Food Delivery App -- Restaurant Listing, Order Tracking & Delivery Management

Three Apps, One Backend

Customer App

Users browse nearby restaurants sorted by rating, distance, cuisine, or delivery time. Each restaurant page shows the full menu with photos, descriptions, prices, and reviews. The cart handles items from a single restaurant with add-ons, special instructions, and tip selection. Checkout supports credit card (Stripe), cash on delivery, and wallet payments. After ordering, the real-time tracking screen shows order status (confirmed, preparing, picked up, on the way) and the driver's location on a map.

Restaurant Dashboard

Restaurant owners manage their menu (add items, set prices, upload photos, mark items unavailable), view incoming orders with one-tap accept/reject, update preparation status, set delivery zones, and configure operating hours. The dashboard shows daily revenue, order count, average preparation time, and customer ratings. Menu management supports categories, modifiers (size, toppings), and combo deals.

Driver App

Drivers toggle online/offline availability. When online, they receive order assignment notifications with pickup location, delivery address, estimated distance, and payout. The app provides turn-by-turn navigation (via Google Maps/Mapbox integration), one-tap calling to the customer, and delivery confirmation with photo proof. Drivers see their daily earnings, completed deliveries, and rating.

Admin Panel

The admin panel manages restaurant onboarding (approval, commission rates, contracts), driver onboarding (license verification, vehicle details), order disputes, platform commission settings, promotional codes, and system-wide analytics. Revenue reports show platform commission, payment processor fees, and driver payouts per day/week/month.

Real-Time Architecture

Order status updates and driver location tracking use WebSocket connections for instant updates without polling. The driver app sends GPS coordinates every 5 seconds while on delivery. The customer app receives these coordinates and animates the driver marker on the map. Push notifications (Firebase Cloud Messaging) alert customers at key status changes and drivers when new orders arrive.

Order Matching Algorithm

When a restaurant marks an order ready for pickup, the system finds the nearest available driver using geospatial queries (PostGIS or MongoDB geospatial indexes). It considers driver location, current load (already carrying an order?), and acceptance rate. If the nearest driver doesn't accept within 30 seconds, the system broadcasts to the next nearest driver. The algorithm is configurable for different matching strategies.