Restaurant Websites

[JLK]

My new favorite site: Andiamo. Love that placeholding text! I found it while seeing what restaurants have tables available and thought "never heard of Andiano."

I've never heard of Andiamo - looks like it's within the Hilton on 16th Street NW.

[CrescentFresh]

www.alabardero.com. Half the stuff takes you nowhere. At least with Komi's website, you're not expecting any more. Different story here.

[Sthitch]

www.alabardero.com. Half the stuff takes you nowhere. At least with Komi's website, you're not expecting any more. Different story here.

I could not find a single link on this website that did not take me to the topic that it stated. Granted "Upcoming Events" only listed "Happy Hour" with no further information, but that is most likely because they do not have any events coming up.

[CrescentFresh]

I could not find a single link on this website that did not take me to the topic that it stated. Granted "Upcoming Events" only listed "Happy Hour" with no further information, but that is most likely because they do not have any events coming up.

Very interesting. I just tried it on a different computer and it worked. I wonder if it is dependent on only a certain kind of browser?

[Dental_FlossTycoon]

Very interesting. I just tried it on a different computer and it worked. I wonder if it is dependent on only a certain kind of browser?

I used Firefox and IE and both experience the same. The Web site is clean with only 3 flash objects, menu, reservations and happy hour easily found.

That said. The Location goes nowhere,(I assume their Google Maps API is still cooking), the press release should not auto-download, but should probably be a window popup to as simple text release, or a link to the web site that (i.e. WAPO). Also Upcoming Events doesn't open.

So, all in all, get on your Web guy/gal to finish the job of what could be a very professional site.

Hell, why waste time even posting this when I'm wondering if the management hasn't even bothered to click on this site to see what works and doesn't.

[treznor]

I used Firefox and IE and both experience the same. The Web site is clean with only 3 flash objects, menu, reservations and happy hour easily found.

That said. The Location goes nowhere,(I assume their Google Maps API is still cooking), the press release should not auto-download, but should probably be a window popup to as simple text release, or a link to the web site that (i.e. WAPO). Also Upcoming Events doesn't open.

So, all in all, get on your Web guy/gal to finish the job of what could be a very professional site.

Hell, why waste time even posting this when I'm wondering if the management hasn't even bothered to click on this site to see what works and doesn't.

Location takes me to a page with an inline Yahoo Maps object. Upcoming events takes me to a page that has a link on it that's the same as the "Happy Hour" link at the top of the page. Overall I think the website is not bad. My primary complaint about it is that some of the links take you away from the navigation bar on the right (like "Tasting Menu") and have no way for you to get back other than pressing back on the browser.

[DonRocks]

This must surely be a contender

I was also thinking: Should this website have a website?

[Meaghan]

Drag your cursor and click under the text (the street address). Now click on the link to Unconformity, LLC. So, a designer is actually behind this; it's like the Emperor's New Clothes of the Internet!

[treznor]

Their website (and I'm talking about the designers, maybe the restaurant doesn't know any better because they've lived under a rock for the last couple decades) is possibly the single worst example of a website I've seen, especially when considering that it's a website designers website. You have to do the highlighting trick on their website as well to read most of the text...

[monkey2000]

This conversation warms my heart. I believe most restaurant websites are a disaster. Especially European restaurant websites. Those people love their flash.

I think part of the problem is one of perspective: what is a great webpage from the POV of the restaurateur is not from the POV of a customer. A restaurateur wants something that sells the fantasy, something design-y and stylish, something that tells the story. I think that is why flash and music and crazy animations and tons of photos are so popular.

Plus these aren't people who sit in front of computers all day. My impression, and I might be off base, is that restaurants were a little later to the game of websites. At least, they didn't jump on the bandwagon until after other industries that are more office-y and where work consists of using a computer and the internet daily. They are coming at it from a different perspective.

As a customer, you want basic information. Where are you? What is your phone number? A footer is ideal for this kind of thing. More: Do you take reservations? What time are you open? When do you stop service? Beyond that I might want to know: Are you near the metro? Do you have parking? Do you have vegetarian options? Do you cater? Do you have a party room? And I don't want to work that hard to find the answers. A FAQ can be great for answering questions like these.

