Restaurateur Accuses Zomato of Manipulating Orders, Says Commission ‘Greed’ Rising

A prominent Delhi restaurateur has publicly accused food-delivery giant Zomato of deliberately manipulating rider allocation to throttle orders for his establishment, escalating a month-long dispute that highlights growing tensions between the platform and its restaurant partners. Gagandeep Singh Sapra, owner of Tadka Rani in Greater Kailash 1, posted video evidence on X showing his restaurant repeatedly marked as “unavailable” on the Zomato app during peak hours, while neighboring outlets within 50 meters remained fully operational and continued receiving delivery riders.

In the screen recording shared on November 24, Sapra demonstrated that searches for Tadka Rani displayed a closed status despite the restaurant being open and ready to accept orders. He claimed the issue has persisted for 31 days, with multiple escalations to Zomato’s support and partner-management teams yielding no resolution. Sapra alleged the manipulation is designed to pressure restaurants into accepting higher commission rates, stating that Zomato already charges his outlet over 52 percent on sales and is pushing for rates as high as 99 percent.

The public complaint quickly gained traction, with Sapra tagging senior Zomato executives and accusing the company of allowing “loose cannons” within the team to rig the system for greater revenue. He directly referenced Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal in his posts, claiming unchecked corporate greed was driving the alleged sabotage.

Also Read: Gunmen Attack Taiz Governor’s Motorcade in Yemen: Five Guards Killed, Governor Escapes

Zomato’s CEO of Food Delivery, Aditya Mangla, responded personally on X within hours, thanking Sapra for the evidence and promising an immediate investigation. “Thank you for sharing this. I’m getting this checked,” Mangla wrote. Sapra acknowledged the response positively but reiterated that despite numerous meetings and emails over the past month, no corrective action had been taken.

The episode underscores ongoing friction between Zomato and a section of its restaurant partners over commission structures, visibility algorithms, and perceived favoritism toward outlets enrolled in premium programs such as Zomato Gold or those paying higher advertising fees. Similar grievances have surfaced periodically since the pandemic-era boom in food delivery, with restaurateurs accusing platforms of using technical controls to indirectly coerce compliance with commercial demands. Zomato has yet to release an official statement beyond Mangla’s commitment to investigate the specific incident.

Also Read: Congress to Hold December 14 Mega Rally Solo Against Alleged EC Vote Manipulation