🌊 The Lighthouse | Full-Stack Fine Dining Restaurant App

A premium MERN stack restaurant web application solving a real problem in modern food apps — the "Black Box Menu" problem.

Built with MongoDB, Express, React (Vite), and Node.js. Features a live menu availability engine, persistent dietary profiles, a smart reservation wizard with in-booking menu preview, and an admin dashboard — all wrapped in an elegant dark luxury UI.

🏆 Officially part of GirlScript Summer of Code 2026 (GSSoC'26)

🎯 The Problem We Solve

Most restaurant websites and food apps share the same flaw — the "Black Box Menu" problem:

Guests book a table with zero context about what's actually available that day. They see static dish names but have no idea which items are sold out, seasonal, or unavailable — until they arrive.

This leads to:

No-shows when guests find their expected dish unavailable
Restaurants unable to update menus dynamically without code changes
Diners with dietary needs having to call ahead with basic questions
Zero personalization — everyone sees the same menu regardless of context

💡 The Lighthouse's Solution

Problem	Solution
Static menus	Live Menu Engine — `isAvailable` flag per dish, toggled by admin in real-time
Dietary filter resets	Dietary Profile — saved to user account, auto-applies on every visit
No pre-booking menu insight	Reservation Menu Preview — Step 3 of the booking wizard shows tonight's available dishes
Requires dev to update menu	Admin Dashboard — toggle dishes, add items, moderate reviews — no code needed

✨ Features

🗄️ Live Menu Engine

All 18+ dishes stored in MongoDB with a live isAvailable boolean
Admins toggle availability from the dashboard — changes reflect instantly for all users
Public menu only shows available dishes; admins see all with sold-out indicators
GET /api/menu/tonight returns dishes relevant to the current time of day

🥗 Persistent Dietary Profiles

Users set their dietary preference (Vegetarian / Non-Vegetarian / All) on signup
Allergen alerts stored per user (gluten, dairy, nuts, eggs, soy, shellfish, fish)
Menu auto-filters on every visit based on the saved profile — no re-selecting needed
Profile updatable anytime via PATCH /api/auth/me/dietary

📅 Smart Reservation Wizard (4 steps)

Date & Guests — pick date, validate against real table availability
Time Slot — live slots from API showing tables remaining per slot
Tonight's Menu Preview — see exactly what's available before confirming ← the differentiator
Confirm — special requests, email confirmation

🎨 Premium UI & Design

Elegant dark luxury theme (#1a1714 bg, #c9a962 gold accents)
Fonts: Cormorant Garamond (headings) + Inter (body)
Glassmorphism sticky navbar, parallax hero, scroll animations
Fully responsive — mobile hamburger menu, fluid grid layouts

🔐 Authentication & Roles

JWT-based auth with protect and authorize middleware
Three roles: user, staff, admin
Admin-only routes for menu management and review moderation
Tokens stored securely with auto-redirect on expiry

🛡️ Admin Dashboard

Live stats — total dishes, available now, sold out, reviews count
Toggle any dish available/sold-out with a single switch
Add new menu items with full schema (category, tags, allergens, prep time)
Moderate guest reviews — view and delete

⭐ Persistent Reviews

Reviews stored in MongoDB (replaces the original localStorage approach)
Authenticated users only can post reviews
Displayed on the Home page, fetched live from API

🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend

Technology	Purpose
Node.js	Runtime
Express.js	REST API framework
MongoDB	Database
Mongoose	ODM — schemas, validation, indexes
JSON Web Token	Authentication
bcryptjs	Password hashing
Nodemailer	Reservation confirmation emails
Helmet + CORS	Security middleware

Frontend

Technology	Purpose
React 19	UI framework
Vite	Build tool & dev server
React Router v7	Client-side routing
Axios	HTTP client with JWT interceptor
React Context	Auth + Menu global state
Vanilla CSS	Design system (CSS variables)

📐 System Architecture

The Lighthouse is built on a decoupled MERN architecture comprising a React 19 SPA (/frontend), an Express REST API (/backend), and a legacy static client at the root.

Key architectural features include:

Live Menu Availability Engine: Real-time dish availability toggling and dynamic time-of-day menu filtering.
Double-Booking Protection: Database-level Mongoose partial unique index on { table: 1, date: 1, time: 1 } for confirmed reservations.
Security & Validation: JWT authentication, sliding-window rate limiting, and real-time DNS MX email domain verification.

