London Coffee Shop Uses Projection To Create Wall-Filling, Animated Ordering Menus

October 26, 2021 by Dave Haynes

When industry people think about digitizing menus for the quick service and fast casual restaurant industries, they’re almost certainly thinking about how many flat panel displays will be needed, and where they’ll go. But using projection on the walls behind counters offers an interesting, very flexible alternative solution.

This is a coffee shop in London – I think on the Strand – called Roasting Plant. The small chain roasts coffee beans right on site using robotics and a high-tech version of a popcorn air popper. The coffee company worked with UK-based solutions provider Pixel Inspiration on a pair of menus that are driven by ceiling projectors blasting the visuals on a dark surface, maximizing contrast.

This would work, in part, because the menu wall is some distance away from the outside window and the service counter is lit with pot lights that focus the light instead of flooding the surrounding area.

I like this for its simplicity, but also because it gets the operator away from the need to fit or even cram the necessary information into the dimensions of 16:9 or 16:10 flat panel displays. It also means the menus are just part of the decor, instead of add-ons.

Nicely done! And the coffee looks good! There’s one near London’s Borough Market, which is where I find myself repeatedly when in that city. Heaven for foodies.