livemenu Preview at LIFT Restaurant

October 18, 2011

With the runaway success of Apple’s iPad, many companies have been busy launching third party applications and coming up with intelligent uses for the tablet device. Binnj, a one and half year-old Ontario startup, has brought major restaurants to the iPad with their interactive menu software. livemenu™ aims to replace paper menus once and for all.

LIFT Bar and Grill is excited to be Vancouver’s first restaurant to officially embrace this new technology.

Vancouver media were invited to check out the platform on a series of iPads last week during an open house.

Several tasty appetizers and a selection of wines made the rounds as James Hayes of Binnj demonstrated both the software’s key features and its expansion capabilities.

Questions from invited guests ranged from food allergy ingredients being listed to payment options. Hayes explained that there are a wealth of real-time updates and possibilities available, completely customizable to each restaurant’s needs.

There are two types of software available. livemenu™ client is a full iPad application, while livemenu™ cloud is a web-based menu content management system that securely pushes all content to livemenu™ client. livemenu™ cloud also controls available functionality while it tracks a livemenu™ client’s activity in realtime.

[Selecting the Manager’s Reserve list]

A few key livemenu™ features include:

– Digital showcase of all food, wine and cocktail menus, with descriptions and photography
– Wine and cocktail pairing recommendations to complement selections
– Manager’s wine reserve list
– Sommelier’s personal tasting notes
– Full search capabilities including features and specialty dishes
– Integrated survey for immediate feedback and promotions
– Live updates to Facebook® and Twitter®
– Language support and instantaneous translation

As can be expected, both the images and animation are of top-notch quality on the iPad. The iPad is literally locked to the restaurant, so any would-be thoughts of walking out with the menu are a waste of time! I overheard that question asked more than once at the event. It will be curious to see who’ll be Number Two to take on the iPad menu revolution in the Vancouver restaurant industry.