Moving to a whole new country does light that sort of fire beneath your butt to put yourself out there and make a new friend. So yeah, I signed up for a Timeleft dinner and gave it a go.

Now I want to share what that experience was like in case there’s anyone else out there looking to make new connections and open to trying new things in doing so.

What is Timeleft?

If you’re unfamiliar with the app, Timeleft is a social platform that aims to create connection between strangers living in the same city through a dinner completely organized by Timeleft. It’s a pretty cool idea, tbh. It’s a response to the increasing loneliness endemic as our everyday lives become more and more digital and less face-to-face, despite the growing need for connection we are seeking as humans. Dinners happen every Wednesday at 7pm, wherever you are in the world.

As someone with a background in product design and user experience, I thought this was a neat app idea. (Sadly, Le Rouge Fox isn’t the right place for breaking down Timeleft as a case study. But alas.)

Why I decided to finally go to a Timeleft dinner

I decided to sign up for it because a friend of mine from NYC was going to be in Paris for a few days in November. At the same time, I wanted to start building my social circle and creative network in France, and Paris isn’t the worst place to start. I remember I always got Instagram ads for Timeleft while living in NYC. I actually made an account and was so close to attending an event. In the end, I pulled out because of a schedule conflict and never got around to trying again.

But now that I was living in a whole new country across the pond, I had the motivation to make new friends through strangers.

Is Timeleft a dating app?

In my experience, it felt friendly. I’ll get more into who attended and the vibe I got in just a little bit. However, I have heard of other people’s experiences and they have said that it was clear that some of the people were there for a romantic connection.

When I first started getting Instagram ads for Timeleft in NYC two years ago, I want to say that the app was positioning itself as a platform to make new friends in your city. I believe it was still that angle when I signed up for the Timeleft dinner in Paris back in October 2024.

However, I think I’ve been getting newer Instagram ads from Timeleft after November 2024 that has subtle hints of “meeting someone” during one of the dinners. Keep me honest though if you know better about this.

How do you sign up to join a Timeleft dinner?

Create an account and take a 10 minute personality test. The personality test is simple and asks about your hobbies, interests, noise level preferences, etc. It’s to feed the algorithm and match you with similar guests.

Choose the location (city and neighborhood). It can be where you live if you’re looking to make new friends or connections. Or, like in my case, you’re visiting a new city and want to meet locals. The dinners are always on Wednesday nights at 7pm.

Choose the language you’re willing to speak in during the dinner. The options for me were English or French since I was browsing in France. I chose English, and the table was international and all the guests were either fluent in English or native speakers.

At the Timeleft dinner in Paris, one of the attendees (French guy) told us that he has gone to dinners where he had chosen French for one week and then English for another week’s dinner. When he chose French language, he expected a mixed group of people speaking French. However, in his experience, everyone was French. Nothing wrong with that, of course. I guess he was looking for an international experience.

And who knows, this was just one person’s experience. It could be different for someone else. This is a great way to challenge yourself if you are learning French and want to take it to the next level (or 10)!

Share dietary preferences and how much you’re willing to spend at the restaurant

You have the option to select that you eat anything and everything. And if you don’t, then you have the opportunity to share that as well.

You’ll also get to say how much you’re willing to spend on the dinner itself. The options are $, $$, $$$. It’s a bit general and you can only choose one of them. I had chosen $$ and I think I spent around 40€ or $42 USD for that dinner (personal appetizer, main course and a glass of wine).

Timeleft uses this information to match you with a group of people who either have the same dietary preferences and budget, and subsequently chooses the restaurant that you will all meet at based on these criteria.

Confirm your spot by buying a single Timeleft ticket or Timeleft Subscription

There is a “fee” to attend a Timeleft dinner so that the app can generate revenue. You can choose a single ticket for 12.99€ (January 2025) here in France. If you’re in the States, it’s $16 USD per dinner, according to some light Googling.

The subscriptions start at $26 per month, $56 for three months, and $86 for six months. You do save some money per dinner if you’re going the subscription route. If you’re going for the first time or second time, I would get a single ticket to feel it out. If it’s something you can see yourself doing more regularly, then a subscription would be wise.

First-time Timeleft Promo Code

(January 2025) I used this code ILOVETIMELEFT and it worked even if I was signing up for my second dinner. I hadn’t used a promo code for the first time in Paris. So I’m guessing it can be applied once to each account.

Arriving at the Timeleft dinner

Timeleft will let you know more details on other attendees (nationalities) and the official dinner location (restaurant) at 9am on the day of the dinner, Wednesday. The app does a pretty good job at communicating updates. Just be sure to have your notifications enabled.

When I got to the restaurant, I went to the host and let him know that I was there for a Timeleft dinner and he was well-aware and directed me to the table.

Important to note: It is highly possible that there is more than one Timeleft dinner happening at the same restaurant. So be sure to let the host know which table you are. This information will be shared with you in the Timeleft app. I’ve read of some people being at the wrong table since there were multiple Timeleft events happening at once.

My Timeleft dinner experience

In total we were five people—including myself—because one person must’ve canceled. Almost everyone seemed nice and friendly. However, I will say that in my personal experience there was one person who made the dinner uncomfortable. Just an odd-ball personality that you come across every once in awhile in life. Everyone was polite about their strange remarks or out-of-place comments, and sometimes would have to call them out in a joking-but-serious way.

The Timeleft app provides ice breaker questions in case you need them. (Though we only spent maybe one or two minutes looking at them, mostly out of curiosity.)

People in the group were also a bit older than I am, maybe by 5-7 years. It doesn’t seem like that much of a difference, because it’s not. But I personally just find myself connecting more to those who are just a few years younger than I am because of my lifestyle.

Timeleft “assigned” us a small French restaurant near Le Marais. Most of us ordered the steak frites and a glass of wine. The food was just fine and nothing to complain about.

At the end of the dinner, everyone paid for themselves.

How the Timeleft dinner wraps up

Around 8pm—an hour into the dinner—the Timeleft app will give another update to let everyone know where to meet for after-dinner drinks around town. I didn’t go, but I believe it’s an opportunity to meet other Timeleft dinner attendees from all over town that night.

At the end of the night or the next morning, Timeleft will ask you to rate your fellow dinner guests, i.e., if you would want to see them again or not. If both of you mutually give each other a thumbs up, you’ll have the chance to connect with one another on the app and exchange contact information from there. Though, our group had exchanged Instagram accounts during dinner.

Would I try Timeleft again?

Yeah, I would! Even though there was an off-beat personality at the table, everyone else was super friendly and I had a good time going out in a new city to have dinner. It’s pretty cool that Timeleft organizes everything up to and after the dinner, and all you have to do is show up. I’ll give it another go here in Bordeaux and get back to you on it.

Conclusion

So if you’re looking to try something new or meet new people, Timeleft is definitely a solid option. It’s a bit like a supper club in a small group environment. Each dinner you go to will be a different group of people (I’m guessing here, but seems likely), so it’s a new batch to get to know and build your social circle from.

Have you tried Timeleft before? I’d love to hear your experience in the comments!

This post was all about trying Timeleft and having dinner with strangers in hopes of making new friends and building community.