According to the London Daily Mail, a London restaurant is offering its patrons the option of playing poker to determine the bill on their exquisite three-course meal.
The All-In Kitchen in the Haggerston area of London is the business that is offering this unique method of determining the check. Opening tomorrow and through January 21, customers will be able to choose from a menu that sets the palate off for a foodie. Some of the menu items include King Crab Thermidor and Queen Scallops, lamb chops and different roasts with a rosemary au jus sauce. The average cost of each meal is approximately £50 (approximately $76 U. S.) but, after partaking of the meal, the real fun begins.
By playing three hands of poker, a diner will determine how much they will pay for the dinner they just ingested. After three hands if a player has built their stack to more than 10,000 chips, the dinner will be on the house. If the player still has a stack between 5000 and 10,000 chips after the three hands of play, then the meal will cost a fraction of its usual cost, £5. If the player is under 5000 after those three hands of play, they will have to pay £10, still a bargain compared to its original cost (here’s hoping that the wait staff isn’t well-versed in poker).
If someone wants to eat at the restaurant and bypass the poker, the meal will cost the full £50.
“I love food and never shy away from the (poker) tables when I get a chance,” the founder of Jones & Sons and the operator of the All-In Kitchen, Andy Jones, said to the Daily Mail in coming up with this idea. “Having the opportunity to create a menu that combines two of my favorite things was something I jumped at. (Putting a poker theme) within the dishes was a lot of fun and some of the dishes that hit the cutting room floor were a bit out there, but I can’t wait to see the results and serve up some Aces.”
So who are the masterminds behind this short-lived restaurant? Jones & Sons joined forces with the marketing geniuses at PokerStars, who were looking for an innovative way to promote their tournament schedule for the United Kingdom and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) stop in London that begins on Tuesday. Following its closure on the 21st, PokerStars and Jones & Sons plan to take the poker-themed restaurant to each stop on the UKIPT schedule and offer the same deal to promote not only PokerStars but also the efforts of Jones & Sons themselves.
Normally live poker venues stick pretty close to the norm when they promote their products. It is long known that poker rooms will give comps to their best customers, whether it entails a little cash bonus or something that is more significant, such as free hotel rooms or dining options in the casino. Bad beat jackpots, high hand payouts and other such incentives have also been popular in building a strong clientele for many poker rooms. This seems to be the first time that a poker operation has teamed up with an outside-the-casino operation to push a certain product more into the public eye, however.
Widely known for their innovative promotions with their online product, PokerStars is making an intriguing move in promoting their live product through this manner. If you find yourself in London over the next couple of days and want to not only satisfy your hunger but also get in some poker at the same time, the All-In Kitchen may be just what you’re looking for. For more information or to book your seat at the restaurant, visit the All-In Kitchen’s website (and book your seat quickly…it looks like it is close to selling out).
Nice dip in!