In London, it's hard to find a restaurant without a gimmick. And Inamo has probably the biggest gimmick of all. If you're a hungry, tech-loving nerd, that is.
The restaurant, which just launched a new venue on London's, tries to do away with almost all waiterly duties, apart from actually carrying plates around. A projector sits above each table and turns the table into a computer-screen (the projector is hooked up to a Windows XP machine). Using a touchpad, you can browse the menu and place your orders, and when you select a dish, a picture of it is projected onto an empty plate already on the table.
Whilst dining, you can choose various "wallpapers" (table-cloths?) to be displayed on the table, and there are even some games, although not any you'd actually play - the folks from UK tech blog Pocket Lint headed over to a pre-launch party and report that one of the games is Battleship. Really?
When you're done, you can order up the check and call a cab, all from the comfort of your table.
I just hope the bosses at Inamo have some fallback plans. Tech has a way of failing in the catering industry (I was in the game for 15 years), and that's robust, purpose-built gear. Imagine the poor customer trying to place an order and getting the dreaded Blue Screen of Death. On the other hand, at least a PC can't come to work drunk.
Inamo hi-tech restaurant hands on [Pocket Lint]
Photos: Paul Lamkin / Pocket Lint
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