With social distancing becoming daily routine for people here in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, fancy restaurants are turning to drive-thru services, according to industry sources Tuesday.

Samwon Garden, a decades-old local Korean food restaurant established in 1976, said it started a “driving pickup” service from Friday, in which customers can pick up meals ordered in advance from their cars.

The restaurant offers discounts for all customers, selling short ribs menu items at 20 percent lowered prices and other dishes at 10 percent off. The service is available from noon to 9 p.m., it said.

Lotte Hotel Seoul has also introduced the Drive-thru Signature Box for its Japanese dining spot Momoyama and Delica Hans, a bread and pastry boutique, where customers can preorder and pick up their food in the car. Momoyama presented two dishes for the packed meal, each consisting of grilled fish and lobster. 

Delica Hans offers two types of packed Signature Select meals, with lamb ribs and lobster made from the hotel’s La Seine buffet.

Meanwhile, Starbucks Korea said the number of users registering for the My DT Pass -- that allows users to purchase drinks and food on the app using a preregistered payment method -- has surged, recording an increase of 107 percent compared to last year in March.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)