Patrons under plastic: Restaurants get creative in virus era: France

 Dining at a table where each person is enclosed by a clear plastic shield might look and sound futuristic, but it could be one way for some restaurants to reopen. It also might help out if your companion orders escargots, heavy on garlic.

proto plastic shields are kwn as “Plex'eat,” and y resemble big clear lampshes suspended from ceiling. y are being showcased temporarily at H.A.N.D., a Parisian restaurant seeking a way to reopen its dining room as coronavirus restrictions are relaxed.

As restaurateurs around world seek to resume in-person dining amid pandemic, y want to here to social distancing rules while also trying to serve as many customers as health and safety measures will allow.

Some are putting mannequins at every or table to put some between actual customers, like at Augustas and Barbora, a restaurant in Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. Some of its faux diners are dressed casually, while ors look as though y are at a ball. clos showcase work of local fashion designers.

“We want to fill with fun things,” said owner Patrikas Ribas.

Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Simasius called initiative a “perfect match of communal spirit and creativity working side by side.”

In Hofheim, Germany, Beef’n Beer is using large teddy bears seated at some tables to keep diners properly d apart. y also ensure a cozy, less-sterile atmosphere.

At Amsterdam's Mediamatic restaurant, owners have erected small glass houses that surround each table, served by waiters in protective shields.

While many restaurants offered take-out and delivery during health crisis to keep generating at least some income, such practices are less common in France, although Michelin starred chefs such as Alain Ducasse have started doing take-out service.

Owners are seeking solutions that will coax back customers while also easing ir anxiety about catching virus.

Mathieu Manzoni, director of H.A.N.D, said he thinks plastic shields are a “pretty, more poetic” solution for restaurateurs who fear that social distancing could cut ir capacity by half or more.

“re is a bit of a panic,” Manzoni said.

Makers of Plex’eat say y have received more than 200 preorders around world, including from France, U.S. and Japan.

Designer Christophe Gernigon said he got idea after visiting a store in Bangkok “with three individual domes with chairs where people would sit and listen to music.”

He merged idea with large face shields that have proliferated since pandemic began, although re is filtration system to keep any viruses from spreing.

Being French, re's a version for more intimate dining, of course: a dome that cocoons its occupants in romantic isolation from rest of room.

Among or revamped restaurants across Europe:

— At El Salamanca, a Barcelona beachfront restaurant kwn for paella, menus are gone and customers use ir smart phones to scan a QR code to consult what is on offer.

— Greek restaurants are using salt and pepper sachets inside of shakers, and menus are eir thrown away after each meal or are laminated and wiped down regularly. Many waiters have face shields. Some tavernas have staff in matching face masks.

— In Russian city of Nizhny vgorod, a restaurant on banks of Volga and Oka rivers has set up 20 plastic huts for couples. It is awaiting approval from authorities to open if it meets safety standards.

— Italian restaurants are using contact tracing. Diners are supposed to reserve tables ahe of time and owners are keeping ir contact information: If someone subsequently reports testing positive, restaurant can quickly identify and contact those who ate re at same time.

Some coffee bars in central Rome also are attaching stylish arched glass partitions to divide tabletops down middle.