Did you know that every Wednesday night at 7 p.m., strangers have dinner together at several restaurants across Austin? Well, that’s exactly what city editors Morgan and Figi did last week — and we’re here to give you the 411 on our experience.
How it works
Timeleft, an app on a mission to curb modern-day loneliness, launched in Austin at the end of May. Users start by creating an account and completing a short questionnaire, where they share their age, career field, interests, diet, religious beliefs, and more. Based on their answers, Timeleft’s algorithm chooses five locals who they’re most likely to enjoy conversations with.
The day before dinner, participants find out more about your mystery guests broken down by percentages (i.e. 33% of the table works in the medical field) and receive safety tips for their excursion.
The morning of, at least one secret is out — where the group will be eating. Timeleft chooses the restaurant based on the area the user has chosen and how much they normally spend on nights out.
Participants arrive at the restaurant at 7 p.m. + meet their new potential besties. During the meal, Timeleft releases an icebreaker game via the app for the group to play if they choose. At 8 p.m., the app reveals the location of the Last Drink, an optional meet-up point for every Timeleft group in your area to intersect.
Morgan’s experience
I chose a glass of wine as my getting-ready drink to calm any nerves related to dining with five strangers. I mean, this could turn out like “The Menu,” right?
Lucky for me, I live within walking distance from the restaurant of Timeleft’s choosing, The Well. The combination of Wednesday night’s rain showers + my refusal to purchase an umbrella meant I showed up a bit damp.
But all of my fears melted away over drinks and appetizers with Gabby, Tyler, Aaron, and Austin (our sixth seat was a no-show). Our ages ranged from 23-29, our time in Austin varied from 3 weeks to 3 years, and no two people had a similar career. Our similarities included a shared love for animals, cocktails, laughing, and living in ATX.
Four of us said yes to the Last Drink at The Tipsy Alchemist, where I met even more wonderful people who were brave enough to dive into this social experiment. All said, I went home feeling grateful for the out-of-the-box experience.
Figi’s experience
City Editor Figi here — I met up with a group of five people aged 23-27 at The Peached Tortilla in north Austin. I was the first one there so I was nervous at first.
With each person’s arrival, the conversation continued to flow. Although it was the first time using Timeleft for most people there, I was surprised to learn that two people were on their second dinner. Most of us worked in different industries, with the exception of two engineers working with artificial intelligence.
We started chatting through some icebreaker questions provided by Timeleft (ours included “Explain your job to the table as if you were talking to a 5-year-old,” and “Tell the table about your hobbies.”). However, we honestly didn’t need them. We had no shortage of topics to chat about, from interesting aspects of people’s jobs, to learning how to skateboard to the likelihood of AI being sentient.
After sharing a few desserts, we all headed to The Aristocrat Lounge for one final drink. After meeting with another group of Timeleft folks, we chatted for another hour. In the three hours we spent together, there was never an awkward silence, and we all followed each other on social media.
