Designing a Faster Food Ordering Experience for Repeat and Exploratory Customers
Brasa Peruvian
Role:
Product Designer (UX + UI)
Scope:
UX Audit, Information Architecture, Interaction Design, Visual Design, Prototyping
Platform:
Native iOS App (Mobile)
Timeline:
3 weeks
Deliverables
UX audit of the existing Brasa ordering experience
Two redesigned user flows (Fast Reordering & Guided Discovery)
Information architecture improvements
High-fidelity UI redesign
Before & after comparisons highlighting key UX improvements
People don't open restaurant apps to browse.
They open them because they're hungry.
Context & Challenge
Ordering food is usually a low-patience moment.
Most people open a restaurant app because they’ve already made a decision:
They’re hungry.
Whether they're reordering a favorite meal or quickly deciding what to eat, they want to move from intent to checkout with as little friction as possible.
This project explores how the experience could better support the two most common ordering behaviors:
Reordering a familiar meal
Discovering and customizing a new one
The goal was not to redesign the entire application, but to reduce friction between hunger and food.
When reviewing the Brasa ordering experience, I noticed that the product treated every user the same. Repeat customers were required to navigate through unnecessary steps, while exploratory customers faced information overload and fragmented decision-making throughout the ordering flow.
The Problem
The existing experience created friction at multiple stages of the ordering journey.
Repeat Customers
Users returning to order a previous meal were required to:
Navigate through menus again
Rebuild familiar orders
Repeat decisions they had already made
The product lacked a clear fast path for habitual behavior.
Exploratory Customers
Users browsing for something new faced:
Dense menu structures
Long customization flows
Limited guidance when making decisions
The experience prioritized presenting information over helping users choose.
Research & Audit
I began by auditing the existing ordering flow and evaluating the experience through the lens of a customer ordering dinner after work or after exercise.
As a frequent Brasa customer myself, I understood the context in which these orders typically happen:
Low patience
High intent
Familiar purchasing habits
During the audit, several patterns emerge:
Finding 2:
Users were forced into decisions too early.
Location and fulfillment choices appeared before users had the opportunity to explore the menu.
Finding 3:
The menu architecture created unnecessary cognitive load.
Categories, items, and customization options competed for attention rather than guiding decision-making.
Finding 1:
The app optimized for transactions rather than behavior.
All customers followed essentially the same ordering path regardless of whether they were returning customers or first-time browsers.
Design Principles
Design for Urgency
Ordering food should feel fast.
Every screen should help users move closer to checkout with confidence.
Design for Repeat Behavior
Returning customers should not be forced to repeat work.
The product should recognize and support habits.
Reduce Cognitive Load
Decision-making should feel guided rather than overwhelming.
Users should spend less time figuring out the interface and more time choosing their meal.
Flow 1: Fast Reordering
Opportunity:
Many restaurant customers reorder the same meals repeatedly.
Despite this, the existing experience required users to navigate menus and rebuild orders manually.
I saw an opportunity to create a dedicated path for repeat customers.
Reorder Now:
A fast path designed for speed.
Users can quickly reorder a previous meal and proceed directly to checkout.
Key Improvements:
Order Again module added to the home screen
Dedicated reorder flow
Faster path to checkout
Clear separation between quick actions and editable actions
Improved order review and cart management
Solution:
I redesigned the home experience to prioritize previous orders and make reordering immediately accessible.
Rather than treating promotions as the primary entry point, the interface now surfaces recent meals and delivery context upfront.
Users can choose between two paths:
Edit Order:
A flexible path for users who want to review or modify items before purchasing.
This creates a balance between efficiency and control without forcing users through unnecessary steps.
Flow 2: Guided Discovery
Opportunity:
Not every customer knows what they want immediately.
For users browsing the menu, the existing experience made discovery feel more difficult than necessary.
The challenge was to simplify exploration without reducing choice.
Menu Discovery
The menu was reorganized to improve scanning and prioritization.
Popular items are surfaced first, followed by clearly structured categories.
This helps users begin with recommendations rather than navigating a large menu from scratch.
Customization
The original experience contained several moments where modifiers and add-ons competed for attention.
The redesign organizes customization into clear sections, making complex decisions feel simpler and more approachable.
Key Improvements:
Cleaner menu architecture
Guided discovery experience
Improved category hierarchy
Structured customization flow
Reduced decision fatigue
Solution:
I redesigned the browsing experience around progressive decision-making.
Rather than presenting all information at once, the interface guides users through smaller, more manageable choices.
Fulfillment Timing
Instead of requiring users to choose pickup or delivery before exploring the menu, fulfillment decisions occur closer to purchase intent.
This allows users to browse first and commit later.
Before & After
The redesign focused on four areas of friction:
Browsing
Users were required to make fulfillment decisions before exploring the menu.
Before:
Menu Navigation
Customization
Users can browse first and commit when purchase intent is established.
After:
Reordering
Returning customers rebuilt familiar orders manually
Before:
Users can quickly reorder previous meals through a dedicated fast path.
After:
Information hierarchy competed for attention.
Before:
Content is organized around discovery and scanning behavior.
After:
Modifiers felt dense and overwhelming.
Before:
Customization is structured into guided decisions.
After:
Outcome
This redesign reframes food ordering around user behavior rather than restaurant operations.
By recognizing the difference between repeat and exploratory customers, the experience becomes faster, clearer, and more intentional.
The final solution introduces two distinct ordering paths:
A fast lane for habitual ordering
A guided path for discovery
Together, these flows reduce friction while preserving flexibility.
Reflection
This project reinforced an important lesson:
Good product design is often less about adding functionality and more about removing unnecessary decisions.
Rather than redesigning the entire application, I focused on a small number of high-impact moments that influence how quickly users move from intent to action.
By narrowing the scope and designing around behavior, I was able to create a solution that feels more aligned with the realities of how people actually order food.
The result is a more focused experience that respects urgency, supports habits, and helps users reach a decision with confidence.