It's comparatively more difficult to pitch usability.
"Customer has expressed an interest in having his (pet, small child)in the spot."
Bad taste is universal.
I agree. The design of the menus at these sorts of places gives it away. I'd rather have some jumbled, but useful, menu like they have at Jerry's or the typical diner than the over-designed moody nonsense they have at these modern "fancy" places.
> Owners never visit their own websites after the initial presentation by the web designers because they don't need to.
However, the design firm pitches to the owner, not to the customers. And thus the website is designed to please them, rather than actually being useful for potential customers.
This phenomenon is made worse by the fact that patronage due to the website is difficult for most restaurants to quantify. The vast majority of restaurants are completely clueless as to how much business their websites are responsible for, which, as with most things unmeasured, leads to neglect and disrespect.
If more restaurants integrated aspects such as table reservations or mailing lists more restaurant owners may come to a greater respect for the importance of getting their web presence right.