Restaurants that give you more than just a receipt

Paying the bill in the restaurant doesn’t have to be a boring obligation but can be a creative discovery.

So is there anything that can make paying the bill at a restaurant more enjoyable or even fun? Yes, there is and I am not necessarily talking about financial bonuses such as discounts or meal deals but I am talking about creative ways of presenting a receipt to the customers, like the one below from Muriel's Kitchen in South Kensington, London. It goes together with the style of the place and its menu which relates to traditional recipes of family's granny.




Receipt in a pink bucket from Muriel's Kitchen in South Kensington, London

Any restaurant can give you just a bill in a black leather pouch or cover and pass an ordinary message to you and other customers: “could you just please pay for the meal”. But not any and every place can make an effort and present the receipt in a different way. I think that those that do, rather say to their customers “we really enjoyed your visit today and we’re glad you chose us and not our competition; we know that paying the bill is not most interesting part of it, so we want to make it a bit nicer by bringing the bill in a bit different way; we hope you enjoy it and will came back to us again and again”. Doesn’t it sound better?
Even if it’s only marketing trick which is supposed to encourage us, the customers, to come again and spend some more money, I prefer to spend more money in a place that “likes me” than in a place which doesn’t even bother to think outside the box.

On my various visits to restaurants in London and beyond I came across different ways of bringing the receipts to the customers and I am not ashamed to give you the names of the restaurants, because if they’re doing something creative and different, why not.

I especially like the one I saw in Dijon, France. They not only put receipt in a candy bag but add a candy for each guest. Just to make paying a bit sweeter (or less bitter).

 




Receipt in a candy bag from L'Epicerie et Cie in Dijon, France

Sometimes, you don't have to think a lot to come up with something interesting, like those who run Buttery Cafe in Burgh House in London. They're giving a receipt in a shot size glass. So simple, yet different than usual.

But everything started in Ask Italian branch in Oxford. When I saw they way the give the receipts to their customer (see below) something clicked in my mind and I thought that I would start collecting them. I found this one interesting, because (again) it fits in with the idea of the restaurant (cork from wine and the shape of pizza) and is simple but functional - it displays the name of the restaurant and has space for the money/card.

Receipt in a cork from Ask Italian, branch in Oxford

After the first one, I had to wait awhile to find another creative example but it was worthy waiting. In the Restaurant de Paul in Covent Garden, London I've got this gem. At the end of an amazing meal comes another surprise and that is the receipt hidden in a book. I found it discrete and stylish. Even if the waiter or waitress bring the receipt you may not notice it, because it is done in such a gentle way. What's more, it encourages you to spend more time in the restaurant, reading, if you know French, of course.

One of my favourite - receipt in a French book in Le Restaurant de Paul

I had a lot of fun searching for those different ways of bringing a receipt to the customers in restaurants and I'll keep searching and telling you not only where you can get a tasty meal but also, where you can enjoy being in a creative environment with people who, even tough they want your money, can say it in a very kind or funny way.

Blog Challenge Day 15: O is Observation



Every evening after dinner my husband laughs at me and always for the same reason. As soon as I finish eating I turn away from the table to the window and start my daily observation. As our dinning table stands right next to our sloping window it requires only one move from me and I am already looking outside. What do I observe? The streets, the cars passing by, people coming home after work and others walking their dogs in the park, kids playing, adults jogging and everything else what's happening that time. Sometimes, the streets are still and quiet and on the other days they're full of events.

The view from my daily observation point

Why do I do it? Partially it's to see other people and be a little bit nosy - I see them but they don't see me and I can think of where they're going, where they are coming from and who are they rushing to see without being spotted. The most important reason though is to see what's going on out there, how the world is moving, what's happening at certain times of the day and of the week. Even if there is nothing going on, there is always the nature to observe. We live in the west of London, so usually in the evening we can see the sun going down emanating with purple and orange all over the place. And there is always an option of just looking out far far away and imagining what's there.

 

It's not only those window moments that I use for the observation. I love going to the park, sit down on a bench and observe the passers by. Did you know that each park has its own character? Depending on what time of the day you visit, you'll see a different side of it. In the morning you get actie joggers, later on mums relaxing with kids and a bit older but peaceful people and in the evening you get a mix from the neighbourhood. In London, there are high and mighty royal parks, like Regent’s Park, there are more public ones, do-what-you-feel-like parks like Hyde Park. At the bottom of the ladder there are local parks and fields. But they actually take first place in people's hearts.

