The New Age of Dining Out

A touchscreen gadget the size of a Moleskine notebook sits propped up at the end of the table at Uno Chicago Grill. It’s not on every table, but certain returning customers ask to be seated where they’re placed.

During the busy lunch service at Au Bon Pain, employees greet customers and take customized sandwich orders using iPads. While customers wait for their sandwiches to be made, they can purchase a bowl of soup or order a freshly tossed salad.

A new iPhone application allows commuters to order and pay before even arriving at Zoe’s. The order is prepared and ready for the customer on the counter for a quick grab and go.

In a world of smartphones, iPads, and other quickly advancing mobile technologies, many restaurants in Harvard Square have devised innovative ways to keep up. Integrating new technology into their ordering systems, these cutting-edge restaurants seek the help of new devices to provide faster, simpler, and even more secure service.

INCREASING ORDERING EFFICIENCY

A longtime restaurant in Harvard Square, the Au Bon Pain at 1360 Mass. Ave. began using iPads to take orders at the end of January.

“When there’s a rush, the manager will shout for an iPad and then someone will jump to the front with one and start taking orders,” says Michael H. Cleland, general manager of the Harvard Square location.

Before this system, which has been available at the Kendall location for several months, Au Bon Pain customers wrote their orders by checking off a form at the sandwich counter during busy dining hours.

This new system saves the stores about 1,200 full sheets of paper a day, Cleland says, and provides a more efficient and cleaner way to take orders since restaurant workers are the only ones touching the iPads.

“It’s all about engaging with the guest, and we’ve done that by pairing service with this new technology,” Cleland says.

About a minute away at the new Clover Food Lab on 7 Holyoke St., servers use iPod Touches for taking orders. Like Au Bon Pain, the servers greet patrons at the door and send the orders behind the counter using a touch-based system.

“Some customers call it getting food at the Apple store,” says Clover General Manager Vincenzo Pileggi.

Clover has recently begun testing an electronic white board that will automatically update preparation time for each menu item.

“Don’t look too closely,” the note at the top of the electronic board warned on Saturday. “Hoping that someday it will soon be operational, but right now I’m just programming it. Those ‘min’ beside the menu items? That is the average serve time for the past 10 minutes for that item. Cool, huh?”

CUSTOMER INTERACTIVITY

The ability for customers to have hands-on control of their order is a growing trend among a few Harvard Square restaurants.

The server-customer relationship has changed through an on-table ordering device at Uno on 22 JFK St. Developed by a MIT triple-degree candidate dropout Rajat Suri. The pilot technology called E la Carte, which functions on a device named Presto, allows customers to view the full menu using a touch screen. Each menu item is displayed along with a photo and a price, and patrons can choose to customize their order by adding or removing ingredients when prompted.

“The idea behind it is not to replace someone, but to give guests the hands-on experience, to interact with the menu,” says Nick F. Novin, bar and lounge manager at Uno in Harvard Square.

The Presto device allows customers to play games while waiting for their food and keep track of the progress of their order.

Charlie’s Kitchen, an eatery on 10 Eliot St., is one of the first restaurants to use a program called TextMyFood, by which customers can communicate with servers via text message.

The system allows patrons to place orders and get the attention of their server by texting from their own cell phones when the server is out of sight, according to TextMyFood’s website.

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

At certain restaurants in Harvard Square, customers can place their orders through iPhone applications even before arriving.

The Chipotle chain created its application about a year and a half ago, using it to take orders in their restaurants throughout the country. Similarly, Zoe’s on 1105 Mass. Ave. recently created their own application, which was launched four months ago.

“I got the idea from my kids who said, ‘Dad, you just have to have an app,’” says Zoe’s owner Theophilos N. Vallas, although he admits that he personally uses a Blackberry and not an iPhone.

Vallas emphasizes that the system is more convenient for both customers and restaurant employees. It eliminates the step of having to answer the phone and take an order.

The application features Zoe’s full menu and gives customers every option as a server would, according to Vallas. But if the order is extensive, some words on the printed order could get cut off. Customers must pay with a credit or debit card in order to place an order successfully. They can also specify a pick-up time.

Similarly, Chipotle’s iPhone application menu allows patrons to customize their orders, but it also requires them to sign up for a Chipotle account. Clients also have the option of paying through the application or in the store.

A WORK IN PROGRESS

In spite of technological advances, the devices still leave room for improvement.

Novin says that the version of Presto that Uno first used was less dependable than subsequent generation devices currently in place. He says he would like to see a calorie counting feature and Internet-browsing capabilities added to the device in the future.

Vallas says that he hopes to add a delivery feature to Zoe’s iPhone application.

Advances in technology have also addressed security concerns, as some restaurants have developed a system allowing customers to have their credit cards swiped in front of them.

Legal Sea Foods on 20 University Road in Charles Square, uses a pay-at-table credit card swipe. A common feature in Europe, the system allows customers to swipe their credit cards at the table.

“The technology enhances the guest’s experience. Our owner recognized it as something we could use to separate ourselves from other restaurants and provide better quality service,” says Chris Incorvati, director of information technology at Legal Sea Foods.

According to Incorvati, Legal Sea Foods is one of the first American restaurants to use this system. It is now used in 24 Legal Sea Foods restaurants, and the company plans to expand it to all of their restaurants.

The battery-operated devices at Uno also allow for customers to split the bill, pay via credit card, and e-mail a receipt to themselves right at the table. Consequentially, tips have also increased, according to Novin, because the device offers options for 15, 18, 20, 22, and 25 percent tips as well as a customized percentage.

A group of customers from Miami who was visiting a friend who is a Harvard undergraduate were hoping to use the Presto device to order but were greeted by a server who took their orders instead.

“We just played the trivia games, and we ended up getting 20 percent off desserts,” said Becky M. Espinosa.

“We learned a lot. It makes you feel smart being next to Harvard,” said Jamie G. Bolduc.

Even though she did not use it to order, Bolduc said she appreciated how she was able to see the pictures of all the menu options.

During a busy lunch hour at Au Bon Pain, several customers noted that they enjoyed the speed and convenience of the new iPad systems.

Jamie Reed, a frequent Au Bon Pain customer, said that he preferred the old sandwich ordering system by paper.

“It was good enough for me,” Reed said.

Novin says that the Presto device sees about 10 to 15 percent customers decline to use the device, mostly their older customers.

But the technology is not intended to reduce the number of restaurant personnel, according to Suri.

“We’re not trying to replace any waiters,” he said. “The whole purpose is to increase sales.”

—Staff writer Kerry M. Flynn can be reached at kflynn@college.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Xi Yu can be reached at   xyu@college.harvard.edu.