Uber Eats has completed 10 years of operation in South Africa, marking a decade of changing how South Africans eat, shop, and go about their daily lives. The platform has grown from a handful of Johannesburg restaurants into a nationwide marketplace operating across all nine provinces. Over the past decade, fried chicken with traditional pap has been the most-ordered meal on Uber Eats in South Africa.
Other local favourites on Uber Eats include chakalaka, malva pudding, and lamb bunny chow, showing that South Africans' tastes remain firmly rooted in familiar favourites. However, what lands on the dinner table can depend on where you live. Cape Town has developed a taste for sushi, while Durban customers have shown a preference for grilled chicken. In Johannesburg and Pretoria, burgers and grilled PERi-PERi chicken feature prominently.
Johannesburg also claims the top spot for burger orders, while Cape Town has led the way when it comes to vegan orders, followed by Johannesburg, Durban, and Nelspruit. The city's residents also appear to be among the country's biggest late-night eaters, while Durban customers are more likely to turn in earlier. Some South Africans have made Uber Eats a habit, with one customer placing more than 2,500 orders in just 10 months in 2025.
Another customer ordered the same coffee more than 700 times in a year, and a customer in 2022 ordered through Uber Eats on 97% of the days of the year. Love was also on the menu on Valentine's Day, when customers in Johannesburg and Pretoria placed 454 orders. The numbers reveal just how deeply delivery has become part of some customers' routines.
Food isn't the only thing South Africans have been ordering on Uber Eats. Alcoholic beverages are also available through the platform, and one customer spent R22,000 on premium alcohol in 2024. In 2025, some of the top luxury purchases on Uber Eats included premium tequila, rare single-malt Scotch, and 18-year-old whisky.
The speed of delivery has also changed dramatically over the decade. In 2022, a grocery delivery in Cape Town was completed in under two minutes. By 2025, the platform recorded an even faster delivery: a peach-flavoured rooibos iced tea that arrived in less than 50 seconds. For an industry built around convenience, every second clearly counts.
Uber Eats has created an estimated R1.6 billion in additional value for restaurants and saves consumers more than 12.7 million hours each year. The platform has also introduced an HDP feature, which highlights stores and restaurants owned by historically disadvantaged people in an effort to increase their visibility and access to demand.
Key points
- Fried chicken and pap remain the most-ordered meal on Uber Eats in South Africa.
- Uber Eats has grown from a handful of Johannesburg restaurants into a nationwide marketplace operating across all nine provinces.
- The platform has created an estimated R1.6 billion in additional value for restaurants and saves consumers more than 12.7 million hours each year.