📖 For complete subsystem topology diagrams, sequence flows, database schema constraints, and contributor extension guidelines, see the full Architecture Documentation.

📂 Project Structure

The-Lighthouse/
│
├── backend/                          ← Express + MongoDB API
│   ├── .env.example                  ← Copy to .env and fill in values
│   ├── .gitignore
│   ├── package.json
│   ├── server.js                     ← App entry, routes, CORS
│   └── src/
│       ├── config/
│       │   ├── database.js           ← MongoDB connection
│       │   └── seed.js               ← Seeds 18 menu items, tables, users
│       ├── controllers/
│       │   ├── authController.js     ← Register, login, dietary profile
│       │   ├── menuController.js     ← CRUD + live toggle + tonight's menu
│       │   ├── reservationController.js
│       │   └── reviewController.js
│       ├── middleware/
│       │   ├── auth.js               ← JWT protect + authorize(role)
│       │   └── validation.js
│       ├── models/
│       │   ├── MenuItem.js           ← Live menu (isAvailable flag)
│       │   ├── Reservation.js
│       │   ├── Review.js             ← Persistent reviews
│       │   ├── Table.js
│       │   └── User.js               ← + dietaryPreference, allergenAlerts
│       ├── routes/
│       │   ├── authRoutes.js
│       │   ├── menuRoutes.js
│       │   ├── reservationRoutes.js
│       │   └── reviewRoutes.js
│       └── services/
│           ├── availabilityService.js
│           └── emailService.js
│
├── frontend/                         ← React + Vite SPA
│   ├── .gitignore
│   ├── index.html
│   ├── vite.config.js                ← Dev proxy → localhost:5000
│   ├── package.json
│   └── src/
│       ├── api/
│       │   ├── client.js             ← Axios + JWT interceptor
│       │   ├── authApi.js
│       │   ├── menuApi.js
│       │   ├── reservationApi.js
│       │   └── reviewApi.js
│       ├── context/
│       │   ├── AuthContext.jsx       ← JWT + user + dietary state
│       │   └── MenuContext.jsx       ← Live menu state
│       ├── components/
│       │   ├── Navbar.jsx            ← Glassmorphism sticky nav
│       │   ├── Navbar.css
│       │   ├── Footer.jsx
│       │   ├── MenuCard.jsx          ← Live availability badge + admin toggle
│       │   └── ProtectedRoute.jsx    ← Role-gated route wrapper
│       ├── pages/
│       │   ├── Home.jsx              ← Hero, problem/solution, live specials
│       │   ├── Menu.jsx              ← Live menu with dietary filter
│       │   ├── Reserve.jsx           ← 4-step wizard with menu preview
│       │   ├── Auth.jsx              ← Login / Signup + dietary setup
│       │   └── AdminDashboard.jsx    ← Stats, toggle, add dish, reviews
│       ├── index.css                 ← Full design system (CSS variables)
│       ├── App.jsx                   ← Router + context providers
│       └── main.jsx
│
├── images/                           ← Shared food/restaurant images
├── .gitignore                        ← Root-level gitignore
├── Readme.md
└── (legacy static files — index.html, script.js, style.css)

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Node.js ≥ 18
MongoDB running locally — Install MongoDB Community
- Or use a free MongoDB Atlas cloud instance

1️⃣ Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/anushkasark08/The-Lighthouse.git
cd The-Lighthouse

2️⃣ Set Up the Backend

cd backend
cp .env.example .env

Edit .env with your values:

PORT=5000
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/lighthouse
JWT_SECRET=your-super-secret-key
JWT_EXPIRE=7d
FRONTEND_URL=http://localhost:5173

Install dependencies and seed the database:

npm install
npm run seed     # Seeds 18 menu items, 9 tables, 2 users
npm run dev      # Starts API on http://localhost:5000

✅ Verify: http://localhost:5000/api/health

3️⃣ Set Up the Frontend

# In a new terminal
cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev      # Starts React app on http://localhost:5173

Open http://localhost:5173 in your browser.

