It is without a doubt the world’s latest technological craze — the iPad’s opening day sales alone hit over 300,000! But besides being a handheld cross between a PDA/smartphone and laptop, what other creative purpose can it serve? Interestingly enough, the iPad is creeping its way into restaurants as a menu and ordering device!
Case in point: a swanky New York City restaurant, South Gate, utlizes a custom-made iPad application called SmartCellar, that essentially makes the iPad act as the restaurant’s sommelier. According to 9to5Mac, “Diners get to choose from 650 choice vintages with detailed info on all the wines and regions…” And similiary, in Sydney at Global Mundo Tapas, each diner is presented with an iPad instead of a traditional menu, where they can simply browse, tap and order. With these special menu applications on the iPad, guests can easily peruse photos of the dishes, find suggestions and even allows guests specify their own custom order (ie how well done do they want their steaks?).
It is clear that the benefits for guests include an ease of ordering from a familiar device (think smartphone) and interface. Likewise, for restaurant owners, this new-age ordering device is eco-friendly since it uses no paper, can store more information than a traditional menu, and makes physical order taking virtually unnecessary and seamless from the front of the house to the back of the house.
Will the iPad be the next big trend for restaurants, or do you think the old-school menu will eventually trump the new-school tech device?