I observe when I am on the tube. I am always wondering what people are doing when there is nothing to do? Most of them is reading a newspaper or playing games on their phone but some share experience of the day with another person or have different conversations (observing includes listening).
I observe when I am walking on the street or when I am in the church. My eyes are open constantly. Maybe I'll spot something new or original, maybe I'll be able to help somebody or maybe I'll just learn something about people. Because observation is not just about being nosy and spying on people but it's a way to understand what's going on around me, what am I involved in, where is my place in all that and how do I fit in.  

Design your day - a solution when you have lots to do and you don't know what to do

I grabbed a list of things to do with phone numbers and addresses on it and a map. I purchased a day travel card and embarked on my journey into the city. This is the story how I designed not one day but many days of my life and how you can do it too.

I really like my days off which don't fall on the weekends, because being an achiever I always have lots of things to tick from my to-do lists and the days off are those I use to accomplish all of my plans. People to meet, places to visit and things to buy accumulate throughout the weeks and when I finally get my free day I go on a journey. It makes me feel like a modern city explorer. Even if I visit places others had discovered before me, I still feel the thrill of seeing something new and adding on to the experience of my life. Later, I am even more happy to tell others in writing about the places I had visited. What makes those days exciting is planning stage, picking things I have to do and those I just want to do and doing something amazingly simple but so exciting. So what do I do?

1. I write down a list of all places to visit, things to do, things to buy that I really want to complete on the day. If they're too many I choose those which are urgent and important or I want to do the most. I check how long will take me a journey from point A to B, B to C, C to D etc., so I know how many places I can tick off in one day.

What appear on my lists are usually current exhibitions, shops I want to visit, people I need to talk to to write for blog and Weekendnotes.com. So I visited Coffee 7 at Forest Gate where I found out about the suspended coffee, Look Mum No Hands in Clerkenwell where I went for the very same reason, Victoria station where I wanted to buy tickets for our little trip and couple other places, October Gallery for the exhibition of Ghanaian painter Ablade Glover, Wellcome Collection (for my next post) and Camden Market to buy creative gifts.

2. Pin them on the map – you can use Google maps like I do or a paper map.

The map I used for planning my great big day off

This way you'll be able to design the best possible route. Even on the days off we have limited time and travelling for too long will eventually make us tired and will prevent us from enjoying the trip. I have some sort of love for logistics and creating routes, so I really enjoy that part of designing my day. I can see which route is quicker or more effective than the other, which place is better to visit in what time of the day etc.

3. Begin the journey
Feel like an explorer! Be a tourist in your own city, town or area. Enjoy every minute of your exploration, soak the atmosphere of places you visit, put your head out of bus's window and feel the breeze on your face. There is nothing better (maybe there is but let's say this gives you freedom)!

At the end of the day I arrive home feeling that I did something. And they weren’t only useful things but things I wanted to do for a long time. So next time you feel you have nothing to do, design your day.

Talking pictures

I was walking around the Christmas Market at Southbank to see what has been popular this Christmas season. As usual there was knitwear, sweets and jewelerry but there were some new gadgets as well - Peruvian ponchos, flashing circles and jewellery with real flowers. However none of them really impressed me until I saw two things. The first one was amazingly smelling wreath made of dried fruits and spices but the second one was even better. This was a word created out of pictures of letters. Not just any ordinary letters but letters found here and there around London found in buildings' shapes, public space and "in nature".

 

These little pieces of art are all created by Naomi Bid hiding under nickname “Quirk London” who says about herself and her work that it “is all about finding quirkiness around London! I am a photographer and I specialise in letter art: I try to find the shapes of the alphabet in the natural surroundings all around London None of the images were 'set up' or faked, every picture was taken exactly how I found it.”

The effect is also far from fake. It's fresh, honest and astonishing. Every words is like a puzzle as sometimes you need to think what it says. You can buy already ready words but you can also make your own from chosen letters in colour and in black and white. That fact adds another dimension to the picture which is created as a result as you can choose those shapes that have a special meaning to you or to the person you will present with such a gift.  

Every piece brings a lot of fun (you can try and guess where each picture was taken) and can be surprising gift for anyone. The author must be a great observer of the urban space to find all those shapes and put it together int words  

 

More pictures can be seen here.