We recently redid Cafe Atlantico's website replacing the flash beast with an HTML page (with some flash elements.) I think (I hope) we succeeded in addressing many of your needs and criticisms. I'd love to hear what you think. The lovely thing about a webpage: always a work in progress.

www.cafeatlantico.com

[treznor]

I like the new Cafe Atlantico website. It has all the information I could want from the menus, to the wine and cocktail list, as well as location, etc. Two small quibles I have are that the drop-down boxes don't seem to disappear after they drop down until a selection is chosen even if I move away from them (so if I accidently run my mouse over one I have to make a selection to get it to disappear) and that the link to MiniBar isn't quite noticeable enough. Once I saw the link to MiniBar it was very obvious to me, but for some reason it didn't stick out to me... Now as long as the menu and cocktail list stays updated so it's the same as what's actually offered, this would be an excellent example of a good restaurant wesite.

[CrescentFresh]

the drop-down boxes don't seem to disappear after they drop down until a selection is chosen even if I move away from them (so if I accidently run my mouse over one I have to make a selection to get it to disappear)

I agree with that. Was one of the first things I noticed. That, and the fact that calendar of events is so out of date. This isn't just a problem with Atlantico's site. I see this a lot of places. And when I see that I begin to immediately question whether other pages and information on the site (things like the menu or wine list, particularly) are also equally stale, so to speak.

[Sthitch]

There once was a fellow named Dave

Some chips and fried plaice did he crave

To the Chip Shop he ran

(a man with a plan)

And shortly thereafter did rave:

Mmmmm, mmmmm, good. Enjoyed the fried Twinkie too.

Now just excitedly anticipating the Eamonn's opening back home...

That is an annoying website. Not just cluttered, but a whole bunch of damned noise for nothing.

[monkey2000]

Thanks for the comments, guys. I will speak to the developer about the menu issue. And about making the link to minibar more obvious. We are launching a stand alone minibar page shortly www.minibarbyjoseandres.com. That might be why is so subtle. On the event calendar, I'll prod the GM for more info and get it updated. Feedback is a good thing.

[DonRocks]

This isn't "bad" so much as it is annoying. Click

[JPW]

This isn't "bad" so much as it is annoying. Click

It's not so annoying when you click on the "rotate" button in the bottom tool bar at the top of the screen.

[Sthitch]

These woman really get around, first they are eating at the now defunct A Taste of Carolina, and now I find that they were eating at One Restaurant in Cincinnati.

[lackadaisi]

These woman really get around, first they are eating at the now defunct A Taste of Carolina, and now I find that they were eating at One Restaurant in Cincinnati.

It looks like she likes One Restaurant better than A Taste of Carolina.

[Bob Wells]

It looks like she likes One Restaurant better than A Taste of Carolina.

Hence the defunctness of the latter. That place didn't take long to go belly-up, did it?

[Escoffier]

These woman really get around, first they are eating at the now defunct A Taste of Carolina, and now I find that they were eating at One Restaurant in Cincinnati.

Such are the joys of using stock photos...somewhere, a photographer made a couple of dollars when that was published.

[ManekiNeko]

http://www.mannequinpis.com/

I can't decide if the mouse tracking thing is good or not.

And, keeping with the puerile theme, I point out this place out:

http://doughboyscafe.com/

While the website is not horrific, that logo is.

[lackadaisi]

http://www.mannequinpis.com/

I can't decide if the mouse tracking thing is good or not.

I love it! You never lose sight of the theme.

[dmwine]

http://www.mannequinpis.com/

I can't decide if the mouse tracking thing is good or not.

How in the name of Diamond Jim Brady does Mannequin Pis get away with misspelling "mussels" on their Web site???

[hillvalley]

I don't know if this is the right place or if I should just start a new thread but anyway....

How reliable are restaurant websites? These days I'm trying to pay attention to whether or not certain items are available on the menu before I choose restaurants and don't know how confident I feel about relying on the menus posted on web sites. If I make a bad choice it means not being able to eat at the restaurant at all

[plunk]

I don't know if this is the right place or if I should just start a new thread but anyway....

How reliable are restaurant websites? These days I'm trying to pay attention to whether or not certain items are available on the menu before I choose restaurants and don't know how confident I feel about relying on the menus posted on web sites. If I make a bad choice it means not being able to eat at the restaurant at all

My wife and I ordered take out recently and used the restaurant's on line menu. Little did we know that the menu was 2 or 3 years old, and the prices of the dishes had increased about $2 from the prices reflected on the on line menu. Doesn't seem like much, but we ordered a bunch of different items to try, and the new prices added up to a lot more than we were expecting.

[lackadaisi]

My wife and I ordered take out recently and used the restaurant's on line menu. Little did we know that the menu was 2 or 3 years old, and the prices of the dishes had increased about $2 from the prices reflected on the on line menu.

