Utensil Technologies

Digitization & Automation for Restaurants

The problem

Traditional menu formats provided by restaurant operators are insufficient in a digital age driven by smartphones and mobile applications.

Many restaurants operate on a single menu throughout the day and offer little information to customers about items, including images and their ingredients.

Finding menus online can be tedious, out-of-date, limited in functionality, and poorly optimized for viewing on mobile devices.

Menu screen of a restaurant app displaying pasta options, including Manicotti, Penne Arrabiata, Spaghetti Pomodoro, Vegetarian Lasagna, and chicken pasta dishes such as Chicken Arrabiata, Raffaella, and Chicken Carbonara.
Japanese restaurant menu displayed on a smartphone screen, featuring sections for appetizers, tempura, sushi, grilled dishes, donburi, noodles, desserts, and chef's recommendations.

❌ Unresponsive

❌ Poorly optimized

Total spending at restaurants in Canada is on track to top $110 billion this year.

With increased supply and labour costs, restaurants operate on thin margins, and are continuously seeking on how technologies can increase efficiencies.

Interior of a modern restaurant with black and wooden furniture, large windows, and contemporary lighting fixtures.

Existing service providers

  • Wix
    Squarespace
    Wordpress

  • Shopify

  • UberEats
    DoorDash
    SkipTheDishes
    Ritual

  • Ziosk

Restaurants are in the Food & Services Industry, not IT.

Our goal is to help restaurant operators digitize with ease and provide the best possible experience for their customers.

Phase One

Advanced Digital Menus and Beautifully Designed Websites

First impressions

Having a mobile friendly website and digital menu goes a long way.

Designed to fit smaller screens, pages load quickly, are user-friendly and easy to navigate. Visitors that can easily view menus on their mobile devices are more likely to explore, order, and convert into paying customers.

Showcase your business. Tell your story.

A restaurant menu displayed on a smartphone screen with a background photo of a restaurant interior featuring a wine rack and dining tables with chairs.

Beautifully designed for mobile devices

Large text and rich imagery scale perfectly to mobile devices with multiple viewing options, including card view, list view, and menu search.

A restaurant menu app displaying a sushi dish with various garnishes and sauces on a black plate.

Card view

Mobile app menu for a restaurant with categories such as Starters, Specials, Mains, Drinks, Deserts, Popular, Favourites, Recommendations.

List view

Customizable themes & templates

Customizable templates can be easily modified to service a variety of restaurant types, while preserving a consistent user experience for customers.

A restaurant menu on a mobile app screen showing six main dishes, including Deep Fried Tofu, Lemon Chicken, Shanghai Style Fried Noodles, Stir Fried Spicy Shredded Beef, Sautéed Beef with Szechuan Sauce, and Moo Shu Beef, with descriptions and prices.
Mobile app screen showing restaurant menu with various main dishes and prices.

More than meets the eye

Expanded item views offer information that customers care about including photos, ingredients, and nutritional information — far beyond what traditional menu formats currently offer.

A restaurant menu on a mobile device showing a dish of deep fried tofu with garlic sauce, accompanied by a photo of the dish on a white plate with chopsticks.

Works on iPad

Enhanced digital menus can be easily transitioned to accommodate existing restaurant tablets and digital displays, providing customers with a full-screen experience while maintaining added functionality.

Close-up of a sushi roll topped with microgreens, shredded white garnish, and sesame seeds on a black plate with sauce and seed decorations, part of a restaurant menu on a tablet screen.
Digital restaurant menu with a photo of a dish featuring fried tofu with garlic sauce, with chopsticks resting on a plate.

Websites that do all the talking

Highly responsive, rich text and graphics should provide visitors with a lasting impression of quality and attention to detail.

A white plate with sliced grilled steak, mixed greens, and herbs on a wooden table, featured on a restaurant website homepage for a Thai-inspired cuisine restaurant in Auburn.

Phase Two

Mobile Ordering and Payments

Order with ease

Customers can quickly place orders directly from their mobile devices, with the ability to include special requests.

Restaurant order receipt on a smartphone screen with starters, mains, drinks, and total costs.

Pay now. Pay later.

Mobile app screen showing order confirmation for a restaurant, with options to view/edit, pay now, or pay later.

On device payments provide restaurant operators and their customers with a number of different time saving options, reducing wait times and reliance on in-house POS systems.

At your service

On device table service allows for a direct line of communication between customers and wait staff, saving time and mitigating redundant back-and-forth for common requests.

A mobile ordering app screen showing a restaurant order for tables 7, with options to message, call, or view the menu, and a section for extra napkins, cutlery, and water refill requests.

Rate & Review

Feedback is important to restaurant operators.

Customers can quickly review menu items and provide immediate feedback based on their recent experience.

A smartphone screen showing a restaurant order confirmation page with options to view/edit order, pay now, or pay later.

Digital menus do not replace traditional restaurant menus.

Traditional paper menus continue to exist as part of the restaurant experience, especially in fine dining establishments.

Enhanced digital menus compliment existing offerings, rather than replace them, while providing customers and restaurant operators with additional options and the added convenience.

Benefits

  • Customer experience

    Streamline ordering processes, reducing wait times and better regulating flow of customers.

    Group of people enjoying a meal at a restaurant, with various dishes and drinks on the table.

  • Cost and time savings

    More efficient use of wait staff and improved efficiency of restaurant operations, including ingredient and supply management.

  • Data and analytics

    Restaurants can access valuable customer data and better tailor their menu offerings to appeal to targeted demographics.

    Close-up of a digital dashboard displaying financial charts, metrics, and scores with line graphs and numerical data.

Revenue generation / Business model

  • Initial fee for menu and website creation

  • Monthly fee for hosting and services

  • Percentage of sales