La Sirena, the Italian and Spanish restaurant in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, has recently revamped its menu -- but not by changing its dishes. Rather, the restaurant owned by Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich has added digital annotations to several of the selections on the online menu, giving diners some more insight into the thought behind their meals.
Both Batali and Anthony Sasso, the Tapas Bar chef, have contributed to the menu annotations. When perusing the online menu, customers will see that some of the choices are highlighted in grey. Clicking on these links brings up various musings in the form of writing and sketches.
From a purely technical perspective, adding the notes and addenda to the online menu was something of a challenge. In order to tackle it, La Sirena worked with Genius, the service known for adding notes to song lyrics.
Annotated Restaurant Menus
La Sirena's Online Menu Comes with Annotations from the Chefs
Trend Themes
1. Annotated Menus - Restaurants are adding digital annotations to their menus to offer diners more insight into the thought behind their meals.
2. Menu Curation - Chefs are contributing to online menu annotations, allowing them to have greater control over the dining experience.
3. Collaboration with Non-food Industries - Restaurants are collaborating with non-food industries (such as Genius) to offer innovative digital experiences for their customers.
Industry Implications
1. Restaurant Industry - Restaurants can incorporate digital annotations to their menus to offer innovative and interactive experiences, giving them a competitive edge.
2. Technology Industry - Technology companies (such as Genius) can collaborate with the restaurant industry to offer innovative digital experiences for customers, expanding their client base.
3. Hospitality Industry - Opportunities exist for the hospitality industry to incorporate digital annotations on menus and offer guests a unique, interactive dining experience.