The story of the idea for Menusso dates back to the year 2021. The idea was born in my head exactly in the Italian pizzeria La Pineta, located in the town of Torre Grande in Sardinia. It was a super hot day a few steps from the beach, with the road in front of the restaurant damaged by protruding tree roots. There was a queue to enter, and people waiting for a free table practically blocked the entrance. We sat at a table thanks to an earlier reservation. The summer of 2021 was the first open season after the pandemic. In the restaurant, there were no classic paper menus, but there were QR codes on each table that led to a PDF, which I think was uploaded to a free Wix site. I don't remember exactly, but the problem was that the entire menu was in Italian. Torre Grande is not Miami, where there are many tourists. The whole idea was born at the moment when I had difficulty reading the ingredients in Italian. Additionally, we were blocking the table because we were familiarizing ourselves with the menu, which we only received after sitting down. Here is where the light bulb went off above my head. The first thought was to make the menu publicly available in the vicinity of this restaurant via GPS location. So that those waiting already knew what they wanted to order. In Italy, in many restaurants, there is no POS system for billing, so the waiter writes on a piece of paper. Due to the diversity of the world and customs, I knew that integrating with POS systems and notebook systems would be like fighting windmills. I just wanted to shorten the time wasted at a table struggling with a menu in another language and relieve the waitstaff from translating ingredients and describing dishes. Here Menusso was born - an app divided into two parts. Part A is a system for the owner, and Part B is a menu on the phone, available to the restaurant customer. Additionally, a classic problem is, for example, a PDF with such a menu weighing about 6MB on weak internet in roaming. In Menusso, you can also share the Wi-Fi password because often you have to ask the waitstaff who, of course, does not remember the password. The most important assumptions:
Menus are available from every restaurant in this way.
Quick translations of dishes into many languages using AI technology.
No need to touch dirty cards.
Super up-to-date menu - if the fish of the day runs out, the owner removes it from the menu for the rest of the day, and it's available again in the morning.
Clear inclusion of additional information, such as allergens, spiciness, etc.
An important aspect is the lack of need to create QR codes - we completely abandon them. The customer enters and sees the menu immediately via GPS, and the owner can share it only when we are close to the place or open it to the whole world.
The application does not delve into the politics of the place; we do not deal with opinions.
We do not delve into the settlement of the place with the client; we leave this process entirely.
We only help in the waiter-client relationship and speed up the rotation of the table during the working day of the restaurant.
Menusso is an application aimed at facilitating and improving communication between the restaurant and the customer, as well as increasing the satisfaction and loyalty of both parties. Menusso is not just a menu; it's also a way to enhance the culinary experience.
Cezary Ostrowski
Founder & CEO