4️⃣ Default Accounts (after seeding)

Role	Email	Password
🔑 Admin	admin@thelighthouse.com	Admin@123
👤 User	test@example.com	password123

5️⃣ Key Flows to Try

Guest

Browse /menu → see live availability badges on each dish
Go to /reserve → complete the 4-step wizard → see Step 3: Tonight's Menu

New User

Sign up at /auth → set your dietary preference during signup
Visit /menu → your filter is pre-applied automatically

Admin

Log in → navigate to /admin
Toggle any dish to "Sold Out" → switch back to /menu → it's gone instantly
Add a new menu item from the dashboard form

🔑 API Reference

Auth — `/api/auth`

Method	Endpoint	Access	Description
POST	`/register`	Public	Register with dietary profile
POST	`/login`	Public	Login, returns JWT
GET	`/me`	Private	Get current user
PATCH	`/me/dietary`	Private	Update dietary preference

Menu — `/api/menu`

Method	Endpoint	Access	Description
GET	`/`	Public	All available items (`?category=` `?isVeg=` `?tag=`)
GET	`/tonight`	Public	Tonight's dishes based on time of day
GET	`/:id`	Public	Single item
POST	`/`	Admin	Create item
PUT	`/:id`	Admin	Update item
PATCH	`/:id/toggle`	Admin	Toggle isAvailable ← live differentiator
DELETE	`/:id`	Admin	Delete item

Reservations — `/api/reservations`

Method	Endpoint	Access	Description
GET	`/slots`	Public	Available time slots for a date + guest count
POST	`/`	Private	Create reservation
GET	`/`	Private	Get user's reservations
DELETE	`/:id`	Private	Cancel reservation

Reviews — `/api/reviews`

Method	Endpoint	Access	Description
GET	`/`	Public	All reviews
POST	`/`	Private	Submit a review
DELETE	`/:id`	Private/Admin	Delete review

🎨 Customization

The design system uses CSS variables in frontend/src/index.css. Change the theme in one place:

:root {
  --color-primary:  #c9a962;   /* Gold accent */
  --color-bg:       #1a1714;   /* Dark background */
  --color-text:     #f5f2ed;   /* Off-white text */
  --font-serif:     'Cormorant Garamond', Georgia, serif;
  --font-sans:      'Inter', system-ui, sans-serif;
}

🌟 Future Improvements

Payment gateway integration (Razorpay / Stripe)
Online food ordering with cart
Real-time slot updates with Socket.io
Multi-language support (i18n)
Push notifications for reservation reminders
PWA support

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome and appreciated!

Steps to Contribute

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

Commit your changes

git commit -m "feat: add your feature description"

Push the branch

git push origin feature/your-feature-name

Open a Pull Request

💖 Contributors

Thanks to all the amazing people who contribute to The Lighthouse 🚀

📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

💖 Acknowledgements

Developed with passion by Anushka Sarkar

Special thanks to:

GirlScript Summer of Code 2026
Open-source contributors ❤️

🔗 Repository

GitHub Repository: https://github.com/anushkasark08/The-Lighthouse

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 437 Commits
.github		.github
.vscode		.vscode
backend		backend
frontend		frontend
images		images
locales		locales
.gitignore		.gitignore
Architecture.md		Architecture.md
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md		CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
Favicon.ico		Favicon.ico
LICENSE		LICENSE
Readme.md		Readme.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md
index.html		index.html
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
robots.txt		robots.txt
script.js		script.js
sitemap.xml		sitemap.xml
style.css		style.css

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🌊 The Lighthouse | Full-Stack Fine Dining Restaurant App

📑 Table of Contents

🎯 The Problem We Solve

💡 The Lighthouse's Solution

✨ Features

🗄️ Live Menu Engine

🥗 Persistent Dietary Profiles

📅 Smart Reservation Wizard (4 steps)

🎨 Premium UI & Design

🔐 Authentication & Roles

🛡️ Admin Dashboard

⭐ Persistent Reviews

🛠️ Tech Stack

Backend

Frontend

📐 System Architecture

📂 Project Structure

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

1️⃣ Clone the Repository

2️⃣ Set Up the Backend

3️⃣ Set Up the Frontend

4️⃣ Default Accounts (after seeding)

5️⃣ Key Flows to Try

🔑 API Reference

Auth — /api/auth

Menu — /api/menu

Reservations — /api/reservations

Reviews — /api/reviews

🎨 Customization

🌟 Future Improvements

🤝 Contributing

Steps to Contribute

💖 Contributors

📜 License

💖 Acknowledgements

🔗 Repository

About

Resources

Code of conduct

Contributing

Security policy

Stars

Watchers

Forks

Releases

Packages

Contributors

Languages

Auth — `/api/auth`

Menu — `/api/menu`

Reservations — `/api/reservations`

Reviews — `/api/reviews`