( Mashable ) -- As the mainstream tablet war rages , a similar device battle is heating up in the restaurant industry . Tablets that take orders , entertain guests and accept check payments are coming to a table near you . One company that is selling those tablets , E la Carte , announced on Tuesday that it has raised more than $ 1 million in funding from prominent investors like Y Combinator , Dave McClure and SV Angel . The company will soon be launching tablets in 20 restaurants on the West coast . It also has a partnership with a large restaurant chain in the pipeline that has n't been announced yet -- but the fact that Applebee 's executives participated in the funding round might provide a hint . Why the interest in providing every table with their own touch-screen tablet ? For starters , people buy more food when they can do so instantly , without waiting for service . In the six restaurants that ran a pilot scheme , according to CEO Rajat Suri , customers at E la Carte tables spent 10 % to 12 % more than those at other tables . E la Carte tablets allow customers to browse a full menu and communicate their orders directly to the kitchen . They come loaded with social games and a calculator for check splits and tips . They also allow customers to email themselves a receipt or instantly sign up for a loyalty club . In high-end restaurants , the tablet can suggest an appropriate wine pairing for a meal . Eventually , E la Carte might offer restaurants the option to compile data about their customers ' preferences as they use the device . Some restaurants have attempted similar functionality by loading their menus onto iPads or asking customers to download an app onto their own devices . The iPad 's problem in this situation : its minimum $ 499 price tag . Restaurants that can afford menus that expensive are n't casual restaurants , like Applebee 's , where a digital ordering system seems more appropriate . Asking users to download an app like Storific poses the problem that not everybody carries a smartphone . Even those who do might not want to pause and download an app as they sit down to lunch . A dedicated device , which E la Carte plans to install for a price that is `` significantly lower '' than the iPad , seems to be a more promising way for the tech world to break into the $ 6 billion U.S. restaurant industry . Other companies are already in this game . Tabletop Media makes a similar tabletop product that it began to deploy in 2008 . The company has established customers with chains like Chili 's Uno 's Chicago Grill , and California Pizza Kitchen and will be in 250 stores by the end of the summer . Both E la Carte and Tabletop Media charge the restaurants a monthly fee to use a network of devices . `` It 's propelling the restaurant industry into the Internet age , '' Suri says . © 2010 MASHABLE.com . All rights reserved .
E la Mode tablets allow customers to browse a full menu and interact with the chef . The company will soon be launching apps in 20 restaurants on the West coast . They come equipped with social games and a website for food splits and tips .