Temperature checks, disposable menus and private IGLOOS for every diner: The extraordinary lengths restaurants are going to as they protect their customers from COVID-19
- Igloo tents to help with social distancing are now at Melbourne and Sydney bars
- Social distancing requires people to be 1.5 metres apart at any given time
- Rashays restaurant chain has brought in transparent barriers to separate diners
- Restaurants have scrapped menus in favour of disposable or digital versions
- Businesses can also check the temperature of customers to filter out sick people
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Restaurants are going to extreme lengths to make customers feel safe from COVID-19 and get bums on seats.
The Auburn Hotel in Melbourne and Cargo Bar in Sydney both offer the option to dine inside of transparent igloos to ensure social distancing is adhered to.
National social distancing guidelines advise people to stay 1.5 metres apart.
All states require diners to each get four square metres of space in an establishment, except for WA, which has a two-square-metre rule.
Australian restaurants have also introduced disposable menus to minimise contact between diners and temperature checks to filter out sick people.
Igloo tents made of transparent plastic are being used at the Auburn Hotel in Melbourne (pictured) and Cargo Bar in Sydney to ensure social distancing is adhered to
An igloo garden made up of transparent plastic tents has been set up at the Auburn Hotel in Melbourne's Hawthorn East.
Up to six diners pay $59 each for a three-course meal and drink inside of an igloo.
Manager Heather Robinson said the restaurant was committed to keeping customers safe and had scrapped physical menus in favour of one on their website.
'The QR code gets picked up by the phone camera, which directs you to a link with our food and beverages. And the order can be placed from the phone and the customer gets the products delivered to the table,' Ms Robinson told A Current Affair.
Cargo Bar in Sydney's Darling Harbour also has an igloo garden to assist with post-lockdown dining.
'We’re taking post-iso dining up a level! Cosy up while you enjoy harbourside drinks & eats from the comfort of your own private igloo!' Cargo Bar wrote on Instagram.
At Cargo Bar, up to eight diners can pack into a tent for $59 each, which includes two hours of house beer or wine and a 'bespoke igloo menu'.
Auburn Hotel manager Heather Robinson (centre) serves two diners in an igloo tent
Diners at Rashays restaurant chain are separated by transparent modular barriers called Guest Guards to stop the spread of COVID-19
Similarly, Rashays restaurant chain, which has 30 locations in NSW, Queensland and the ACT, has introduced transparent Guest Guards to create barriers between tables.
Rashays Founder Rami Ykmour said they have 'gone above and beyond' by introducing the modular barriers.
'We're putting dividers that are made modular between every table. To give that customer that extra bit of security and it's just a good way to seperate our diners,' Mr Ykmour told A Current Affair.
Sugarcane Restaurant in the beachside Sydney suburb of Coogee has scrapped reusable menus to stop germs from spreading between diners.
Diners now get a single-use paper menu, which is thrown away after their meal.
Many restaurants, such as North Bondi RSL, check the temperature of potential customers before letting them in to filter out any sick people.
Tough anti-COVID measures in restaurants come after restrictions in states across the country eased to allow many businesses to reopen.
Rashays Founder Rami Ykmour said they have 'gone above and beyond' by introducing the modular barriers (pictured)
Diners using single-use paper menus at Sugarcane restaurant in the beachside Sydney suburb of Coogee
In NSW, up to 50 people can dine at a restaurant provided their is four square metres per person with a maximum of 10 diners per booking.
Victoria only allows up to 20 diners with four square metres each and 1.5 metres between tables - but this is set to increase to 50 people on June 22.
Up to 20 diners can eat a restaurant in metropolitan Queensland while up 50 can do so in rural areas. From July 10, 100 people will be able to dine in.
In WA, up to 100 people can dine at a restaurant. Unlike other states, diners are required to have two square metres of space, rather than four.
South Australia allows up to 80 diners split into groups of 20 in seperate areas with four square metres each.
Tasmania only allows for 20 diners abiding by the four-square-metre rule, which will increase to 80 on June 17.
Likewise, the ACT has a 20-diner limit , which will increase to 100 on June 19.
In the NT, restaurants can take as many diners as they want provided the premises is big enough for four square metres per diner.
A North Bondi RSL worker checks a customers temperature before allowing them to dine inside
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