That's the plan - I'm going to try to start in North/Central London. Islington, Camden & Shoreditch (home to the infamous Silicon Roundabout).
Short of actually flyering local homes, does anyone have any ideas for cheap & effective local advertising? I've got some Facebook ads running, but targetting more locally than just "London" doesn't return many people.
Advertising this could be one of your biggest costs. Reduce the requirement for advertising by devising a traction plan, if you haven't already. You already have the right idea by targeting a small area first and then expanding.
There is a similar site to yours already launched in London, fairly well established called HouseBites.co.uk - have you studied their model? Mike from HouseBites gave a talk at YCombinator London about 1 or 2 months ago. Did you see this talk? There is a video floating around somewhere.
Some of the logistical issues were discussed which may give you some assistance on for Meal Mogul.
I am also working on a different yet related project EatSocial.net (see blog.EatSocial.net) - think meetups in restaurants. Would you be interested to meet for a chat? I am based in London and would like to hear more about Meal Mogul.
Short of actually flyering local homes, does anyone have any ideas for cheap & effective local advertising? I've got some Facebook ads running, but targetting more locally than just "London" doesn't return many people.