the byte - How We Built an AI-Powered Pop-Up Restaurant

Have you ever imagined a restaurant where everything is powered by AI? The menu, the cocktails, the hosting, the music, and the art? No? Okay, then please click here.

If yes, your dream has already become a reality. We made it happen: Welcome to "the byte" – Germany's (and possibly the world's first) AI-powered pop-up restaurant!

As someone who has been working in data and AI consulting for over ten years and has built statworx and the AI Hub Frankfurt, I have always wanted to explore the possibilities of AI beyond typical business applications. Why? Because AI will influence every aspect of our society, not just the economy. AI will be everywhere – in schools, art and music, design, and culture. Everywhere.

While exploring these broader impacts of AI, I met Jonathan Speier and James Ardinast from S-O-U-P, two like-minded entrepreneurs from Frankfurt who are thinking about how technology will shape cities and our society.

S-O-U-P is their initiative, operating at the intersection of culture, urban life, and lifestyle. With their annual S-O-U-P Urban Festival, they bring together creatives, businesses, gastronomy, and people from Frankfurt and beyond.

As Jonathan and I discussed AI and its impact on society and culture, we quickly came up with the idea of an AI-generated menu for a restaurant. Fortunately, James, Jonathan’s co-founder of S-O-U-P, is a successful gastronomy entrepreneur from Frankfurt. The puzzle pieces started to fall into place. After another meeting with James at one of his restaurants (and a few drinks), we decided to launch Germany’s first AI-powered pop-up restaurant: the byte!

the byte: Our Concept

We envisioned the byte as an immersive experience, integrating AI into as many elements of the experience as possible. Everything—from the menu to the cocktails, music, branding, and the art on the walls—was truly AI-generated. The integration of AI into all these components was also a very different challenge for me compared to my usual work of helping businesses with their data and AI challenges.

Branding

Before creating the menu, we developed the visual identity of our project. We chose a "Lo-Fi" approach, using a pixelated font combined with AI-generated visuals of plates and dishes. Our main motif, a neon-lit white plate, was created with DALL-E 2 and featured in all our marketing materials.

Location

We hosted the byte at one of the coolest restaurant event locations in Frankfurt: Stanley. Stanley is a restaurant with about 60 seats and a fully equipped bar inside—perfect for our AI-generated cocktails. The atmosphere is dark and cozy, featuring dark marble panels on the walls, white table runners, and a large red window that offers a view into the kitchen.

The Menu

The heart of our concept was a 5-course menu, designed with the goal of elevating classical Frankfurter cuisine by incorporating the multicultural and diverse influences of Frankfurt (for those familiar with Frankfurter cuisine, you’ll know this was no easy task).

With the help of GPT-4 and a bit of "prompt engineering" magic, we created a menu that was tested by the experienced kitchen crew at Stanley (huge thanks for their amazing work!) and then refined into its final version. Below is the prompt we used to generate the menu selection:

"Create a 5-course menu that elevates the classical Frankfurter kitchen. The menu must be a fusion of classical Frankfurter cuisine combined with the multicultural influences of Frankfurt. Describe each course, its ingredients as well as a detailed description of each dish's presentation."

To my surprise, only minor adjustments to the recipes were needed, although some of the AI-generated creations were quite adventurous! Here is our final menu:

• Handkäs mousse with pickled red beets on toasted sourdough bread
• "Next Level" Grüne Soße (with cilantro and mint) served with a fried panko-crusted egg
• Creamy white asparagus soup with coconut milk and pan-seared curry fish
• Currywurst (beef & vegan) by Best Worscht in Town with carrot-ginger purée and pine nuts
• Frankfurter cheesecake with Äppler jelly, apple foam, and oat-pecan crumble

My clear favorite was the "Next Level" Grüne Soße, an oriental twist on the classic Frankfurter 7-herb green sauce, paired with the breaded panko-crusted egg. Delicious!

Here you can see the menu in action 🍲

AI Cocktails

In addition to the menu, we instructed GPT to create recipes for famous cocktail classics that fit our Frankfurt fusion theme. Here are the results:

• Frankfurt Spritz (Frankfurter Äbbelwoi, mint, sparkling water)
• Frankfurt Mule (a variation of a Moscow Mule with Calvados)
• The Main (a variation of a Swimming Pool cocktail)

My favorite was the Frankfurt Spritz - refreshing, herbal, and absolutely delicious (see image below).

AI Host: Ambrosia, the Culinary AI

An essential part of our concept was "Ambrosia", an AI-generated host that guided our guests through the evening, explaining the concept and the creation of the menu. It was important to us to make AI a tangible experience for our guests. We hired a professional scriptwriter for the dialogue and used murf.ai to generate text-to-speech elements, which were played at the beginning of the dinner and between courses.

Hier Audio einfügen

‍Note: Ambrosia speaks from second 0:15.

AI Music

Music plays a crucial role in setting the atmosphere of an event. That’s why we chose mubert, a generative AI startup that allowed us to create and stream music in various genres, such as "Minimal House", ensuring a progressive ambiance throughout the evening. After the main course, a DJ took over and guided our guests through the night. 💃🍸

AI Art

Throughout the restaurant, we displayed AI-generated artworks by local AI artist Vladimir Alexeev (a.k.a. "Merzmensch"). Here are some examples:

AI Playground

As an interactive element for guests, we created a small web app that takes a person’s first name and transforms it into a dish, including an explanation of why that name perfectly matches the dish. Feel free to try it yourself here: Playground

Launch

the byte was officially announced at the S-O-U-P Festival press conference in early May 2023. We also launched additional marketing activities through social media and our network of friends and family. As a result, the byte was fully booked for three days, and we received extensive media coverage in various gastronomy magazines and the daily press. Guests were (mostly) thrilled with our AI creations, and we even received inquiries from other European restaurants and companies wanting to book the byte exclusively as an experience for their employees. 🤩 Nailed it!

Conclusion and Next Steps

Creating the byte together with Jonathan and James was an outstanding experience. It further reinforced my belief that AI will not only transform our economy but every aspect of daily life. There is immense potential at the intersection of creativity, culture, and AI, and we are only beginning to tap into it.

We definitely want to continue the byte in Frankfurt and have already received inquiries from other cities in Europe. Additionally, James, Jonathan, and I are already exploring new ways to integrate AI into culture and society. Stay tuned! 😏

the byte was not just a restaurant—it was an immersive experience. We wanted to create something that had never been done before, and we achieved that in just eight weeks. That is the inspiration I want to leave you with today:

Trying new things that push you out of your comfort zone is the ultimate source of growth. You never know what you are capable of until you try. So go out and experiment with something new—maybe even build an AI-powered pop-up restaurant. Who knows? You might just surprise yourself. Bon appétit!

Impressions

Media

• FAZ: https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/pop-up-resturant-the-byte-wenn-chatgpt-das-menue-schreibt-18906154.html‍
• ‍Genuss Magazin: https://www.genussmagazin-frankfurt.de/gastro_news/Kuechengefluester-26/Interview-James-Ardinast-KI-ist-die-Zukunft-40784.html‍
• ‍Frankfurt Tipp: https://www.frankfurt-tipp.de/ffm-aktuell/s/ugc/deutschlands-erstes-ai-restaurant-the-byte-in-frankfurt.html‍
• ‍Foodservice: https://www.food-service.de/maerkte/news/the-byte-erstes-ki-restaurant-vor-dem-start-55899?crefresh=1