Yuppie Eatery Replaces Menus with iPads
Print
Steve Jobs bills the iPad as revolutionary and magical, while Apple haters peg the tablet as a ginormous waste of $500+. Chris Lucas, proprietor of Pearl restaurant in Melbourne, Australia, has found a way to make Apple's slate a little bit of both. His will be the first restaurant in Australia -- and maybe the world -- to replace paper-based menus and wine lists with iPads.
"The thirst for knowledge from consumers these days is massive," says Lucas. "It doesn't matter whether it's ingredients, origins of produce. or wine, and particularly Old World wine, this platform can provide as little, or as much, information as each customer wants.
"This is not a gimmick. I really reckon this is going to set a precedent."
The iPads will come with custom software that will allow hungry patrons to "drill down" for information. View the wine list, for example, and you'll be able to not only see the price, but dig further to see suggested food matches, recipes, and even make your way to the wine maker's website. What the tablets won't do, however, is replace the wait staff.
"We don't want the consumer placing the order," Lucas clarified. "There is still a very important role for service staff in a smart restaurant, but the graphics and functionality make this thing a very important resource. I think a lot of traditional restaurant situations can be very intimidating. This is a way to liberate the consumer."
Gimmick or good idea? Give us your opinion in the comments section below.
More like this
7
Comments
Comments are closed on this article
M_Matthews
October 20, 2010 at 9:56am
Well this is definitely a sure fire way to get some free advertisement to your restaurant through a Viral Campaign like this. Personally if i was looking to cost save on inexpensive menus, I would just find some cheap menu covers like these to reduce costs, not purchase a $499 a pop menu that could be stolen at anytime.
SShadow
June 14, 2010 at 8:34pm
I agree, bad idea to give it to customers. "Opps, I droped it, may I have a new one..."
I am kind of surprised that more places have not given them (or other tablets or small pad) to their staff. Perhaps a small version with a rubber/silicon guard around it for durability. It would be a great way to enter orders and not have the servers waiting in lines to enter at computers or turning in handwritten items that are hard to read. Just have a custom app that has the current menu and resturant floorplan. click on seat # and enter order... It is just a matter of time.
violian
June 14, 2010 at 11:07am
If I was an owner of a restaurant letting customers use iPads as a menu, I'd be too paranoid that people will steal it - instead of dine and dash, it'd be customers grabbing a table just to get an iPad in their hands, and then dashing out of the restaurant. But assuming the iPads don't get stolen, in the long run, it would pay off for itself. Professional-bound menus can cost nearly as much as $30 a piece to put together. And if your restaurant does frequent price changes, and menu adjustments, the iPad would be good long-term solution.
lunchbox73
June 14, 2010 at 7:53am
Hmmm, what looks good today? Let me just grab a sip of my beer and WHOOPS! Waitress, can I have another beer, some napkins and a new ipad?
Bad Idea.
Tekzel
June 14, 2010 at 8:28am
Uh, I suspect the waiter will take the iPad with them when they leave with the order. I doubt these people are dumb enough to leave them with the food....
Although, if this is one of those "high end eateries", the cost of the food might make the destruction of a few iPads meaningless.
Either way, I think it is both a good idea and a gimmick. How about them "Apples". Hah. I crack me up.
---
You know users... Buncha bitchy little girls.
aviaggio
June 14, 2010 at 1:07pm
Actually the idea has merit. The only thing I question is the use of an iPad. They'd be a lot better off using inexpensive Android-based tablets, which would not only be cheaper to buy and replace, but you wouldn't have to rely upon Apple to approve your software. Unless they are all jailbroken iPads, which is then another discussion altogether.
It's a whole lot of money invested in a closed technology. In one keypress Jobs could shut down their whole operation. I'm not sure I would want that kind of exposure for my business.
Connect with MaximumPC
Featured Content
The gang discusses the GTX 690, Trinity, Ivy Bridge, Amazon, big-box stores, MMOs,...
This month's issue
Feature
Build a PC On Any Budget
Feature
Cloud Services Showdown
How-To
Encrypt Your External Drive
Build It
Upgrade an X58 Rig
Most Commented Articles
Latest Max PC Tweets
- maximumpc: Original RickRoll Video Returns to YouTube After 24-Hour Copyright Hiatus http://t.co/MaH9Sxyy2 days 5 hours ago
- maximumpc: Corsair has decided not to go forward with its $78 million IPO, citing weak equity market conditions http://t.co/A5a4DAzj2 days 5 hours ago
- maximumpc: Want to work at Maximum PC? Our Online Managing Editor, Alex, is moving away, so we need a new one. http://t.co/9Z7JCh0E4 days 3 hours ago
