In the event of making a last-minute booking and preparing for a special date for your loved one, the idea of metaverse restaurant and bar has come to play the magic for your rescue.
Welcome to the metaverse’s evolution of restaurants and bars. This is not something that was expected to happen in 5 years or a decade. But, the metaverse is already here, and it’s not going away anytime soon.
Even though the metaverse’s evolution has been met with harsh criticism from some individuals, including some of the world’s most powerful tech executives, the metaverse appears to have a bright future, and virtually every company wants to be a part of it.
Several global corporations have joined the metaverse, including Facebook, NVIDIA, Adidas, Microsoft, Google, Shopify, Roblox, Unity software, and a slew of others.
Today, the food industry has also embraced the metaverse. McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast-food restaurant chain with over 39,000 locations in approximately 100 countries, recently filed for trademarks to establish a metaverse restaurant.
Aside from McDonald’s, we have pre-existing metaverse restaurants and bars that you can visit in 2022. Chipotle Mexican Grill opened a virtual location with Roblox during its Halloween and Boorito charity event in October 2021. During the event, Chipotle gave away $1 million in free burritos.
In this article, we will be showing you the metaverse restaurants and bars to try out with your friends and colleagues in 2022.
Metaverse Restaurants And Bars To Try In 2022
1. Sublimotion (Island of Ibiza, Spain)
Sublimotion, which opened on the Spanish island of Ibiza in 2014, is much more than the world’s most expensive restaurant. It’s avant-garde, futuristic, and thought-provoking dining at its best.
Sublimotion is a molecular restaurant on Playa d’en Bossa inside the Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza, serving Spanish avant-garde cuisine at its finest. A 20-course tasting menu with wine and champagne costs 1,500€ per person, but some consider it a small price to pay for such an extraordinary gastronomy-meets-virtual-reality experience.
Paco Roncero, the chef with two Michelin stars, has created a unique dining experience that combines cuisine with art and illusion to create a revolutionary concept that goes far beyond the sense of taste.
2. Web3 Café
Web3 Cafe asserts that it is the world’s first cafe to be located on the Web3. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and guarantees an endless supply of coffee and pastries.
You do not need to be an expert to eat here; all that is required is that you enjoy listening to yourself speak. Additionally, you must use the term “revolutionary” at least three times an hour. The sensations are pleasant, and the appearance is attractive, but don’t dwell too long on how you got there.
3. Naked Tree (Tokyo, Japan)
Naked Tokyo’s Tree made its debut in July 2017. The concept was devised by Muramatsu, a Japanese visual artist best known for his films and global installations.
For one dish, diners will be required to wear virtual reality headsets. Diners can get the full VR experience by donning a VR headset that transports them to a farm surrounded by elegant farm animals. Diners can watch luminous fish float across their plates and wagyu beef prepared right before their eyes while in space.
4. McDonald’s
McDonald’s applied for a Metaverse Trademark in February 2022, even though the Metaverse had not yet begun. McDonald’s appears to be the latest company to cash in on the growing popularity of the metaverse.
According to Insider, the golden arches fast-food chain has registered trademarks for a completely virtual metaverse restaurant that would serve meals in real life.
According to trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who broke the story on Twitter, McDonald’s is developing a virtual and real-world dining experience that will not require you to leave your game to order.
McDonald’s wants to establish a presence in the Metaverse before the AR/VR-based concept gaining traction. It would be one of the first corporations to offer virtual products and services in the Metaverse, quickly establishing a sizable market presence.
5. Pixelated SoHo House
Have you ever attempted to impress a date with your private members’ club but concluded, “It’s too easy to see inside SoHo House!” This is the solution.
6. CryptoPunk Steakhouse
This restaurant sells steaks that were first cooked and given away for free in 2017. Each steak may now cost a couple of million dollars, depending on the hat it is wearing. It’s an excellent destination for a date who appreciates vintage fashion.
7. MetaTerrace By ColossalBit (Dubai)
ColossalBit, a Dubai-based cryptocurrency, blockchain, NFTs consulting, advisory, design, and development firm, has opened MetaTerrace, a lounge restaurant in the Dubai International Financial Centre’s Central Park Towers (DIFC). MetaTerrace is a one-of-a-kind establishment that adheres to the metaverse principle by fusing the digital and physical worlds.
MetaTerrace officially opened on December 30, 2021, at the Central Park Towers, a state-of-the-art facility located at DIFC’s Gate 32. The metaverse-themed lounge restaurant offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for nightlife enthusiasts, blockchain enthusiasts, and thrill-seekers to experience the digital future.
The MetaTerrace has its virtual reality chamber for experiencing the metaverse. People will be able to travel to alternate planets, meet like-minded individuals, consume beverages, and engage in NFT and crypto conversations on a futuristic MetaTerrace – all at their fingertips.
How The Metaverse Would Change Restaurant And Bar Businesses
1. Payment Options
The majority of restaurants worldwide accept payment in cash or via POS (Point Of Sale) transfers. However, as of 2021, some restaurants will accept Bitcoin as payment.
While we expect the cash payment trend to continue, we believe the metaverse will revolutionize how we pay for goods and services by enabling us to pay with cryptocurrency. As a result of this, any restaurant that enters the metaverse will benefit from increased marketing and visibility.
2. Speedy Booking/Reservation
Individuals no longer have to worry about making last-minute reservations at a metaverse restaurant or bar. The booking interface would be completely redesigned and made significantly easier to use. Diners can use this method to take a virtual tour of the restaurant before making a reservation. Naturally, pricing for the top tables would be dynamic.
3. Improved Marketing
Brands will begin to incorporate food into virtual experiences. Restaurants will be able to replicate their physical locations in the metaverse and host visitors from all over the world, rather than relying on traditional email marketing.
The metaverse will create new opportunities for promotion and loyalty program testing, as Chipotle demonstrated this year by making their Boorito campaign entirely digital.
4. Marketplaces
Once more people start interacting in the metaverse, apps will lose their dominance as the primary ordering channel in restaurants and bars.
Ordering and delivery will become more integrated into more interoperable experiences, compelling companies like Doordash, UberEats, and GrubHub to rethink their business models. Doordash’s decision to become a pure logistics API is prudent, as it will protect them if they lose their metaverse ordering site – someone has to deliver the food, after all.
Conclusion
Although metaverse restaurants and bars are not a new concept or a new type of technology, they still cost a lot of money to operate. Many people object to how virtual reality is eroding the authentic restaurant experience by simulating it in a computer game rather than in real life.
Restaurants can use virtual reality in a variety of ways to give their customers a sense of what it’s like to be there, even if that is true. Diners are provided with virtual reality headsets or menus that allow them to observe the preparation of their meal and the ingredients used.