Has new technology made dining better?

Over the last year, restaurant technology apps and products have gone from “oh, that’s interesting” to one of the darlings of the digital world. The problem of turning a fundamentally low-technology experience into a relevant experience for a high-tech crowd is a fascinating one. The restaurant-tech industry a fast changing landscape, and both hospitality pros and diners are adapting fast, excited to try new technology.

But, does all of this new technology make the dining experience better? Not just one aspect of the experience (i.e., reserving, ingredient sourcing, POS) — the act of dining out.

Some things have stayed the same.

Front-of-the-house, back-of-the-house, and consumer-facing tech doesn’t fundamentally change the food on the plate. It doesn’t change the senses required by a kitchen staff to cook, plate, and present a dish These new products do not have much impact on the social aspect of the meal, and they do not particularly change the fundamental process of eating your meal.

Here’s what’s different.

With the above exceptions, new technology has transformed much of the dining experience, piece by piece.

For example: Restaurant discovery has been upended over the last ten years, and more recently with increasing accuracy. Gone are the days of having to solely rely on a professional critic from a local newspaper. Hello, recommendations at your fingertips based on where you’re standing, which neighborhood you want to go to, what you want to eat, how bright you want the restaurant to be, what sort of food you’re into at the moment, where your friends are, and maybe even if someone famous could be seated a few tables over.

Camera phones influence restaurant discovery and selection — just looking at photos of restaurant dishes can seriously sway you into trying a certain place.

Reservations have evolved. Online bookings are one thing, but now you can make them from your phone, pay for a hot reservation time, bid on a reservation, or use a digital concierge to make one for you.

Similarly, the payment process has completely changed, and very recently. Your options: pay ahead of time with ticketing. Pay with your phone during or after a meal. Split the bill with friends.

And real-time online feedback has extended to dining: it’s easy to post reviews or send feedback directly to the restaurant on social networks.

So, again: Do new digital products and these changing cultural dining norms make the experience fundamentally better?

Yes, and here’s why: points of the meal that could potentially be less than perfect can be improved (perhaps to the point of perfection) with new technology, both on the restaurant and the diner side. The consumer or restaurant has the ability to choose its own adventure here. If asking for the check is the most painful part of a meal, good news: you don’t have to. If you can’t handle calling a restaurant to reserve a table, you’re covered. If you procrastinate booking a hot reservation, you can pay a small fee to snag one at the last second, no begging the reservationist required.

These new technologies do not affect the best part of dining out — the meal. Individually and as a whole they make it easier to sit back and enjoy.