Restaurants Grapple with Influencer Culture and Phone Policies

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Restaurants are increasingly implementing policies to limit phone use and social media activity in their establishments, arguing that devices distract from the dining experience and undermine the ritual of sharing a meal. While some venues have outright bans on phones, others curate norms around photography, livestreaming, and other disruptive behaviors to preserve a sense of privacy, ambiance, and genuine human connection.

Why it matters

The rise of influencer culture and constant digital documentation has spilled over into dining rooms, with some restaurants feeling that phones and social media are eroding the shared experience of a meal. By implementing phone policies, venues are making a statement about the kind of social environment they want to cultivate - one focused on presence, conversation, and culinary immersion rather than perpetual content creation.

The details

Restaurants are taking a spectrum of approaches to address the "influencer problem." Some, like London's French House, have long-standing bans on phones, music, and TVs to preserve a haven for conversation. Others, like New York's Eulalie, invite guests to tuck away their devices as a nod to old-fashioned values. Meanwhile, venues like The Spy Bar at The OWO in London lean into privacy with playful reminders to keep phones out of sight. The common thread is a belief that certain social spaces deserve to be unfiltered by the camera lens of the outside world.

• In 2015, Berlin's Nobelhart & Schmutzig adopted a photo ban, influenced by club culture's ethos of escaping the external world.
• Gaggan Anand's Bangkok restaurant plans to implement a total phone ban, arguing that removing screens will awaken all senses and reframe the dining journey as a memory-making, not a footprint-making, enterprise.

What they’re saying

What’s next

As more restaurants experiment with phone policies, it will be interesting to see how customers respond and whether certain approaches become more widely adopted within the industry.