At least in my area of the Midwest US, delivery before 2020 was strictly for pizza, and the delivery-apps were generally distrusted and harrumphed at. Even Chinese-food-at-your-door was still regarded as an extravagant Larry David plot device. But after 2020, it opened up and burst out of control, and now nobody seems to know or care where they're ordering from, because it almost always just shows up. I walk into restaurants, and they often don't seem to know what to do; they have a growing counterful of takeout orders waiting for the drivers, and two people scrambling around to seat people.

If by "pampered" you mean you don't want to be scammed by some popup kitchen that can easily rename/rebrand itself once it amasses a bunch of negative reviews... then yes, you're "pampered".

Always better to go to a place that has its reputation on the line.

I mean i have been ordering for years from places i have never been and largely had positive experiences. But sure you can skip the convenience and save yourself the 2% of bad experience

Ehh just check reviews. Choosing a restaurant to order from is no different from choosing one to dine in.

The food delivery scene is culturally different in india. It’s faster and more efficient (not talking about driver exploitation though). Many of the cloud kitchens OP mentioned in the beginning are quite famous now and were places that never existed before these apps. So it gives confidence that you actually can trust new names in apps in india.

For the most part if you’re discerning with ratings numbers when you choose you should be good.

My suspicion on the business model with this scammer is that they go order from other restaurants after getting and order and get it for delivery. The prices in the delivery apps are generally marked up by up to 50% by the restaurants so you can do a good margin by being a shitty middle man.