Bobby Van's does this.

[dcs]

Bebo Trattoria

http://www.bebotrattoria.com/

[baczkowski]

I don't know if this is the right place or if I should just start a new thread but anyway....

How reliable are restaurant websites? These days I'm trying to pay attention to whether or not certain items are available on the menu before I choose restaurants and don't know how confident I feel about relying on the menus posted on web sites. If I make a bad choice it means not being able to eat at the restaurant at all

Here, here! A big reason we didn't go to Palena for my wife's birthday is b/c the menu is from 2003! I couldn't tell her what to expect, so we happily tried Corduroy instead. It also didn't help that I tried emailing someone at the restaurant for an overview of the menu and never received a reply.

Pax,

Brian

[JLK]

Email is not the best way to reach most restaurants. Also, while the menu at Palena changes pretty much daily so it's not practical to post anything other than a "sample menu" they really should either update the site or cancel the darn thing.

http://centralmichelrichard.com/

[soapy]

Here, here! A big reason we didn't go to Palena for my wife's birthday is b/c the menu is from 2003! I couldn't tell her what to expect, so we happily tried Corduroy instead. It also didn't help that I tried emailing someone at the restaurant for an overview of the menu and never received a reply.

Pax,

Brian

I agree. I've heard great things about Palena but it just puts me off that they can't be bothered to update their website from 2003. I really like to look up menus to help me decide if I want to eat there. I understand that menus change all the time but put up a sample soI can get an idea of what your food is like.

And the disapearing Colorado kitchen website is also annoying.

[mdt]

I agree. I've heard great things about Palena but it just puts me off that they can't be bothered to update their website from 2003. I really like to look up menus to help me decide if I want to eat there. I understand that menus change all the time but put up a sample soI can get an idea of what your food is like.

And the disapearing Colorado kitchen website is also annoying.

Call the restaurant. Most are more than happy to fax one to you, but remember to call them between shifts when the dining room and kitchen are not busy.

[hillvalley]

That defeats the point of having a website. Not to mention that finding the time do call a restaurant and wait for a fax is a luxury. I understand that not all restaurants can have a full menu up because it changes regularly, but you should at least be able to tell if a vegetarian or someone who is kosher or has a simple food allergy can eat there.

Is updating a web site that hard?

[jpschust]

That defeats the point of having a website. Not to mention that finding the time do call a restaurant and wait for a fax is a luxury. I understand that not all restaurants can have a full menu up because it changes regularly, but you should at least be able to tell if a vegetarian or someone who is kosher or has a simple food allergy can eat there.

Is updating a web site that hard?

No, but it's probably pretty low on the priority list for the restaurant.

[Politburo]

Email is not the best way to reach most restaurants.

If restaurants don't want to respond to email, they should not put an email address on the website.

[MelGold]

Is updating a web site that hard?

It can be - depends on if there's someone dedicated to doing it in house & is given enough time to update it before the menu goes into effect.

[Spiral Stairs]

If restaurants don't want to respond to email, they should not put an email address on the website.

And how. In the restaurant industry and in every other field, it irritates me to no end when people "join the digital revolution" (or whatever they think they are doing) by obtaining and posting an e-mail address, but then proceed to ignore e-mail. It's like publicizing a phone number but never answering or returning messages. That would be pretty irritating too.

[The Hersch]

you should at least be able to tell if a vegetarian or someone who is kosher or has a simple food allergy can eat there.

While I agree that restaurants with websites should keep them relatively up to date, that's not going to help someone who keeps kosher very much. Unless a restaurant is certified kosher, a person who keeps kosher cannot eat there. According to Washington Jewish Week, there is a grand total of two such restaurants in Washington, the cafe in the Jewish Community Center on 16th St., and Eli's on 20th. There's a smattering of places in the suburbs, but none that I can recall ever being discussed in this forum. Keeping kosher must be a drag.

[Waitman]

I agree. I've heard great things about Palena but it just puts me off that they can't be bothered to update their website from 2003. I really like to look up menus to help me decide if I want to eat there. I understand that menus change all the time but put up a sample soI can get an idea of what your food is like.

And the disapearing Colorado kitchen website is also annoying.

If I'm deciding on a restaurant, almost the last place I trust is their website. 99% of them are cluttered beyond reason, filled with the most loathsome imaginable industrial prose about vision and seasonal ingredients and unique cocktails; bad music; annoying graphics and carefully culled reviews that may or may not be years old. They often have a phone number and you can sometimes (though not always) get a sense of their prices, which can be useful, but beyond that I'd look for Tom, Todd, DR.dom or eGullet before I'd make a decision on where to dine based on a website.

