fbpx
Close

White Paper by Roar reveals the future of restaurant design post Covid-19

The research reveals what we may expect of the future of dining

A White Paper by Roar reveals results on the future of restaurant design and dining in a post Covid world.

According to the report, restaurant designers will abandon social distancing and return to pre-pandemic spacing – but not until 2021.

A survey of 170 industrial professionals revealed that only a quarter (26%) think a return to normal spacing will happen before the end of this year. Most (64%) expect that to happen next year, while a small minority (5%) say the restaurant trade will never return to normal.

White Paper by Roar

“Safe spacing will be the most dramatic impact on restaurants – but according to our experts, one that is likely to be short-lived,” says Pallavi Dean, founder and creative director of Roar, the company that compiled the White Paper.

The White Paper noted that the guidelines in the IBC (International Building Codes) for F&B specify an average 15 sq ft per seated diner, and 5 sq ft for customers standing in so-called ‘vertical drinking’. Current World Health Organisation guidelines call for 27 sq ft per diner in F&B outlets.

‘Layout & spacing’ was the first of the Big 3 issues highlighted in the White Paper. The next two were ‘contactless’ and ‘buffet/sharing food concepts’.

“Very few people expect dining to be fully contactless. far more likely is what we’re calling ‘contact-light’,” Dean explained.

White Paper by Roar

According to the White Paper, the contactless trend will have multiple impacts –some relating to objects while others to people. Physical menus may become rare, if not extinct. The same may be true of communal salt & pepper shakers, and the grubby three-week-old bottle of ketchup in the middle of the table. Sharing mezze with close family members will likely endure – but sharing platters at a large corporate functions may not.

The prosaic, administrative and functional aspects of the restaurant experience must also be reimagined, says the White Paper. Restrooms in particularly must be completely re-planned, with every unnecessary touchpoint removed: doors, soap, water and drying etc.

However, people are a different matter. “Since the dawn of restaurants, a charismatic maitre d’, waiter, chef, barman or patron has been the lifeblood of a good restaurant – nowhere more than in the Middle East, where I grew up,“  Dean said.

The White Paper concluded that this physical familiarity will ultimately endure, though maybe not before a vaccine for COVID-19.

You can read the full White Paper here. 

 

The Latest

A Surreal Tribute

“Water, salt and olive oil. That’s what it takes to survive,” says designer Philippe Starck, who created the new La Almazara olive oil museum outside Ronda, Spain

Big and Quiet

The new Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde BP03 is perfect for open-plan spaces

Bridging the Past, Present and Future

Ignacio Gomez, Global Design Principal at Aedas reflects on the firm’s two decades in the Middle East

At Home with Ahmed A. Sultan of Finasi

At Home with: Ahmed A. Sultan

Step into Ahmed A. Sultan’s contemporary retreat shaped by space, light, and emotion

Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2026

Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2026 – Curators Announced

Sharjah Architecture Triennial (SAT) announces Vyjayanthi Rao as curator of its third edition (SAT03), joined by Tau Tavengwa as associate curator.

Framed Allure

Architecture meets art at this stunning villa on the Palm Jumeirah

Highlights from Salone del Mobile.Milano 2025

Here’s a recap of the new and notable novelties and exhibits at Salone del Mobile.Milano and Fuorisalone

An insider’s guide to Downtown Design Riyadh

Here’s what to look out for at the Kingdom’s first fair for original and high-quality contemporary design, running from 20 to 23 May 2025

Maison&Objet

Maison&Objet hosts Women&Design Dinner in Dubai

The dinner was the first of its kind in the Middle East that connected female industry professionals

Wander and Wonder

Inside the Foster + Partners designed Kingdom of Saudi Arabia pavilion at Expo2025 Osaka

Efie Gallery

New Roots for Efie Gallery

Efie Gallery relocates to Alserkal Avenue and hosts the Middle Eastern debut of María Magdalena Campos-Pon’s solo exhibition

Read ‘Innovation in Design’ – Note from the editor – May 2025

This month, we shed light on innovation and what propels the industry in terms of creativity.