

Ask HN: Describe the ultimate restaurant website - c1sc0

I have a friend who is doing a startup building websites for restaurant owners. I think he's making things too complicated. In light of the recent discussion about website minimalism, I'd like to ask the following question: "What is the strict minimum you can get away with in restaurant website design?"
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pbhjpbhj
I think "restaurant" is actually to broad of a field to define an "ultimate"
site for. The site I'd want to find a high-class go-to-when-someone-else-is-
buying-me-a-treat restaurant is different to the one I'd use on my phone to
find the nearest place in a strange town for a family meal that's good but
cheap.

On the one hand I want to know who the chef is, where he's worked possibly,
definitely see images of the dishes, the full menu, wine list, pictures of the
interior, etc..

On the other I'd just trust for a good rating by a few dozen people (who
mention dining with kids preferably), couple of example dishes and prices.

I think you could combine these different use cases but I doubt you can make
the ultimate tool that addresses both.

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BrainScraps
I would try to outsource a lot of the trite admin stuff to other sites such as
yelp, opentable or a Google Places page (hours, parking, etc.) and have the
page mostly defining the brand.

For a restaurant, more important than the information is the feeling. The
style. The occasion that is evoked by the fonts, graphics, transitions,
everything.

Best minimalist design would integrate some high-quality shots that define the
ambiance of the erstaurant, show/tell about the chef / owner, and then link to
other sites that had all of the admin data.

There are my $0.02 - enjoy.

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c1sc0
Thanks for all the great suggestions. I have an inkling that this friend of
mine will soon join the discussion ... Here's my take. The ultimate restaurant
answers the following questions (and no more!) ...

    
    
      What's the atmosphere like?
      How's the food?
      Can I afford this place?
      How do I get there?
      What do I need to do now that I have decided to eat there?

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mooism2
1\. name

2\. location

3\. opening hours

4\. menu with prices

Might not be strictly necessary, depending on the restaurant:

5\. some way of reserving a table (even if only a phone number)

(But "ultimate" =/= "minimal".)

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rms
It's not an ultimate website my any means, but a Facebook page is a certain
kind of strict minimum restaurant webpage.

