A Restaurant Says Yes to Crypto and No To Visa

Sead Fadilpašić
Last updated: | 1 min read

Recently, a photo surfaced on the social network Reddit, showing the door to a restaurant in which, markedly, several different cryptocurrencies are accepted.

The restaurant in question is the La Sirène in Manhattan, a French restaurant at the corner of Amsterdam Ave and 80th St, opened by chef Didier Pawlicki.

Here, patrons will find that they can pay with cash, check, American Express and the cryptocurrency, but not the more traditional plastic options like Visa and Mastercard.

Responding to the messages in a blog post about the restaurant, one person has written: “They take Bitcoin, but not the Visa? For what visitors do they hope?” The answer to this was: “Bitcoin, but only not ‘ordinary’ credit cards (Visa, MasterCard). We want to attract crowd of Amеx (business travelers, business people). It is a step to the future.”

In August 2016, another restaurant started accepting crypto: self-described as “an eclectic, casual restaurant” called Street, it is based in New Hampshire and serves a global menu supposed to satisfy “both hunger and wanderlust.”

The Reddit community is happy that the adoption of cryptocurrency is gaining momentum, although many are disappointed their altcoin of choice isn’t included: comments such as “no Dogecoin?!”, “Needs more XRB” and “There is a distinct lack of Garlicoin there” abound. Not to be taken too seriously, however: the community is well-known for its quips filled to brimming with irony and sarcasm.