[Heather]

Why can't all restaurant websites be like this? Address and phone number on the front page, accurate wine list, menus updated daily with prices clearly stated...

I have to agree with Politburo above. Don't give out an email address and then not check it.

[clayrae]

No, but it's probably pretty low on the priority list for the restaurant.

It's 2007. If you are running a business, a website should be pretty high on your priority list.

[hillvalley]

While I agree that restaurants with websites should keep them relatively up to date, that's not going to help someone who keeps kosher very much. Unless a restaurant is certified kosher, a person who keeps kosher cannot eat there. According to Washington Jewish Week, there is a grand total of two such restaurants in Washington, the cafe in the Jewish Community Center on 16th St., and Eli's on 20th. There's a smattering of places in the suburbs, but none that I can recall ever being discussed in this forum. Keeping kosher must be a drag.

It actually depends on the level of Kosher someone keeps. If they are willing to eat fish or pastaor vegetarian that comes from a nonKosher kitchen that opens up the field a lot. But if a web site doesn't make it clear what the nonred meat or chicken option is it makes it harder to take a risk and dine there. As for it being a drag to keep kosher-well, that's a thread unto itself.

[john_o_baiyewu]

I've noticed a bit of chatter (as well as angst, frustration, and exasperation) about some of the worst restaurant websites in the Washington DC Metro area. I just wanted to put in my 7 cents about Restaurant websites that are amongst the best in our area. I'll start by putting out a shameless plug about the great restaurant I'm at, Restaurant Kolumbia.

www.restaurantkolumbia.com is a great website because it represents several things some of the worst ones don't LOL.

1) It's menu is current and even features a section for the "Lunch at the Bar" which is a small 4-5 item menu with $9 selections...This changes MONTHLY;

2) Navigating the website is fairly easy as the type and font is easily readable AND there are several "drop-down" menus in places where you may need more information;

3) NO SILLY MUSIC or naked dancers - refer to the worst website thread for more info on that :-);

4) There's a press section (called "News and Reviews") so you can see what others are saying about us...not just us talking about ourselves;

5) Information such as address, hours of operation, telephone number, etc are prominently displayed on almost EVERY PAGE;

Did I mention our website is up to date? LOL. Seriously, we've put some time and effort into our website and we hope that it's informative and you enjoy it. Feel free to let us know we're doing (you can contact us directly through the website...and yes we do check it and respond).

Looking forward to seeing and hearing about other restaurant websites that people consider good/great.

See you at the Bar!

John B aka Not afraid of shameless plugs for quality things

[diddy]

i like 3 things from my restaurant websites:

1.) contact info (telephone no., address, etc)

2.) up to date menu WITH prices.

3.) pictures of the actual restaurant.

[lackadaisi]

i like 3 things from my restaurant websites:

1.) contact info (telephone no., address, etc)

2.) up to date menu WITH prices.

3.) pictures of the actual restaurant.

I like it when they list their hours and whether they do carry-out or delivery also.

[The Hersch]

I agree about Restaurant Kolumbia's website. It's one of the best. The fact that they update their bar lunch menu every month is commendable indeed. Another of the very best websites is Dino. Location, phone number, hours all right up front, and the whole site is sensibly organized and easy to navigate. I mean jeez, on some restaurant websites you have to click on location, say, to find their hours. Some don't list their hours anywhere.

[JLK]

The funny thing is that some members of the board decry restaurants that have a public relations or other type of agency on retainer, and yet those are exactly the people who tend to do a good job with web sites. Chefs don't spend much time behind desks, from what I can tell.

Personally, while I find it really helpful if a restaurant has a nice, up-to-date web site, I'm more concerned with the quality of the food and overall in-restaurant experience.

[cheezepowder]

I think Restaurant Nora has a good website. Even though there's a daily menu, they're pretty good about updating it.

[tastedc]

L'Appetito in my neighborhood - just read it:

L'Appetito

[DanielK]

Breadline's website isn't the most attractive, but the address and phone number are evident on every page, and they update the menu in the morning EVERY SINGLE DAY THEY ARE OPEN. Rock on, Breadline...

[alan7147]

There is a new grilled pizza place called Pizza Zero next door to Lousiana Express that might also work.

Holy crap, that has to be the most annoying music on a restaurant website I have ever heard.