Foodies, rejoice! Cloudy, a dining and hospitality app, wants to know what you have to say about your favorite restaurants.

Cloudy makes it easy to search for restaurants, bars, coffee and tea shops based on location and allows users to see reviews from friends. It is an interactive app that relies on the opinions of you and those in your network to review and rate different establishments around town. Although its 2.0.1 version was released Feb. 26, it is still an app in a nascent stage.

Cloudy is extremely user-friendly. Right away, users can search based on keywords, categories or what is closest to you. When searching, you can filter results based on distance, price and what is currently open. Users also have the option to hide visited places, so you won’t be tempted to fall back to familiar habits and miss out on the rewards for discovering new places.

Reviews, ratings and the business’s information are clearly visible and easy to navigate. When you go to a restaurant, bar or coffee shop’s page, the business name is displayed over a shadowed map background so the location is easy to determine. The best part? The reviews are by your friends, so you know the source of the information to determine the reliability of your destination.

How does Cloudy know who your friends are? It can connect with Facebook and Foursquare, which gives Cloudy information about where you’ve already been and to whom you are connected to via social media. If any of your Facebook friends already have the Cloudy app, their reviews will show up under “Activity.” Being able to see reviews from people you personally know makes it much easier to weigh any conflicting opinions against each other and decide if somewhere is worth trying. On sites like Yelp, you are making this decision based on the opinions of strangers you know nothing about. If there are no reviews for that place you’ve been dying to try but you see a friend has checked in there, you can request a review from them on the app or via Facebook message if your friend does not have Cloudy.

If you’re someone who loves to review restaurants, you can easily access a list of places you’ve checked in to and begin entering your ratings and comments on the establishment in question. Cloudy also tells you how many times you’ve been there and when your last visit was.

One unique feature rarely found in dining and nightlife apps is the ability to see details regarding dress code, whether a restaurant accepts reservation and what alcohol is served. There is also a “good for groups” category that can be helpful when planning a night out with friends.

However, Cloudy is not yet perfect. Because Cloudy relies on the user’s network for content and is relatively new, I was only able to find reviews for a total of ten locations on campus. The app has great potential, but it has limitations in its infant stages.

Additionally, Cloudy’s identity is not completely clear. The app icon is very similar to and likely inspired by Apple’s iCloud service. There is nothing in the app’s name or avatar that designates its connection to dining, beverage and hospitality establishments.

Cloudy may have its deficiencies, but no consumer risk is involved, making it a very attractive app to the college consumer. Cloudy is completely free and a great resource for dining anywhere. If Cloudy catches on, it has the potential to become the go-to wining and dining app.