Chicago fine dining restaurants try out server-free ordering
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The dining room at Thattu in Avondale. Photo Monica Eng/Axios
In the run-up to this summer's boost of the tipped worker minimum wage, many restaurants are rethinking their service models, while some have already launched new ones.
Why it matters: A new model that eliminates ordering food through waiters could offer a glimpse of our fine dining future and a way to retain staff with higher wages.
What's happening: We recently checked out the model at Thattu and John's Food and Wine, where patrons order high-end food through QR codes or at the bar.
Thattu
This celebrated Keralan spot opened in Avondale last year serving delicious $16 chickpea curries and $32 pork chop dinner entrees with the tip baked into the price.
How it works: Dinner staffers deliver dishes, bus tables and explain ingredients, but guests order food and settle their bills through a QR code.
- Lunch patrons fetch their own water and silverware.
- Under this system, servers can make $23-$24 per hour, co-owner Vinod Kalathil tells Axios.
What they're saying: "I think this is why we have not seen any staff attrition in the year we've been open," Kalathil says.
- And, he says, "99% of [customers] don't have an issue with the QR code."
Should you still tip? Additional tips are not expected, and there's no tip line on the digital bill.
- But patrons are free to leave cash.
John's Food and Wine
This popular new Lincoln Park restaurant offers sophisticated seasonal fare from chefs who worked together at Gramercy Tavern in New York.
How it works: Patrons order from a menu board at the bar before being seated. From there servers, chefs and a sommelier answer questions, deliver food and bus tables.
- Dinner entrees range from a $33 branzino to a $57 NY strip steak, and a 20% service fee is added to the bill.
- Diners can order additional items and pay with a QR code at their table.
Monica's thought bubble: I loved that I could order food and settle the bill without flagging down busy servers, who also get better pay.
- But I understand it will take time for others to get used to it.
What they're saying: Guests are returning "10th and 11th times … and enjoying the service we provide and are fully embracing the model," co-owner and chef Adam McFarland tells Axios.
- He says he's able to pay about $31 per hour for kitchen staff and $36 for servers.
Should you still tip? McFarland says they don't expect it.
NoodleBird
When fine dining establishment Fat Rice closed during the pandemic, Adrienne Lo reopened the spot as the more casual Asian eatery NoodleBird with QR code-only menus.
What they're saying: It works well, and "the people who have a problem with it are usually over 60," manager Jess Zegers tells Axios.
- "But if someone is really struggling, we can go over and take their order."
The intrigue: As in the other two spots, the model boosts pay through less need for staff. But unlike the others, NoodleBird still uses a traditional tipping model for now.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to remove a reference to a receipt line for tips, which John's Food and Wine eliminated in March.