A Richmond restaurant has been causing stir among its clientele after taking a chance on two local businessmen to pilot a unique new diner-friendly phone application.

Customers at Don Fernando’s, in the Quadrant, have had the opportunity to trial a new invention from technology company Delos, which enables them to pay for their meals by phone.

Felipe Izquierdo, 39, a partner in the family-run Spanish restaurant, said customers had enjoyed trialling the new technology.

He added: “From my point of view I just thought it was a winner from the beginning.

“Really it is a good collaboration between us and I think it is like everything, it is the way forward.

“People are doing so much on this it is a little bit like 40 years ago, when they first brought out credit cards – my dad had a restaurant back in those days and he probably thought ‘this will never catch on’.

To be the first people to do it has quite a nice kudos.”

The Delos payment system, brainchild of John Caine, 66, of Chiswick, and Luis Lancos, 42, of Kingston, allows customers to request their bill and pay for it on their mobile through Paypal. It means the customer does not have to wait for a waiter to come to their table.

Mr Caine, of Camden Terrace, said: “It was myself and a chap called Luis Lancos that came up with the idea. I just suggested to him if this were possible and we did it.

“All customers have to do is download a free application and, when you download it in this instance you need a Paypal account but in the future you won’t, and then you simply need your phone and don’t even need a waiter to come to your table. You just download your bill and if you agree with it pay it and if not reject it and the waiter comes to ask what’s wrong.”

Computer expert Mr Lancos said the new application, which has been three years in the making, resulted from a discussion about different payment methods.

He said: “The best thing in the world is to dream, to design and to see something become a reality.

“I think women do this and the reason why men need so much to create projects and build things is because women create life and we cannot, so we have to create something.”