Too Good To Go Review: How We Save Money While Reducing Food Waste
- Gin
- Jan 2
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 7
As part of our year-end tradition, my wife and I reviewed our Goals Bingo cards and reminisced about the places we visited and the things we did throughout the year. For fun, we also voted on our personal “Best of 2025” across a few categories—including Best New App.
This year, we both chose an app that saves us money, helps the environment and businesses—and creates a little excitement. Our Best New App of 2025 is Too Good To Go.
Note: I am not affiliated with Too Good To Go and do not receive any compensation from the company. This post is based solely on my personal experience.
WHAT IS TOO GOOD TO GO?
Too Good To Go partners with local restaurants and stores to sell their leftover meals and food products in the form of surprise bags on their app at discounted prices. To be clear, “leftover” does not mean food scraped from someone’s plate. This is all perfectly edible food that did not sell by a certain time.
As a Denmark-based company, the app is much more widely used in Europe, but they seem to be expanding rapidly in the U.S. When I first downloaded the app at the beginning of the year, there were only two businesses in my area partnered with Too Good To Go.
Now, however, dozens of restaurants and stores are offering discounted prepared food on the app, and new ones pop up daily. And these aren’t all obscure or unknown businesses, either. Even IKEA’s restaurant and Whole Foods are active on the app.
The type of food offered varies. Here’s a sample of the surprise bags being sold in my area to give you an idea:
Full meals from restaurants
Prepared food, meats, seafood, groceries, frozen food, and flowers from Whole Foods
Pizza, sandwiches, and rice bowls
Krispy Kreme donuts
Bagels, cookies, cakes, pastries, and other bakery items
Consumers, like you and me, can buy these surprise bags of food for very little. Where I live, most surprise bags run between $5-$10.
Why are they called surprise bags? Well, restaurants can’t accurately predict what food will be left at the end of the day. At best, they can list what most likely will be in the surprise bag. You never know what you’ll receive until you pick up your bag.
And that uncertainty is part of the fun. Surprise bag contents are different each time. It conjures up memories of being a kid and wondering what your mom packed you for lunch.
HOW THE TOO GOOD TO GO APP WORKS?
If you’ve used apps like Instacart, DoorDash, or Grubhub, then Too Good To Go will feel intuitive. Everything—from browsing to payment—is handled in the app. The only in-person interaction happens during pickup.
Each active offer includes a pick-up window, which can range from as short as 30 minutes to several hours.
Clicking an offer will show you how many surprise bags are available and what kind of food might be included. If you find a bag you like, click the Reserve button to make your payment. Then follow the pick-up instructions to receive your food during the pick-up window
Just let them know you have a Too Good To Go order when you arrive. Sometimes, your food will be packaged and ready to go when you arrive. Other times, they’ll create your bag while you wait.
And if you’re wondering if the interaction can get awkward because you’re picking up cheap leftovers, you have nothing to worry about. It’s no different from any other pick-up order. You won’t be treated as a poor person getting a handout. Businesses are happy to be getting money for food that would’ve been thrown away.
HOW MUCH FOOD COMES IN A SURPRISE BAG?
Food quantity in surprise bags varies. Some bags are incredible deals; others are just “good enough.” That variability is part of the model. Even the same restaurant will give a different amount of food depending on the day.
It’s best to check the reviews and stick with businesses that have high scores in quantity, variety, and quality.
My personal experience so far has been good when it comes to quantity. Here are the contents of some of the surprise packages I’ve picked up.
HOW TO SAVE EVEN MORE WITH TOO GOOD TO GO
Food offered on Too Good To Go is already discounted by about 70%, but it gets even better. The Too Good To Go app includes a loyalty card where you earn stamps for every surprise bag purchased. Collect nine stamps and receive a $5 voucher.
And there’s a second way to earn vouchers.
Invite your friend to join Too Good To Go and receive a $2 voucher for each person who signs up using your link!
WHY TOO GOOD TO GO WAS OUR BEST APP OF 2025
Even though we frequently enjoy eating at expensive restaurants, avoiding wasteful spending is one of the core values that helped us retire early.
In a previous post, I wrote about using a kakeibo to track expenses and find wasteful spending. Usually, wasteful spending can be found in variable expenses, such as eating out and getting meals to go. And while Too Good To Go won’t eliminate these expenses, it’s one of the few ways to get discounts on prepared food.
But the importance of avoiding waste goes beyond just budgeting for us. It is said that up to 22 billion pounds of food is wasted annually by the U.S. restaurant industry. That’s billion with a “b.” And up to 75% of that wasted food is still edible.
Having worked in resorts for over a decade, I can attest to the ridiculous amount of food wasted in restaurants every day. It’s not just the leftovers being scraped off plates. It’s also untouched dishes from catered events and canceled food orders.
And guess what happens to the remaining wine in a bottle when a guest orders wine by the glass. Because a wine’s flavor changes once exposed to air, unless someone else orders the same wine soon, the remaining wine is poured down the drain.
As people who grew up in poor families, we were taught to always appreciate food. In college, friends nicknamed me the garbage disposal because I was the one who’d clean off any shared plates when eating out. I made sure no food was wasted, no matter how full I was.
My garbage disposal days may be over now that my metabolism has fallen off a cliff, but reducing food waste is still important to me. Too Good To Go allows businesses to recover some value, keeps perfectly good food out of landfills, and gives consumers access to deeply discounted meals.
From a financial independence perspective, it also fits a pattern I’ve come to appreciate over the years: small, repeatable decisions that quietly reduce waste—both financial and otherwise. This app won’t make or break your budget, but it nudges spending in the right direction while aligning with values we’ve carried since long before early retirement was even a goal.
And sometimes, saving money is more fun when it comes with a surprise.
If you try Too Good To Go, I'd love to hear what you received in your surprise bag.
See you at the finish line!
Disclaimer: I’m not a licensed financial professional. This blog shares my personal experiences and opinions around money, investing, and early retirement. It’s for informational and educational purposes only—not financial, legal, or tax advice. Always do your own research or consult with a qualified professional before making any financial decisions.
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