London's Most High Tech Restaurant?

Printed menus and lingering wait staff are so two minutes ago. The modern Valentine needs a high tech angle for restaurant dining, and the techiest restaurant London has to offer is Inamo.

Sure, Inamo St James has delicious pan-Asian food. But the reason it is possibly London's ideal for the tech head on St Valentine's day, is the interactive tables that means you can fiddle and play throughout your meal - ideal if your date is less than awesome. A projector and touch pad combination pops a menu of options onto the table - from small plates, to large plates, entertainment options and colours and themes.

The ordering system works via Bluetooth. A projector above each table present's the diner's options, while a computer communicates between the table and a central server, which then delivers a print out of each order to the kitchen. Valentines who can't stop fiddling with their phone, or swiping their iPad may just be distracted by the touch tables long enough for you to wow them.

While your sweetheart is ordering delicious black cod, or tasty duck California rolls, you can tweek the ambiance, patterns and colours on the table. Project a beach scene, a splash of bright red, or a swirling psychedelic spin of every pattern in the Inamo hard drive.

If your date is a little dull, there's a memory game, a menu of places to go on to (or escape to) and social media is being added soon (Pinterest for food shots would be ideal). When you're ready to leave, it's a matter of hitting the bill button. The restaurant launched in 2009 - pre iPad era - and as with all tech, there are new and improved versions of touch tables coming onto the market each year. At CES, Microsoft demonstrated the second generation Microsoft Surface, which will give the older projection technology at Inamo a run for its money.

I think interactive tables at a restaurant is a fantastic and a smart idea as not many restaurants have this technology which will make them stand out and appeal from others. It will give the customer the chance to order their food as soon as they are ready and not waiting for the waiter/waitress to ask. This technology also brings something else to the table as the customer can tweek the patterns and colors on the table making it fun for them. The customer can also press the bill button to pay for their meal when they are ready to leave. Also to be added is social media so the customer will also be available to check their Facebook  twitter or browse the internet. This is a fantastic thing to bring to the hospitality section but can also have negatives as not everyone in the world cannot use this technology making it unappealing to those who cannot use it. Which means face to face interaction between customers and waiter/waitresses is still needed.