Caviar is the fancier sibling of DoorDash. DoorDash owns it, and it focuses on curated local restaurants you often won’t find on the big apps.
It’s still running as its own app. What changed years ago is who brings the food: it’s a Dasher now, not a separate Caviar courier.
Is Caviar still around?
Yes. The Caviar app is live and still getting updates, and its help link now goes straight to DoorDash’s help center.
It only delivers in certain areas, though. DoorDash lists these service regions: Boston, Brooklyn and Queens, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, Greater Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Marin County, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, the SF East Bay and Peninsula, Seattle and Seattle’s East Side, South Jersey, and the Washington DC Metro.
Outside those? You won’t see Caviar restaurants at your address, and you’re ordering from DoorDash or Uber Eats anyway.
Who gets your tip?
Your Dasher. In select markets, Dashers can accept Caviar orders right in the Dasher app, and DoorDash says Dashers get 100% of their tips. So the tip on a Caviar order goes to the person standing at your door.
The delivery and service charges on your receipt are a separate thing. Those are what you pay Caviar for the order, not a tip.
How much to tip on Caviar
Caviar doesn’t set a minimum, so here’s how we’d do it.
Normal dinner order, easy drop-off: 15% to 20% of the food.
Small order? Don’t go by percentage. A 15% tip on a $14 sandwich is about two bucks, which is not much for someone’s gas and time. Tip a few dollars minimum.
Bad weather, a walk-up apartment, a long drive or a big catering-sized order: go higher. Those orders are more work, so pay for it.
How to tip on a Caviar order
Easiest way: add it at checkout in the app.
Forgot, or want to add more? Caviar’s help goes through DoorDash’s help center, and DoorDash’s tipping rules work like this:
- Once a Dasher is assigned, you can add a tip from the order progress screen.
- After the order is done, you can add a tip from your receipt for up to 30 days.
- You can also contact support to add or adjust a tip on a completed order, up to 30 days after.
- In some markets, New York City included, tipping only happens after checkout.
Cash works too. Just hand it over at the door. If the order’s left at your door, the in-app tip is the way to go.
Want to deliver Caviar orders yourself?
Caviar couriers sign up through the DoorDash Dasher app now. Once you’re a Dasher, Caviar orders can show up in that same app in the markets where Caviar runs.
DoorDash (Dasher)
- What it is
- Delivering for DoorDash as a Dasher. In some markets the same app hands you Caviar orders.
- What you do
- Take the offers worth taking. Drive, ride a scooter or motorcycle, or bike where your city allows it.
- How much it pays
- Every offer carries base pay in the $2 to $10+ range, promos stack on top, and tips are 100% yours. Deposits go out weekly. Fast Pay is $1.99, once a day.
- The catch
- Caviar orders only show up where Caviar delivers, so outside those regions it’s plain DoorDash work.
Worth it? Yes for flexible delivery work if you meet the age rule (18, older in some states). In a Caviar city, you get its orders on top.
FAQ
Do you have to tip on Caviar?
No, tipping is optional. But Caviar orders are delivered by Dashers, who keep 100% of tips, so the tip goes straight to the person who brought your food.
Who delivers Caviar orders?
DoorDash Dashers. In select markets, Dashers can accept Caviar orders in the Dasher app.
Can I add a tip after my Caviar order arrives?
DoorDash’s help center, which Caviar uses, says you can add a tip from your receipt or through support for up to 30 days after the order.
Next step
Use the regular DoorDash app too? See DoorDash tipping, explained.
Groceries are a different deal, with heavy bags and shopping time. See Instacart tipping and Shipt tipping. Every delivery guide sits in the app-based gigs hub, plus what’s paying right now if you want to earn a little yourself.
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