6 Restaurants Around The World Making Social Distancing A Downright Hoot
The world is slowly, but surely, starting to open itself up again. One of the greatest things to be brought back is the pure pleasure of dining in your favourite restaurant or cafe while someone else does the cooking and washing up.
Admittedly, it’s not going to be quite the same for a while as most countries are still following strict social distancing guidelines (including Australia), but if these pioneering restaurants are anything to go by, it’s set to become a whole lot more memorable.
Around the world, restaurants are coming up with creative (and mildly batshit) ways to keep their diners a safe distance from each other, and I am here for it. Both because of safety, and because I will never stop laughing.
Not all of them are serious, like this glorious Dutch depiction of what waiter training will look like in the age of coronavirus:
Dutch are hilarious..#hospitality #bars #pubs #cafes #SocialDistancing #NewNormal pic.twitter.com/CzAEIkIntF
— Elena Leeming (@LeemingElena) May 1, 2020
The rest, however, are very real and very open-for-business restaurants.
#1 The panda-emic solution
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Maison Saigon restaurant in Thailand has decided to fill the spare seats at their diners’ tables with very cute stuffed panda bear toys. Honestly, I’m low key considering just BYOing a stuffed toy to recreate the experience myself.
#2 Missing your mannequin
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In a similar — yet 1075372 times creepier move — a restaurant called The Inn At Little Washington over in Virginia will be setting up very well-dressed mannequins to fill socially distanced seats.
#3 Getting tube close
ICYMI: Fish Tales in Ocean City is finding creative ways to keep their customers safe during the pandemic. On Saturday, the team here rolled out these new “social distancing tables,” and they’re hoping they’ll be allowed to make them available to customers soon. pic.twitter.com/HR3UzLHOxO
— Camila Fernández (@CamilaFNews) May 18, 2020
Another American restaurant, Fish Tales in Maryland, is getting involved with creative social distancing, by getting its diners to take a seat inside some giant rubber tubes. Yes, that DOES make them bumper tables, and I am here for it.
#4 Reaching glass ceilings
Taking the idea of adding dividers to a whole new level, Mediamatic Eten vegan restaurant in Amsterdam has built a small glass house around each table. They actually look quite intimate and romantic — 10/10 would take a date there.
#5 The one where your friends are fake
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Sydney’s own Five Dock Dining is helping you look like you have more friends by using life-like cardboard cut-outs to fill seats. It also plans to play the sounds of ‘chatter’ over their speakers, which is truly commitment.
#6 Using your noodle
Heute mal so ,, Abstandsnachvermessung“
Posted by Cafe & Konditorei Rothe on Saturday, May 9, 2020
Café Rothe in Schwerin, northern Germany, is asking its diners to put on some of their home-made, super fashionable hats while they eat. Yes, those hats are made with pool noodles to bat anyone else out of your space.
(Lead Image: Instagram / @maison.saigon)
