A restaurant in Spain is currently pioneering a new type of dining experience that gives customers the chance to avoid plenty of face-to-face contact with the staff of the restaurant, hence minimising the risk of coronavirus infections.

Funky Pizza, a restaurant in Palafrugell on the Costa Brava, is very popular with tourists, being on Spain’s northeastern part of the country’s Mediterreanean coast.

The app allows customers to see the menu, order, as well as pay through the ‘Funky Pay’ app on their phones, with this being the first time that an app which is purposely-designed to allow customers to order their food in restaurants in Spain.

The only form of interaction is the waiter bringing the order to the table.

Restaurant owner Carlos Manich stated that this system was created so that they “keep physical distance with out clients, which is what people are looking for during COVID”.

The restaurant’s staff manage the orders from screen behind the bar, in order to ensure that there is not a clutter of orders.

It has also adapted to social distancing laws, serving customers only at their tables, and the customers must wear a face mask when they stand up from their tables.

Claudia Medina, a 26-year-old customer at the restaurant, claimed that the application “is very user-friendly” and that it allows you to “track your order and see when it is in the kitchen or when it will be arriving”.

On the other hand, another customer, Javier Comas, 26-years-old as well, said that the application removes the feeling of a true dining experience, giving the example that “when you order you can’t ask about different preferences or quantities”.

Spain has seen a resurgence in infections of COVID-19, particularly in the Catalonia region, which has led to the possibility of a mandatory lockdown within the region.