026
Next time you order from your local, ask whether you can order direct by phone, on their own website, or by collecting. Save the number. It often costs you less, and more of your money stays with the kitchen.
Fair Delivery Campaign lists independent places that take orders direct across 8 NW London neighbourhoods.
Check. Ask. Share. Pledge to try your local first, then tell a friend.