How the random restaurant picker works
- Type the places you'd consider, one per line, or load a preset of cuisines, fast-food chains, quick bites, healthy food or desserts.
- Press Spin the wheel. The winner is chosen by your browser's cryptographic random number generator, so every option has exactly the same chance.
- Want to narrow it down? Tick "Remove the winner after each spin" and keep spinning to eliminate options, or keep it unticked and play best of three.
Your list is stored only in your own browser (localStorage), so it's there next time and nobody else can see it.
Why use a wheel to decide where to eat?
Decision fatigue is real. After a day of choices, picking dinner feels harder than it should, and groups can go round in circles for twenty minutes. A random picker takes the pressure off. Nobody "chose wrong", the decision is fair, and if everyone groans at the result, you've learned what you actually wanted.
Ideas for using the wheel
- Date night: each person adds three places and the wheel decides.
- Office lunch: load the places within walking distance and spin once a day. Tick remove-winner so you don't repeat during the week.
- Trying new food: load the Cuisines preset and commit to a cuisine you've never ordered.
- Cooking at home: list the meals you know how to make and let the wheel plan the week.
- Kids' choice: let the kids spin for the Friday treat.
Making a great restaurant list
Keep the wheel between 4 and 12 options so the labels stay readable on a phone. Group similar spots ("any taqueria") rather than listing every one, and drop places that are closed today. Duplicates are removed automatically, ignoring capitalisation.
Food picker vs. restaurant picker
You can use the same wheel in two ways. As a restaurant picker, list actual places near you, such as your favourite taco truck, the new ramen bar or the diner down the street. As a food picker, list types of food and decide on the cuisine first, then search a map app for the best-rated place nearby. The second approach is great when you're travelling or have just moved and don't know the local spots yet. Some groups spin twice: once for the cuisine and once for the price level ("cheap eats", "mid-range", "treat yourself").
Is it truly random?
Yes. The winner is drawn with crypto.getRandomValues using rejection sampling, which avoids the small bias of simple modulo arithmetic. The wheel animation is then steered to land on that winner. If your device prefers reduced motion, the result appears instantly without animation.
Tips for groups
For a group of friends, let everyone add one or two places so every voice counts. Agree before spinning that the result is final, or allow a single veto per person. If someone has dietary needs, remove any options that don't work for them first. Then the wheel can only land on places everyone can enjoy.
Frequently asked questions
How do I decide where to eat?
List the places you'd be happy with, spin the wheel, and go with the result. If you're disappointed by the pick, that tells you what you really wanted.
Is the restaurant picker random?
Yes. Each option has an equal chance, drawn with your browser's cryptographic random number generator.
Can I save my restaurant list?
Your list is saved automatically in your browser's local storage on this device.
How many options can I add?
As many as you like, but 4 to 12 options keep the wheel easy to read.
Can I use it to pick what to cook?
Yes. Replace the list with your home recipes and spin.