Pizza Express are opening a snazzy new restaurant in Richmond, London, where diners will be seated in futuristic booths that come complete with iPod dock and directional sound system, so that you only get your music piped in, and so you only hear, (or block out, if you’re more on the antisocial side), the conversations on your own table. This is bad news for eavesdroppers, as there’ll be no more listening in on the snipey conversation of the couple on the next table, but it does mean that there’ll be no mediocre chart tat simmering you into a rage before the garlic bread has even arrived.
The new restaurant in Richmond will be acting as a living lab, where you’ll give feedback on whether you preferred the old style earwigging and muzak, or whether you want to keep bringing your iPod to dinner. A series of circular, sound-absorbent panels similar to those used in the Royal Albert Hall hang from the restaurant ceiling.
These overhead dome structures create a “private dining experience”, and Pizza Express says they act like mini recording studios, encasing you in your own acoustic chamber of sound that’s channelled through from the iPod dock. To call over the waiter you’ll have to flick a switch to turn on a light, and you can also control the lighting, and obviously, all the music, through the iPod dock.
We like the sound of this. No more James Blunt or bicycles in Beijing, just whatever you want. Although, this might turn into just as big a problem – who gets to pick the next track, you, or your Pendulum-loving spouse?
Sounds good? We think so. Drop us a line in the comments and tell us what you think about the Pizza Express acoustically controlled dining experience!
