Overview
PlateMate is an AI-powered digital menu platform designed to help diners make confident food choices while enabling restaurants to deliver engaging, modern menu experiences. By combining intelligent recommendations, real customer reviews, and rich media, PlateMate replaces static menus with interactive, personalized journeys.
Outcome: A fast, scalable, and visually rich platform that improves decision-making, engagement, and guest satisfaction
The Problem
Traditional digital menus leave diners with unanswered questions:
- What does the dish actually look like?
- Is it popular or well-reviewed?
- Will it suit my taste or dietary preferences?
For restaurants, presenting menus in a modern, informative, and scalable way—without sacrificing performance—remains a significant challenge.
Our Solution
PlateMate delivers a smart, AI-driven menu experience that adapts to user preferences and restaurant context:
Smart Dish Insights
Detailed dish information including ingredients, pricing, and contextual insights helps diners make informed choices quickly.
Reviews Aggregation
Customer reviews and photos are aggregated into a unified view, building trust and reducing decision uncertainty.
AI-Powered Smart Pairing
Personalized dish recommendations based on preferences, dietary needs, and flavor profiles enhance the dining experience.
AI Chat Support
An intelligent assistant allows guests to ask natural questions about menu items, recommendations, and ingredients in real time.
Media Showcase
High-quality images and videos enable diners to visually explore dishes before ordering, increasing engagement and satisfaction.
Technical Implementation
PlateMate was built using a modern, performance-focused stack:
Frontend
- Framework: Nuxt 3 (Vue 3, Composition API)
- Styling: Tailwind CSS
- State Management: Pinia
- Routing: Dynamic routing for multi-restaurant support
- Tooling: Vite, TypeScript
Backend
- API Services: Node.js-based RESTful APIs
- Authentication: Token-based security
- AI Services: Backend-driven AI logic for recommendations
- Media Handling: Cloud-based storage and delivery
- Architecture: Multi-tenant supporting multiple restaurants
- Security: Role-based access control
Design & UX Approach
The platform prioritizes clarity and ease of use:
- Clean, minimal layouts focused on food content
- Mobile-first design optimized for in-restaurant usage
- Clear visual hierarchy for dish details and actions
- Subtle animations to guide attention without distraction
- Consistent interaction patterns across the platform
Performance Optimization
Performance was treated as a core product feature:
- Optimized image delivery for faster load times
- Lazy loading of non-critical content
- Reduced render-blocking resources
- Stable layouts to prevent content shifting
- Strong Core Web Vitals and Lighthouse scores
Results & Impact
PlateMate successfully launched with measurable improvements:
- Improved guest engagement through interactive features
- Faster decision-making with AI-powered recommendations
- Consistent experience across all devices
- Strong Core Web Vitals ensuring fast performance
- Scalable foundation for onboarding new restaurants
Key Learnings
Building PlateMate reinforced several important principles:
- Performance is a critical UX feature, not an afterthought
- AI works best when it simplifies user decisions, not complicates them
- Visual clarity drives trust in food-related products
- Scalable design patterns reduce long-term complexity
PlateMate demonstrates how AI intelligence, thoughtful UX design, and performance-first engineering can transform the digital menu experience for both diners and restaurants.