bernard wrote:

teatpuller wrote:Any nominations for Best Restaurant Website?

This should be a template:
http://www.littleserow.com/

Contest over.

Amazing:
http://www.salazarla.com/

desperately want to be at Salazar right now

bernard wrote:Amazing:
http://www.salazarla.com/

Whoah.

The only thing that could make that better is a geocities or angelfire URL.

I was looking at restaurants in Krakow, and came across this nifty website. Love the little movie that shows the restaurant from daybreak to end of service that plays when you first go to the site:
http://www.podaniolami.pl/en

tcdup, loved the little movie you shared, looks like a beautiful spot! A nice behind the scenes peek.
bernard, the link you shared:

Amazing:
http://www.salazarla.com/

was so bad it was good. Couldn't believe my eyes, started to get headache, had to close.

I've seen a restaurant "during these unprecedented times" not hand out menus, instead, please read the posted board or scan this QR code/go to the website for the menu. In that particular instance, I'd looked at the menu online earlier, and knew what I wanted to order.

But I wonder if "these unprecedented times" might finally get designers to get off their collective butts and make mobile-friendly menu pages, instead of the awfulness that is typical now, that can
* require Flash (really? in 2020?)
* be in non-reflowing PDF (slightly less hard to believe)
* have fixed CSS elements that take up 2/3 of a mobile screen so that you can't see most of the menu

Has anyone seen improvement? I roll my eyes every time I have to download a PDF onto my phone.

We need a "Like" button on these posts so I can agree easily.

I also hate it when you can't find the address.
REALLY?
Do you want ppl to show up?

tcdup wrote:I was looking at restaurants in Krakow, and came across this nifty website. Love the little movie that shows the restaurant from daybreak to end of service that plays when you first go to the site:
http://www.podaniolami.pl/en

wow, that video was wonderful and that restaurant looks extraordinary- food wise as well as physically. has anyone been there? and does anyone know why they carved a roast while it was on fire??

Yoast, a search engine optimizaton tool, has an article on optimizimg restaurant websites.

Useful information with much of it in the DIY and free catagory: Google my business and facebook.

Regards,
CAthy2

The Yoast article has several good suggestions, but I have a few quibbles.

It lists essentials as 1) address (and more), 2) interior photos, 3) menu, 4) testimonials, and 5) how to make a reservation.

To me the essentials are location, hours, menu (preferably with prices) and contact info.

There is a good suggestion to have a menu page on the website instead of a PDF link. In general the owner should want people to stay on the business's website rather than go off someplace else. Also, I think it would be more convenient for most users.

I'd put these ahead of testimonials. Does anyone read testimonials on a restaurant website? They'll all be glowing. Little to be learned there. It would be entertaining to read "I had to have my stomach pumped after dining at X's Cafe", but such a posting seems unlikely.

Under menu the article says "Not your website menu, but a list of all the food and drinks you’ll possibly serve me at a certain price." Not sure what they mean by "not your website menu." The menu is important so potential customers get an idea of whether the restaurant's offerings meet their interests and if price points fit their budget for this type of food.

To me interior photos aren't essential but are a nice plus giving one an idea of the ambience. The downside of too many photos is they may slow loading of the restaurant's page for people who don't have a fast internet connection.

I think Yoast's recommendations, while helpful, could be better.

George R wrote:. . . I'd put these ahead of testimonials. Does anyone read testimonials on a restaurant website? They'll all be glowing. Little to be learned there. It would be entertaining to read "I had to have my stomach pumped after dining at X's Cafe", but such a posting seems unlikely.

LOL - yeah, you're probably right but it would be highly entertaining!

=R=

I don't mind PDF menus when I'm on my laptop browser (where PDFs just open in another window), but on mobile where it's a different app, bad text flow, etc., it's just plain awful. Even an industry leader like Rick Bayless fails at this: the Topolobompo and Frontera Grill menus are only available as PDF.

And yes, prices change, and yes if you're looking at higher-end dining price shouldn't be the determination, but FG has prices, and Topo doesn't. Just how expensive is that 5-course pre-Columbian dinner? Not a clue, but I'm sure it's more than Kie-Gol-Lanee's $39 for three courses (also PDF).

When I first managed a website, I did everything in a text editor, or wrote scripts (in that text editor) that generated raw HTML. It was doable, if unpleasant. But tools these days are so much better, websites have no excuse to be out of date or lacking information. Your dish washers, wait staff and bussers could probably do it, it's no longer rocket science.

Hi,

I avoid pdf for websites, because they are not ideal for seo.

I have someone who endlessly sends me notes on the superiority of pdf's on a website. I am glad others don't like it. I am not budging, because it is double the work: the page and the printable pdf.

Regards,
CAthy2