Discounts for Diners Who Leave Their Phone at the Door

Customers who can resist checking messages between bites get 10% off

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Smartphones have evolved into an extra utensil at the table. The once-cliched disruption of talking on the phone at the dinner table has faded into a pre-wireless past, as texting, tweeting and posting filtered photos of food as it arrives on the table have all become the norm.

Fighting that trend is Lebanon’s Bedivere Eatery & Tavern, which is gaining internet buzz via Reddit for its policy of granting 10 percent off to customers who are willing to surrender their cell phones during their meal. Bedivere’s policy reflects the sentiment at many restaurants worldwide that are vexed by seeing customers disrupt a dining experience with their phone. Los Angeles restaurants like Italian eatery Bucato banned all cell phone use when it opened this summer, while last year another L.A. restaurant Eva offered 5 percent off for a phone-free meal.

MORE: Finally, A Tablecloth Pocket For Your Cellphone