Bring back menus, QR codes are terrible

First: I am from germany, so, my perspective may differ from other parts of the world... and due to the pandemic, my last meal eaten in an restaurant was in the early beginnig of 2020. But i really never, never encountered a menu via QR Code... why would anyone want this?! If you are going to eat out, then it is (at least with the people i know) considered ab-so-lu-tely rude to even get your phone out (unless you are an doctor on call), using it would be a totally no-go. So... this is something i am really glad that it has not washed at our shores... at least not yet.

> it is (at least with the people i know) considered ab-so-lu-tely rude to even get your phone out

Whereas with people I know, it's not because / people have kids|partners they check in with / people sometimes just don't have the energy for constant peopling and the phone is a brief respite / people are sysadmins|on-call and get occasional blip warnings / people are checking on something to answer a question / etc.

I totally agree with you and your friends, but we're losing this fight. Which I find sad...

The good thing is: Even IF this trend carries on, there will always be the niche of the restaurants / cafes with big "no mobile phones allowed" stickers on the door (i know at least a couple of these even now...).

> First: I am from germany, so, my perspective may differ from other parts of the world... and due to the pandemic, my last meal eaten in an restaurant was in the early beginnig of 2020

> So... this is something i am really glad that it has not washed at our shores... at least not yet

How can you know if you haven't eaten in a restaurant since early 2020? Here in France, i had absolutely never seen it before the pandemic, but now it's ubiquitous even if roughly half the places also have a paper menu they can give/give anyways.

Here in Braunschweig (a smaller city) a lot of restaurants are using QR Code based menus. So I would assume you simply haven't been eating out.

Here in Iceland they've popped up primarily for outdoor seated areas. Presumably so the wait staff don't have to keep an eye outside and inside particularly as the outside seating tends to be more densely packed. There seems to be a pretty standardized web app as well which lets you order and pay in the app and then your food and drinks just magically appear.

That said the last time we used it was a bit of a fiasco as the web app was out of date with the actual menu. So we ordered and paid then the waiter had to come out and swap a bunch of stuff around. I have no idea why they didn't just take the QR codes down until they fixed things but there you go.

As an American that visits Germany, I absolutely hate how eating at a restaurant is seen by many as an event where you hang out forever, as opposed to a routine service I expect as a fairly quick and formulaic pitstop between other obligations. There seems to be no difference between classes of dining out, in this regard.

I also suspect you are out of touch. QR code menus and payments were not a thing in the US before the beginning of 2020 either. It was a very quick adaptation because the infrastructure was already there.

Sigh and there my hopes are going out the window...

So... now i have to select even more where i go when i am (finally) vaccinated next month...

As i mentioned: No dining out after March 2020... but this will change next month (finally).

Your observation is correct: Many germans like to stay in an restaurant es an event, not just to eat something quick ... for this purpose there are tons of Pommesbuden, bakerys or Dönerläden.

Although I do hate it when aspects of Germany become more like America, I do wish that sit down nice restaurants had wait staff that checked on us a little more frequently with the expectation that maybe we want to leave!

It’s either because of Covid to reduce handling of shared menus or it’s because the place has a full ordering system and is streamlined to be as efficient and with minimal staff interaction as possible.

I'm from France and I have never seen that, but well there are "restaurants" and restaurants I guess.

I can tell you there are plenty of those in NRW now, but they usually bring a paper version if you ask them.

I've had an OK experience with just demanding the bill when your table's last plates are being taken away.

As an American sitting in Germany right now, I think that wait staff here aren't bothered if you try to actively get their attention like they might be in the USA. Making eye contact or a polite wave, etc. Feels rude based on US service, but I see people doing that more often here.

> No dining out after March 2020... but this will change next month (finally).

Is that something that very much depends on the region, or a personal obligation? I've eaten in restaurants in Hamburg, Berlin and Munich during pandemic (summertime last year until about November, and since June this year). Eating this year has been limited to outdoors, but that's fine.

(None have had this crazy QR code link menu idea. I have always received a traditional menu and ordered by asking the staff what I want at the appropriate time.)

>Is that something that very much depends on the region, or a personal obligation?

Its a personal obligation: My wife and i, we life in the same building as my older parents (in a big old half-timbered farmhouse)... so, until now (both parents are vaccinated, my wife got her second shot yesterday and i will get it soon) we were careful...

The best thing in most restaurants is - as soon as the waiter is something near you - just say "I would like to pay the bill", or in german "Ich würde gerne zahlen".

Ah, wow, glad you were able to finally get it

If you think it's weird to linger over food, take a meal as an event, rather than just a quick supercharger pit stop for the body - did you encounter the kind of restaurant where you're expected to sit at a table with random strangers? Party of three, there's room for three more, what's the problem? I've been to one where the side dishes were simply put in bowls on the center of the table and you helped yourself as needed.

I'd lived in North America for a long time by then (left Germany when I was 13) and initially this seemed a bit strange, but you get used to it. Eating as a social occasion where you might even meet interesting people.

All before COVID of course.

where in germany are you? in HH it's about 50/50 these days on paper vs QR menus.

I had never seen it in the US either before the pandemic.

Where do you live? In the Paris area it's hard to find a restaurant without a QR code on their tables.

Trips in the last year to various cities left me with the impression that QR codes are pretty ubiquitous in most restaurants fancier than your corner kebab shop but below La Tour d'Argent and co.

The not 'checking on you' is the whole point we prefer about our 'system'. Just call them if you need something and otherwise they let you enjoy your time without permanent nagging or time pressure

I actually find this super irritating in American restaurants. Just let us enjoy our meal in peace...

> I absolutely hate how eating at a restaurant is seen by many as an event where you hang out forever, as opposed to a routine service I expect as a fairly quick and formulaic pitstop between other obligations.

Cultural difference. If you don't want to spend time with your friends then don't accept invitations of going to a restaurant.

I live near Paris, but I admit did not go in many restaurants since they have reopened. I was under the impression that QR code only existed in restaurant chains, not in the regular restaurants. I have a hard time to see how the huge range of good restaurants where the menu is on a slate that change everyday and the waiter explain each item to you would use QR code, but I may be wrong.

What if I want to socialize with people before, during, and after we eat...just for 20 minutes, though, not an hour plus?

Those that only do a daily menu on a slate still do so; some of those that used to do a ~daily menu with a printed sheet of paper either continue to do so or have a QR code to a regularly updated site. Those that did a mix ( fixed menu with daily options) often have the slate with daily options and a QR code for the basics.

I see, it's surprising and I stand corrected then.

It is a cultural difference, but it's fairly clear it wasn't always enjoyed. People in some parts of Europe really appreciated fast food places when they first started appearing, as it gave them an option that cut out much of the restaurant meal time expenditure.

Yeah there is a happy medium that alot of wait staff gets wrong here in the states

Nope, I’m going to enjoy the cuisine experience with friends or solo and still want to get out of there in a timely manner. It’s not the only thing I am going to do that morning, afternoon, or evening.