Takeaway Ideas: The Offline App That Ends “What Do You Want for Dinner?”

26 October 2026 · by the developer of Orbitika

Every household has the same conversation. “What do you want for dinner?” “I don’t mind, what do you want?” Twenty minutes later, nobody has decided and everyone is hungry. I built Takeaway Ideas to end that conversation.

The food is never really the problem. Everyone knows roughly what is on offer. The problem is that nobody wants to be the person who picks wrong. So I wanted a tool that takes that pressure off. It picks, and nobody has to take the blame.

What it does

You open the tool (the title bar says TAKEAWAY IDEAS), pick your country, optionally pick a cuisine, and press the big button that says “You decide? I eat!” The app then shuffles through the options for ten seconds, flashing dish names at you, and lands on one.

While it spins you will see “Spinning…” under the dish name, and the button is locked so you cannot tap it again halfway through. When it stops, you get a cheerful message like “Tonight’s Winner!” or “Chef Recommends!” with the dish in large letters. A line underneath shows your country, your cuisine and how many options the spin was choosing from.

That ten-second wait is on purpose. A random pick that appears instantly feels like a coin flip. A short build-up makes it feel like a decision that someone, or something, made for you. You’d be surprised how often you hear “Oh, I wasn’t expecting that, but yes” before the spinning even stops.

Pick your country first

Takeaway menus differ a lot from country to country, so the list changes with where you are. Right now Takeaway Ideas covers New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. NZ is the default because that’s where I built Orbitika. Each country has its own list of between 34 and 47 dishes, and New Zealand’s is the longest.

Every list has its own local favourites:

• New Zealand: meat pies (mince and cheese, steak and cheese, chicken and mushroom), whitebait fritters, paua fritters, a Kiwi burger, roast lamb and kumara chips.
• Australia: chicken parmigiana, a burger “with the lot”, dim sims, barramundi and chicken schnitzel.
• United Kingdom: a Sunday roast, doner kebabs, a falafel wrap, battered sausage, cheesy chips with gravy and crispy aromatic duck.
• United States: chicken and waffles, mac and cheese, BBQ ribs, a burrito bowl and poke bowls.
• Canada: poutine, tourtière, peameal bacon on a bun, a Halifax donair, Montreal smoked meat and Montreal bagels.

Pizza, curry, sushi and noodles turn up in every list. When you change country, the cuisine goes back to All and the suggestions refresh for the new list, so you never end up with a New Zealand pie on a Canadian menu.

Narrow it down by cuisine

If you already know you’re in a Thai or Indian mood, choose a category: Burgers, Pizza, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Japanese, Fish & Chips, Chicken, Comfort Food, Pasta, Mexican, or Kebab & Wraps. The row of categories scrolls sideways, and the one you pick is highlighted. The spin then only draws from that group. Leave it on “All” if you want a full surprise.

Tapping a category also shows an idea for it straight away, without a spin. If you like it, you’re done. If you want the full ritual, press the button and the spin draws only from that cuisine.

Below the main result there’s a “Today’s Suggestions” panel showing one idea for every category at a glance. Sometimes you don’t want to spin at all. You just want to scan the board, see “Thai · Green Curry”, and say “yes, that.” Tap any category in the panel and it becomes your current pick.

At the bottom there’s a small counter that shows how many dishes are in the list you’re choosing from, and how many suggestions you’ve been given while you’ve had the tool open.

Why it’s offline

Like everything in Orbitika, Takeaway Ideas is designed to work without Wi-Fi or mobile data. The dish lists live inside the app, so there’s no loading and no sign-in. The footer at the bottom of the screen says it plainly: random takeaway ideas, offline, no internet needed. You can open it in a dead-signal car park outside the shops and it works the same as at home.

Who it helps

It’s for couples who go back and forth, flatmates who keep saying “I don’t mind”, and anyone who ends up ordering the same thing every Friday. It’s also handy for parents, since “the app chose it” settles arguments faster than “because I said so.” Workplaces can use it for the Friday lunch order, and anyone who is too tired to make one more decision at the end of a long day will find that one tap is enough.

A few tips

• Agree the rule before you tap. Decide that the result stands. A random pick only works if you honour it.
• Pick the cuisine first if you’re half decided. Thai or Indian gives a more useful answer than All.
• Notice your reaction. If you feel a little let down by the answer, that tells you what you really wanted. Go with that instead.
• Use the suggestions panel when you don’t want to wait. It gives you one idea per category straight away.

An honest limit

Takeaway Ideas suggests dishes, not restaurants. It won’t tell you which place is open or how much it costs. Think of it as a tiebreaker for the question, then you open your usual delivery app or walk to your usual shop. It also doesn’t filter for allergies or dietary needs, so check the dish yourself before you order.

Some country and cuisine combinations are still small, and a few are empty. For example, there are no Mexican dishes in the New Zealand or Australian lists yet, so if a cuisine comes up empty, switch back to All.

Try it

Takeaway Ideas is a free tool inside Orbitika, alongside the retro music player, mini-games and 50+ other tools. Pick a country, press the button, and let the app decide tonight. If you want to settle other small choices, like a movie or who goes first, the Decision Maker lets you type in your own options.

More about Orbitika tools: Calculator · Calendar · Clock · Date Diff · Decision Maker · Discount Calc · Drawing Pad · Converter · Size Chart · Takeaway Ideas · Timezone

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