Pizza Restaurant Launches Spain's First Virtual Waiter App

A pizza restaurant launches Spain's first virtual waiter app. (Reuters)
A pizza restaurant launches Spain's first virtual waiter app. (Reuters)
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Pizza Restaurant Launches Spain's First Virtual Waiter App

A pizza restaurant launches Spain's first virtual waiter app. (Reuters)
A pizza restaurant launches Spain's first virtual waiter app. (Reuters)

A restaurant on Spain’s northeastern Mediterranean coast is pioneering a dining experience that allows customers to avoid most face-to-face contact with staff and minimize the risk of coronavirus contagion.

Customers at Funky Pizza, in Palafrugell on the Costa Brava popular with tourists, can browse the menu, order and pay via the “Funky Pay” app on their phones - the first time a purpose-designed app has been integrated into a restaurant’s ordering system in Spain.

A waiter does bring the order to the table.

“Through this system we have tried to keep physical distance with our clients, which is what people are looking for during COVID,” said restaurant owner Carlos Manich.

Staff manage the orders from screens behind the bar.

The restaurant has had to adapt to social distancing rules by becoming table service only and reminding customers on entry they must wear face masks at all times when not at their tables.

“The application is very user-friendly ... and you can also track your order and see when it is in the kitchen or when it will be arriving,” said Claudia Medina, 26, eating at the restaurant.

But some customers disagreed. “I think we lose the feeling with the waiter, for example when you order you can’t ask about different preferences or quantities,” said customer Javier Comas, 26.



Microsoft Lays Out Data Protection Plans for European Cloud Customers

Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is pictured onstage during the Microsoft Build conference opening keynote in Seattle, Washington on May 19, 2025. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP)
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is pictured onstage during the Microsoft Build conference opening keynote in Seattle, Washington on May 19, 2025. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP)
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Microsoft Lays Out Data Protection Plans for European Cloud Customers

Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is pictured onstage during the Microsoft Build conference opening keynote in Seattle, Washington on May 19, 2025. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP)
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is pictured onstage during the Microsoft Build conference opening keynote in Seattle, Washington on May 19, 2025. (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP)

Microsoft on Monday said data stored by its European cloud customers would stay in Europe, under European Law, with operations controlled by its local personnel, and under full control of customers.

European companies and governments have been increasingly worrying about their data being moved outside the continent into the hands of other countries such as the US, pushing the American companies such as Microsoft to announce safeguards.

Microsoft in April laid out plans to protect user data as it expands its cloud and AI infrastructure in Europe, including respecting European laws seeking to rein in the power of large technology companies.

On Monday, the company said all remote access by Microsoft engineers to the systems that store and process European data would be approved and monitored by European resident personnel in real-time.

Microsoft said its sovereign private cloud is in preview mode currently and will be generally available later this year.