Get in the zone. The Onezone.

If you know me, you’ll know I love going out. My London bucket list is never-ending and whenever possible, I try to avoid going to the same place twice. Unless it’s The Ned. Yes, I’m slightly obsessed. However, even though I was using trusted sources like TimeOut, OpenTable, The Infatuation, and Dojo (RIP), it was becoming increasingly more difficult to find hotspots that weren’t booked up, over-hyped or full of tourists. Social media is also flooded with ‘instagrammable’ venues promising the world, and it was getting hard to know which suggestions to trust. Then came along Onezone. Onezone is a new social network that helps you find and share cool places to eat and drink. It was founded by Natasha Zone in early 2019, after becoming the go-to person for friends when they were trying to find where to go. She was inspired by big social and transport tech companies such as Waze, Instagram and Uber, and designed OneZone to be both a social and curated app. The app itself adds places to the OneZone directory as long as they offer a great experience; taking aesthetic, atmosphere, food and service into account. They’ve also promised to never be paid to add venues, so authenticity is a paramount concern. The app allows you to search by area, type or tag. Its homepage shows all the new openings each month, which is one of my favourite features. It also gives search options by cuisine, occasion, vibe or most popular. Special shout-out to search options: ‘Wow Factor’, ‘Impress a Client’ and ‘Speakeasy Style’. They’ve both saved my bacon and ruined my bank balance all at the same time. The app also integrates several other apps so you can organise a night out in just four easy steps.

• Check the Insta page
• Book the place
• Share the details with friends on WhatsApp
• Order your Uber.

If you’re anything like me and are prone to ‘hangriness’, this is the one for you. It reduces the time spent visiting multiple sites when deciding on where to go for dinner. Additionally, it allows you to add friends, save places under ‘favourites’ and ‘go/try’ where you tick them off once you’ve been. A must have if you love a list! After all that, if you’re not already sold, the founder used to work for Velocity Black – a £3,500 a year, VIP concierge membership app. The app gave its users access to the most exclusive member-only events at venues you would no doubt rub shoulders with A listers. Everything from free upgrades at hotels to tables at fully booked, high end restaurants. It was basically a digital personal assistant with the kind of access only celebrities were granted. So imagine the same level of design and venue scrutiny combined with Zone’s knowledge of the wining and dining scene. OneZone delivers that ‘bougie-ness’ you desire, even if you’re on a budget. Photo Credit: @brucemars