# Bon App! — Connect, Meet, Bon Appétit

> Bilingual review platform for international residents in China. (iPhone/iPad app by 柱 石.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bon-app/id867942412 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [柱 石](https://appshunter.io/developer/1517605230)
- Category: Food & Drink, Travel
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.45/5 from 272 App Store ratings · 67 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 17+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 67 MB
- Languages: English, Chinese
- Released: 2014-04-30
- Data updated: 2026-08-26
- Monetization: ad-supported
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bon-app/id867942412/reviews.md

## What is Bon App!?

Connect, Meet, Bon Appetit! 

Bon App is the one-stop bilingual service platform for international people in China. It’s the de facto standard of English reviews for China. You can use Bon App to discover your next favorite restaurants, schools, day spas and more, with honest reviews written by its active international community across major cities in the country.

* LISTS 
Take the curated lists with you for bite-sized recommendations, all based on trusted recommendations from locals and expats since 2013. Get a complete list of International Schools of your city, take a culinary tour “Around the World In 80 Bites”, or enjoy “Staycations or Travels Across China”. 

* DISCOVER 
Whether you are traveling or wanting to live life in your city to the fullest, keep up-to-date through our trending venue recommendations, curated lists and lifestyle guides.

* REVIEWS
Bon App is the de facto standard of English reviews for China. Bon App’s bilingual reviews are the most trusted and transparent in the industry. Read them to make the best decision on where to explore next.

WeChat Mini Program: “BonAppMini”

WeChat Official Account: “BonAppOfficial” 

Contact Us: support@bonapp.cn

## Key features

- Bilingual reviews
- Curated lists
- Venue recommendations
- Lifestyle guides
- International community reviews

## What do users think of Bon App!?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 👍 User-friendly and intuitive interface
- 🍽️ Comprehensive restaurant discovery and recommendations
- 🗺️ Helpful map feature for finding nearby venues
- 🌟 Reliable and honest community reviews
- 📍 Chinese addresses for taxi drivers
- 💰 Good deals and promotional offers
- 🎯 Trending restaurant recommendations
- 🏆 Gamification with points and leaderboards
- 📱 Essential app for Shanghai food scene

**Cons**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and app freezes
- ❌ Non-functional map feature (no results display)
- ⚠️ Forced notifications and location sharing
- 📅 Severely outdated restaurant information
- 🔐 Unauthorized charges and payment issues
- 🔍 Poor search functionality and exact spelling requirement
- 😤 Aggressive push notifications and marketing screens
- 📱 Screen dimension issues on newer iPhones
- 🚫 Login failures (WeChat/Facebook)
- 🌐 Non-functional outside of China
- 🎯 Shifted focus from food to dating/social features
- ⏱️ No app updates for 2+ years
- 🔧 Unmoderated content (non-restaurant reviews)

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App crashes when submitting reviews
- Map view displays no restaurant results
- App freezes on home screen with iOS 13+
- Crashes when clicking on restaurant photo gallery
- Login doesn't work via WeChat or Facebook
- Broken address copy function
- App forces settings open for notifications on every launch
- Constant crashes since latest update
- Error #1202 upon opening
- App non-functional with 'no network' errors
- Filtering capabilities lost after upgrade

**Most requested features**

- Update restaurant information and remove closed venues
- Add filter for currently open restaurants with delivery
- Improve search algorithm for partial/fuzzy matching
- Update app dimensions for iPhone X and newer models
- Add happy hour and food specials section
- Video upload capability for Meet feature
- Make share to WeChat moments optional (not default)
- Improve recommendation engine
- More frequent Bon App Meets events

## Recent user reviews (10 of 67)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bon-app/id867942412/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Gone App

*2025-07-08, version 9.3.1*

No update for the past 2 years and now only #1202 errors upon opening finally is laid to rest. RIP

### 1/5 — Is it now defunct

*2025-05-30, version 9.3.1*

The past two weeks app will not function. Only error messages to say no network!!!

### 1/5 — Terrible

*2025-05-08*

If you live in china stay away from this.   Horrible interface and search features

### 4/5 — A bit outdated

*2024-04-13, version 9.3.1*

While there are lots of current restaurants found here, the culinary landscape in Shanghai changes quickly and has changed even more drastically since 2019. About half of the restaurants I looked at in my neighborhood (Xujiahui) have no new reviews since 2018 or 2019 and I’m 99% sure they aren’t there anymore, which makes it a waste of time to read about them. Perhaps app managers should do some research to clean up outdated content.

### 1/5 — A slow and now final death

*2023-06-28, version 9.3.1*

Over the past few years this app has been spiralling into decay with each update. From May this year (2023) it finally was laid to rest and no longer works.

### 1/5 — Unmoderated waste of time

*2022-08-23, version 9.1.1*

The CEO, Stone, doesn’t care who posts on their platform, leaving the app to be unmoderated and completely useless, as people are left to review anything from footpaths, to buses, instead of making sure the app produces a great foodie community, aimed at posting great food and drink recommendations.

### 5/5 — So useful

*2021-06-04, version 8.9.5*

Brilliant app

### 1/5 — Doesn’t even work

*2021-05-26, version 8.9.5*

I have a subscription to the magazine I am on Facebook and I can’t make an account on this app. What the heck is wrong with it what a crappy app. I was looking forward to this I used to get bon appétit magazine before. I guess this will be the last subscription I will ever have if this can’t be fixed. Do you have a nice day and heads up everybody this app is crabby

### 1/5 — Useless app

*2020-05-01, version 8.9.0*

First of all info simple as restaurant hours could be wrong in this app. Me and my friend learnt this the hard way. What’s worse this app would charge you without authorization. Be careful. Avoid scam.

### 2/5 — Map feature stopped working weeks ago

*2020-01-20, version 8.8.2*

When I try to view what is near me in the map view, nothing comes up. Still not fixed.

## Frequently asked questions about Bon App!

### What does Bon App do?

Bon App is a bilingual service platform designed for international individuals in China. It provides honest reviews and recommendations for various venues such as restaurants, schools, and day spas, based on insights from its active international community.

### What are the key features of Bon App?

Key features include access to curated lists for bite-sized recommendations, trending venue suggestions, lifestyle guides, and trusted bilingual reviews from locals and expats. These resources help users discover new places and make informed decisions.

### Is Bon App free to use?

The application is free to use. However, it does contain advertisements, as indicated by its ad-supported monetization model.

### What kind of content can I find on Bon App?

You can find English reviews for various services in China, including restaurants, international schools, and day spas. The app also offers curated lists for culinary tours, staycations, and travel across China.

### Who is the target audience for Bon App?

The app is specifically designed for international people living in or traveling to China. It caters to those looking for reliable, community-driven recommendations and reviews in English.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 10.0.0 — 2026-04-09

· New "Ask AI" feature
· Adapted for Xcode 26
· Updated WeChat sharing feature
· Optimized photo-related features
· Enhanced Liquid Glass features
· Improved crash handling

### 9.3.1 — 2023-06-13

Updated Latest Feed

### 9.3.0 — 2023-06-02

1. Optimized map experience for overseas users
2. Fixed some known issues

### 9.2.0 — 2022-10-04

1. Fixed the problem that the map mode of the lists is easy to flash back or automatically retract
2. Fixed the problem that after uploading the business photo, one cannot exit after clicking the edit button
3. Enabled sharing reviews via WeChat Mini Program from Feed
4. Optimized the process for users to submit new listings

### 9.1.1 — 2021-11-19

1. Optimized list sharing experience 
2. Optimized photo uploading experience 
3. Fixed some minor bugs

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## Related topics

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-26.*