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Put your phone away and tuck in

In Sardinia, a group of restaurants has barred families from using smartphones at the table in an attempt to get them to talk to each other and connect.

Could this strategy work where all previous attempts — such as asking diners to surrender their phones before entering the premises — have failed?

2 min read Oct 30, 2026 06:15 AM IST First published on: Oct 30, 2026 at 06:15 AM IST

In his book of manners, Urbanus Magnus, the 13th-century English courtier Daniel of Beccles wrote: “One can have a meal without a table, but not without a tablecloth.” In the 21st century, one might say that it is not possible to have a meal without a smartphone — or so it would seem by the number of diners who seem loath to look up from their screens.

In the early years of the smartphone, several restaurants tried to ban the device, in order to discourage customers from taking photos of their food and disrupting the experience for others.…