One promise of tablets and e-readers is that everything we read that can be held in our hands, not just books and web pages, could end up moving from static paper to a dynamic screen. Some restaurants are already taking the plunge, handing out iPads instead of menus.
The New York Times recently profiled a number of these future-thinking restaurants, from London bistros to Atlanta steakhouses. They report that customers love them, sales are up, and that so far, no one has stolen or spilled their drinks on the tablets. Hijacking them for playing video games and checking-in on Foursquare have likewise been minimal.
Traditionally, restaurants touting their extensive wine, beer, or liquor collections have consecrated that authority with large tomes bound in deluxe leather. ("Here is the Bible," a waitress whispered to a reporter for the Economist at a French restaurant in London's Covent Garden.)
But these books aren't terribly functional for search. Customers have grown used to finding beverage information on their smartphones; software-based tablets are a natural way for restaurants to meet their clientele halfway, keeping them (and their stewards) in on the action. And as the devices have quickly accrued some of the same prestige as the old codex menus.
For the customer, digital menus are interactive, searchable, and can easily incorporate text with images. For the restaurant, digital menus can be edited on the fly, reflecting new items, prices, specials, and availability (or lack thereof) without having to launch an entire reprinting. They can also augment the catalog with reviews, suggestions about food pairings, even multimedia. Master sommelier Fred Dame told the Times, “when I saw this thing and saw the applications, I said, ‘Oh, man, that’s the end of the print shop.’”
I can imagine a future where customers have a restaurant's interactive menu on their own devices, logging in, and reserving a bottle of wine (and even a particular table) before they step out the door.
Don't expect to fiddle with a high-end touchscreen menu at your neighborhood family restaurant anytime soon; the cost-benefit curve just doesn't turn sharply enough yet. But we can expect them to continue changing the look and feel of the fine dining experience.
See Also:
