Analysis of restaurant Websites

Park Avenue Season Restaurant
http://www.parkavenyc.com/

I chose to analyze this restaurant as it as easy to navigate around, and is clear and informative. It provides enough information, in the right style that is complimentary of the restaurant itself.

Navigation:
This stays at the top of each page

 About:
Talks about the restaurant environment, how you can imagine the set up, and then about the chefs. has an image of one of their dishes.

Menus:
Consists of image of the dishes. Each image you are able to click on to select different menu's including dinner, lunch, brunch, dessert and the wine list.

 The menus then are then laid out for each dish explaining what they consist of, and also the price.

Reservations:
Image of a table in the restaurant.
The first page allows you to choose your party size, the date and the time you wish to make a reservation...

 You are then directed to another page which says if that date and time is available, and then gives you the choice to change it if it isn't.

 You then are directed to another page were the customer details are needed. Including their name, phone number, email adress and special requests (if any).
After completing the reservation, an email is sent to you as confirmation.

Private Events:
This then directs you to 3 separate pages of three different rooms available for private hire. It also has a private dining enquiry page.

Photos:
It also has sub pages that each fade through images of each season on page for: 'photos', 'seasonal transitions', 'seasonal desserts', and 'seasonal interiors'

 Press:
These ar elinks to where the restaurant has been mentioned in the press.
There are also sub pages for, fact sheet, restaurant bios (chefs), openign announcement

Contact:
Consists of the address
Telephone
Fax
Location map - pin-pointing the restaurant
How to get there on the subway
Google maps link
Yahoo maps link
And also a sign up list, as a chance to receive information on upcoming events through emails.
It also has the email addresses for the general manager, private events organizer and for press inquiries.

This appears at the bottom of each page:
It has another navigation. And also has the restaurant address, phone number, website url, and copyright.

I have tried to map out the interface for this website to make it clear. And to help me when coming up with my website interface, so I have thign son the right pages and don't miss anything out.

Glow in the dark

I found this cool glows in the dark 'takeaway menu'. Never new this was possible and it's is really different and novelty.
Could be a possibility for use within the 'Firefly' restaurant for the menu's, to allow easier reading with the dim lighting.
When many dinners are holding the glow in the dark menu's, they will look like lots of glowing fireflies.

Restaurant Logos

Japanese

''The menu at Nobu London, draws heavily on Matsuhisa's classic Japanese training as a sushi chef in Tokyo, as well as on South American influences gained during his extensive travels.
Designed with simple elegance by United Designers, the interiors make subtle use of light woods and natural stone to reflect the diverse influences of Nobu's cuisine, incorporating the purity and quality materials inherent of traditional Japanese design.''

Fireflies

Fireflies emit light mostly to attract mates, although they also communicate for other reasons as well, such as to defend territory and warn predators away.

In a firefly’s tail, you’ll find two chemicals: luciferase and luciferin. Luciferin is heat resistant, and it glows under the right conditions. Luciferase is an enzyme that triggers light emission. ATP, a chemical within the firefly’s body, converts to energy and initiates the glow. All living things, not just fireflies, contain ATP.

Fireflies are found on almost every continent.
 Fireflies love warm, humid areas. Because of this, they thrive in tropical regions as well as temperate zones—they come out in the summertime in these environments—on all continents except Antarctica. Fireflies thrive in forests, fields and marshes near lakes, rivers, ponds, streams and vernal pools. They need a moist environment to survive.
Some species of firefly larvae are generally aquatic—they even have gills—while others live almost entirely in trees.

Restaurant Interiors

When people go to restaurant they also pay for the experience they have there.

Restaurant can create one of a kind, unique atmosphere's, here are a few I found with amazing interiors. They each create a unique dining experience for the customer in their own ways:

Jaime Hayon's Restaurant Design

Cuckoo Club Modern Interior Design
''5,000 square feet of opulent design tinged with rock and roll influences, The Cuckoo Club offers world class mixologists, a nightclub open till the early hours and a destination restaurant headed up by culinary genius Rupert Blease. This is a club design by the company blacksheep, this is straight glamor out of a hip hop.''

Park Avenue Season Restaurant

Ramses Restaurant

Gold Restaurant - modern interior design
''Dolce & Gabbana opened a restaurant in Milan with smooth and shimmering golden accents everywhere. Gold Restaurant serves international Italian food, and has several levels including a downstairs bistro that opens at lunchtime and a more formal upstairs that serves dinner only. Although the thought of an entire Gold restaurant my seem over the top and gaudy, the décor of the many leveled building is effortlessly sophisticated, chic, and at times breathtaking.''

Bella Italia Modern Interior Design

The Blue Frog Restaurant
''The Blue Frog acoustic lounge and studio in Mumbai, India is designed by Serie architects. It’s a 1,000-square-meter complex that includes a club, restaurant, lounge, sound stage, recording studio and sound lab, all encased within the massive walls of an old warehouse in Mumbai’s mill district. Blue Frog does its job in a way that is totally stylish – not a tacky thing or overdone in sight. And everyone’s table is definitely on level ground, although it does not appear so first. The entire look of the place is highly sophesticated and futuristic.''

Banq Restaurant
''This is the best new restaurant in Boston by Office dA. The wall and ceilings are decorate using wave element made from unique pieces of three-quarter-inch birch plywood adhered together in a scenario that likens to a puzzle; only one possible location for each unit, formulating the continuous member. Below the ceiling, the functional aspects of a dining space are fabricated with warm woods and relaminated bamboo amplifying the striping affect already at play throughout the space.''

Honeycomb Restaurant
''The Chinese restaurant Honeycomb in Shenzhen by SAKO architect built in the 1300 square meters area, Honeycomb has large hall for group and for private it available VIP rooms. The restaurant using white opaque surface for large space partition and transparent acrylic surface in small space, they appear like ‘honeycomb’. In the theme of ‘unordinary space’, the ‘Honeycomb’ presented us with the idea where customers can enjoy their meal and the space at the same time. ''

Floridita
''Nestled within the heart of the bustling West End, Floridita London emulates the 1930s style of the legendary El Floridita, creating the perfect blend of glamour and decadence from a by-gone era.With deep reds, luxurious white leather and an abundance of crystal, this Latin-inspired supper club combines an iconic, vibrant restaurant with the infamous Floridita Cocktail bar boasting the most impressive selection of rums in Europe.
The Floridita stage offers a glittering array of live entertainment each night of the week. Headed by the resident Floridita All-Stars, who combine sexy Latin rhythms with funk and soul each Friday and Saturday night, the entertainment programme embraces cabaret and live music to create the backdrop for London’s premier supper club.
Floridita Late continues until the early hours, so whether you are dining in the restaurant, sipping mouth-watering cocktails at the bar, or partying on the dance floor, Floridita encapsulates atmosphere and style for a truly decadent experience.''
http://www.floridita.co.uk/london/

Mandalay Bay

http://www.designsdelight.com/restaurants/restaurant-design/
http://www.crazyjunkyard.com/tag/dolce-gabbana-gold-restaurant-interior/

Jamie's Italian

This restaurant identity was created by 'The Plant'.

Here is what The Plant said:

''We lost ourselves in Italian commercial design of the middle 20th century for Jamie Oliver's new restaurant venture. Vespa, Piaggio, Cinzano, Talmone, Barbisio, Fiat, Strupai. Then we made it all with our own little twists.The logo looks as if it could've been ripped from a trattorria in Trastavere, but everything that surrounds it has a distinctly Oliver feel to it. We created signage, menu systems, a website, interior graphics, wallpaper, wrapping paper, even signs for the loo...'' http://www.jamieoliver.com ''When Jamie's Italian was first conceived, the starting point was to re-create what Italians are most proud of - fantastic, rustic dishes, using recipes that have been tried, tested and loved! Jamie talks about "feeling Italian" and in Gennaro Contaldo, we can tap into real thing. A great mentor for our young chefs and someone who, as a boy growing up in a tiny fishing village on the Amalfi coast, learned how simple, fresh ingredients, prepared and cooked with love and passion (a phrase he uses every day - and means!) become truly great dishes.  So of course we wanted to serve exceptional food. But our aim was also to create an environment with a "neighbourhood" feel, inspired by the "Italian table" where people relax, share, and enjoy each other's company. Jamie's Italian was designed to be accessible and affordable, a place where anyone is welcome and everyone will feel comfortable, no matter how much you spend or how long you stay.''

Leon Restaurant

http://www.leonrestaurants.co.uk/

About:
''Welcome to Leon. What fuels us is the belief that food should taste good and do you good. And that everyone should be able to enjoy it. To do this, we’ve set about to change the face of fast food.
Our food is naturally full of flavour, full of goodness, and from people we know and like. We cook with seasonal ingredients, olive oil and fresh herbs and spices.
We only buy meat from farms that we trust. We visit them regularly and we’ve now received recognition from the RSPCA for the care we take in our sourcing. We are fans of naturally low-GI foods so we make our brownies with dark Valrhona chocolate and instead of flour we use ground almonds and instead of ordinary sugar we use fruit sugar. We believe you can have your cake and eat it.
Back when we had one restaurant, what really made us believe we were on the right track was the passion, support and input of people who eat with us; it wasn’t all plain sailing, but the overriding message was that you were glad we were around. We hope you continue to think this and thanks for all your support so far. If you have anything to ask, say or suggest, feel free. People have been very kind about Leon but we’ve got a long way to go and we think there is always room for improvement''

Their website has a neutral quality and that works well with their type of food as they use natural products:

 Here is what their menu's look like, they are clear and easily readable with a description of the each course:

I like these little symbols that they use within their menu as codes to tell the customer an insight into things such as if the course is low in fat, wheat free, gluten free, etc.

 Here is the tabel of all the nutritional information and also includes a calorie intake:

 Leon has many restaurants in the city on London and they use these hand drawn images to show where they are. This gives a personal quality to 'Leon', and gives a less formal appearance.

 Here are some of their reviews and awards:

 They offer you a chance to join their club which they send treats out for being loyal to them:

Here is their recruitment poster, which I like as it reminds me of an old movie poster:

Leon is also dedicated to becoming more sustainable:
''Sustainability is about managing not only the financial but also the social and environmental impact of a business.
Leon is proud to be a founding member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association. The association exists to help restaurants become more sustainable in the way they source their ingredients, engage with their local community and manage their impact on the environment. The restaurant industry has a huge impact on the food chain - restaurants account for almost half of what the British spend on food – and if we behave more sustainably, this will eventually trickle down through the food production system, with enormous consequences for the way we farm and eat.
In January 2010 Leon was audited by the Sustainable Restaurant Association and awarded a ‘silver’ mark. While we are pleased that this recognises some of the work we have done on sustainability, we know we have a long way to go. In particular this year we will be working on three things:
1. Measuring the water we use and conserving it.
2. Increasing our engagement with local communities.
3. Increasing the seasonal elements of our menu.''