Discover in this article the growing importance of all the elements that used to be secondary in a restaurant. You will see that food is no longer necessarily the most important criteria when customers go to a restaurant.
Today, appearance is essential in our society. Social networks based on images only accentuate this phenomenon that affects all aspects of our lives, even the most essential ones such as the choice of our food but also where we decide to eat: everything must the aesthetic! To give you an idea of the craziness of this phenomenon, the hashtag #food is mentioned 400 million times on Instagram, and its little brother #foodstagram 71 million on all types of food posts. The beauty and the photogenic of a dish have become even more important than the taste of the dish itself: we no longer come to a restaurant only for delicious tastes and flavors but also to take pictures and embellish our Instagram accounts! So much that nowadays design, atmosphere, and comfort, are part of the criteria for choosing a place. In a nutshell, the feeling of being somewhere else to live a good and beautiful moment is just as important as the choice of what we will find on the plate.
Restaurant architecture
The original design of a restaurant’s interior will create a positive feeling which will then allow guests to appreciate even more the proposed services. Such as cooking, service, even a very simple meal will be all the more appetizing if it is associated with quality furniture, luxurious finishes, seductive lighting, good taste, and comfort. This is why for architects and interior designers, restaurant design projects have become showcases of their work, a brand image, and a reflection of their experiments. In fact, more importantly, the success of a restaurant in 2022 depends on the overall aesthetics of the place. This is due to the fact that now when a person is looking to go to a restaurant, they instinctively look on social networks. Especially Instagram to see the general aesthetics of the place. They will then finalize their choice based on whether the food and the place are deemed “instagrammable”. The food of an establishment can be delicious but if the place is not attractive for potential photos, an establishment with a better aesthetic but less good food will be favored.
I would like to give an honest mention to one of the most Instagrammable restaurants in the world- The Gallery at Sketch in London. The place is beautiful, the food is excellent and of course, everything is very photogenic. Sketch London also features several other restaurants but if you want to be dazzled by an unparalleled art-fueled rosy ambiance. The Gallery is the place to go!
Marketing first
In the end, it’s all about marketing. We all know the almost terrifying power of marketing, but it is also in concrete cases like this one that we realize all the more its capital importance. Indeed, food aesthetics is at the center of the marketing departments’ concerns of the food industry, which represents on average 10% of the turnover of these brands! This is not surprising because for a customer to buy a product, it must be pleasing to the eye and correspond to certain standards or aesthetic criteria to which the consumer is accustomed or exceed these expectations. We also know that opening a new restaurant is obviously a risk but, despite this, success is often linked to several factors: the commercial location, the marketing mix, the launch campaign, but also the physical layout, including the decor and the atmosphere. This is not to say that the quality of the food or the quality of the service should be sloppy, quite the contrary. It is to support the recent importance of aesthetics even more pronounced than before. These elements will not only impact customer satisfaction, but also the restaurant’s ability to attract different customers.
The example of Italian tableware
Finally, I would like to give you an example of the success of a simple item that can be found in Italian restaurants in many destinations: the famous and beautiful Molleni plates. The philosophy is that beautiful tableware rhymes with good food, which is why for decades each piece has been handmade in the purest respect of the tradition of the Florence ceramists. The beauty of these plates has seduced the web and we find them filled with pasta and other Italian wonders all over social media. And many restaurants have understood this: this is the case of the Big Mamma group which has launched its Fima collection of dishes inspired by Molleni for an even more authentic Italian getaway.
If you want to have an aesthetically pleasing work experience in luxury establishments, find out how Placement International can help you make your dream come true! We are pleased to work with luxury hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants worldwide that are both customer and people-centric. Our partners strive to provide an unforgettable experience for their staff and guests in a dream setting. To join their team, simply send your CV to info@placement-int.com and our team will contact you shortly.
