A restaurant in Los Angeles, California that offers modern American fare with “classic French technique and a touch of Japanese flavor” has decided that enough is enough when it comes to smartphone obsession.

Tired of seeing everyone in the dining room buried in their iPhones, Eva Restaurant decided to give patrons a choice: Ditch the phone for the entire duration of the meal, and we’ll give you 5% off your check.

Apparently, executive chef Mark Gold thought up the idea after having a conversation about just how terrible it is that people are always on their phones. That’s a conversation that I’m sure he’s not alone in having – it does seems like the circumstances fail to matter. Twitter needs to be checked, reddit needs to be browsed, email needs to be responded to, and Instagram photos need to be taken.

Ok, Instagram photos of your food don’t need to be taken, but you know what I mean.

People are pretty protective of their devices, so how are they responding to the new offer?

“They actually get really enthusiastic about it,” Gold says. “I think people generally like the idea of being able to turn off their cell phones. They just haven’t been given the opportunity to or thought about it.”

I’d do it. I mean, I don’t really have a habit of using my iPhone during dinner anyway (my wife tells me I’m being rude). A nice face-to-face conversation of dinner is one of the simple pleasures in life. I’ll just have to remember to check into Foursquare before I walk through the door.

[via CNNMoney]