It works for restaurants, cafés, bars, seafood restaurants or pizzerias: any hospitality business. The dish changes, but the decision is the same: the customer looks for where to eat, looks with their eyes and books with their thumb.
What a diner looks at before booking
In ten seconds, hungry and in a hurry, they want three things:
- To see what there is to eat and what it costs. The menu, clear and fast, and never an 8 MB PDF that will not open on a phone.
- To be won over by the sight of it. Real photos of your dishes: appetising food sells itself, stock images do not.
- To book right now, without friction. A clear button for your own booking, WhatsApp or a tap-to-call number. Every extra step is a table that goes elsewhere.
The six elements your restaurant website should have
- An accessible, fast menu (in HTML, not a heavy PDF), with your signature dishes highlighted and prices visible.
- Real photos that whet the appetite: your feijoada, your picanha, your rice. Food is your best advert.
- Your own frictionless booking: your booking system on your website, or direct WhatsApp, to book in three taps without leaving your site.
- Reviews on display: Google ratings build trust before people come. Show them, real and verifiable.
- Crystal-clear opening hours and location, with a «get directions» button. People decide at the last minute, so make it easy for them.
- Takeaway or ordering if you do it: one more direct channel, with no middlemen.
Local SEO: showing up for «where to eat in your area»
Most of your diners look for you nearby and at the last minute. Three levers:
- Your Google listing (Google Business Profile), where the nearby customer decides: correct category, opening hours, dish photos, menu and replying to every review. A lively listing wins the map.
- Fresh reviews in quantity. Ask for them with a QR on the table or on the bill; volume and freshness raise your rating and your visibility.
- A fast website with your area and your cuisine clearly marked, so Google understands «Brazilian restaurant in Águeda» or «eat feijoada near me».
The commission trap (TheFork, Glovo, Uber…)
The platforms bring customers, but in exchange for a commission on every booking or order, and they keep the relationship with your customer. Use them if they serve you; the problem is depending only on them:
- Always keep your direct channel: your website with your own booking, your WhatsApp, your ordering. Every direct booking is margin you do not give away.
- The platform is the shop window and your website is home: let the customer discover you through the platform and come back through your channel.
Setting up your own booking system is easier and cheaper than it seems, and it pays for itself with the commissions you stop paying.
Digital ownership: do not let your restaurant be held hostage
The domain, the website, the Google listing and the email must be in your name, not in the name of whoever built it for you. The day you want to switch, your brand online has to be yours.
Check that you control the eight keys to your presence: domain, hosting, website, email, Analytics, Google listing and pixel. If something is not in your name, demand it in writing.
How to measure whether it works
A restaurant does not need «more visits»: it needs more tables and more orders. Measure:
- Direct bookings from your website and clicks to WhatsApp, phone and «get directions».
- New reviews per month and the percentage answered (the target is 100 %).
- Your position on the map for «restaurant + your area», checking it in incognito each week.
A real case: olaranjeira.pt
O Laranjeira by Dri, in Águeda, is a website with soul: its menu, its photos and its own booking, without relying on commissions. Its real data, published with Adriana's permission: on Google Lighthouse (mobile, measured on 15 June 2026), 100 in SEO, 100 in accessibility and 100 in best practices; and a rating of 4,4★ with 123 real Google reviews. Only what has been measured.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need online booking or is the phone enough? The phone and WhatsApp already convert well. Your own online booking adds up once you have volume and, above all, saves you the platforms' commissions.
- The menu, PDF or not? Better on the website itself (HTML): it loads instantly, reads well on mobile and ranks on Google. The heavy PDF is one of the biggest booking killers.
- Should I be on TheFork or Glovo? They can help you as a shop window, but do not depend only on them: they charge commission and keep your customer. Always keep your direct channel.
- And if someone else runs my website and I do not know what I control? Check the eight keys in five minutes and, if something is not in your name, ask for it in writing.