What does a good restaurant website look like?
Most people find your website on their phone, often from your Google profile, with one question in mind: “Do I like the look of it, and can I go tonight?”. A restaurant website does not need to be spectacular. It needs to answer quickly.
You can open two demo sites built with Voxtya for fictional venues: Le Bistrot du Marché (a bistro in Lyon) and Café Lumière (a café and brunch spot in Paris). Both are in French, as they are French demo venues, but the structure is what matters; we describe it below.
Which pages does every restaurant website need?
Whatever your cuisine, the core is the same:
| Page or section | What it should include | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Home | A strong photo, cuisine + town, “Book a table” button, phone number | Visitors decide in seconds |
| Menu | Dishes as text, prices, allergen information or a clear pointer to it | The most visited page; readable and indexable |
| Hours and getting here | Days, sittings, closures, address, map, transport, parking | Nobody likes a locked door |
| Bookings | An online booking form, or at least a tap-to-call number | Turns interest into a table |
| Reviews | A few recent reviews, link to your Google profile | Reassures first-time visitors |
| Gallery | Food, dining room, terrace or beer garden, team | Makes people want to come |
| Privacy and legal | Who runs the site, privacy notice, cookies | Required by data protection law |
In the UK, food businesses must give customers information about the 14 regulated allergens in what they serve; the Food Standards Agency’s guidance explains how. A note on each dish, or a clear pointer to your allergen information, saves a lot of phone calls. Our guide to legal pages for a small business website covers the rest.
Free tool, no sign-up
Free menu QR code generator
Create a free QR code that opens your restaurant’s online menu.
Example 1: a bistro or neighbourhood restaurant
Goal: fill lunch and dinner, attract groups.
- Home: a photo of a full dining room or today’s special, “Neighbourhood bistro, seasonal cooking, [area]”, a “Book a table” button.
- Menu: starters, mains, desserts, with the specials board updated weekly.
- Set lunch: price, times, and a promise on service time for people on a lunch break.
- Groups and private hire: capacity, group menus, enquiry form.
- Hours, map, reviews, contact.
Live demo: Le Bistrot du Marché. The home page runs through the space, the menu, opening hours, “Book a table”, private hire and group dining, how to find us, customer reviews and an FAQ. The menu has its own page (starters, mains, desserts) and the booking form shows available times.
Example 2: a pizzeria or takeaway
Goal: get people to order or call, fast.
- Home: a pizza coming out of the oven and two buttons side by side: “Call to order” and “Book a table”.
- Menu: pizzas by base, sizes and prices, extras.
- Collection and delivery: lead times, area, last order time.
- Opening hours in plain sight, especially late evenings and Sundays.
- Reviews and map.
Example 3: a fine dining restaurant
Goal: tell the story of an experience and secure bookings weeks ahead.
- Home: a full-screen photo, one line on the chef’s approach, a “Reserve” button.
- The chef and the house: background, producers, seasons.
- Menus: tasting menu, lunch menu, wine pairing, with number of courses and prices.
- Reservations: deposit and cancellation terms written clearly.
- Gift vouchers if you sell them, press and awards if you have them.
- Getting here, reviews, contact.
How to word fair booking terms is covered in our guide to a booking cancellation policy.
Example 4: a café or brunch spot
Goal: fill the weekend and bring people in on weekdays.
- Home: a brunch table photo, weekend hours, a “Book” button.
- What we serve: speciality coffee, homemade bakes, brunch, vegan options.
- Menu: drinks, brunch, sweet, savoury.
- Our story: who you are, where the coffee comes from.
- Practical info: wifi, sockets, buggy access, dogs welcome or not.
Live demo: Café Lumière, with sections for what they serve, the menu, opening hours, bookings, their story, how to find them and customer reviews.
Examples 5 to 9: food truck, pub, wine bar, family restaurant, caterer
5. Food truck or street food stall
The key page is “Where to find us this week”: days, pitches and times, updated every week. Add a short menu and a “Book the truck” form for events and weddings.
6. Gastropub
Food menu and Sunday roast times, drinks and guest ales, events (quiz night, live music, sport), beer garden photos, table bookings for Sunday lunch. Our guide to pub marketing ideas goes further.
7. Wine bar or tapas bar
Wines by the glass and sharing boards, tastings and events, group bookings, late opening hours.
8. Family restaurant
Full menu with a kids’ menu, buggy access and high chairs, dining room photos, simple booking. Families mainly want to know “is it child-friendly?”.
9. Caterer with a dining room
Two paths: “Eat in” (menu, hours, bookings) and “Order for an event” (packages, guest numbers, quote request form).
| Type | Key page | Main button |
|---|---|---|
| Bistro | Menu + set lunch | Book a table |
| Pizzeria, takeaway | Menu + collection | Call to order |
| Fine dining | Menus and chef | Reserve |
| Café, brunch | Menu + weekend hours | Book |
| Food truck | Where we are this week | See this week’s pitches |
| Gastropub | Food, Sunday roast, events | Book Sunday lunch |
| Wine bar | Wine list + events | Book for a group |
| Family restaurant | Menu + families info | Book |
| Caterer | Event packages | Request a quote |
What actually gets people to book on a restaurant website?
- A “Book a table” button visible without scrolling, repeated at the bottom
- A tap-to-call phone number on mobile
- Real, bright photos of your food and room
- The menu as text, with prices
- Accurate opening hours, including bank holiday closures
- A few recent reviews with a link to your Google profile
- A site that loads fast on a phone
- Other languages if you are in a tourist area
For Google, LocalBusiness (or Restaurant) structured data lets you state your opening hours, cuisine and the full URL of your menu, as Google Search Central’s documentation describes. Good website builders add it for you.
For photos, see our guide to business photos with a smartphone. To show reviews, see display Google reviews on your website.
Which mistakes come up most often?
- The menu as a PDF: hard to read on a phone and poorly understood by Google.
- An autoplay video or slideshow that slows down the home page.
- Different opening hours on the site, the Google profile and the door.
- No booking button, or a link to a platform charging you per cover.
- Stock photos that look nothing like your place.
- A forgotten site: last year’s menu, a past event still at the top.
Looking for the tool to build it? Our comparison of the best restaurant website builders lists the options and prices; for the steps, read how to create a restaurant website.
The steps at a glance
The steps to pick the right website layout for your venue and fill it in.
- Pick your layout. Bistro, pizzeria, fine dining, café, food truck, pub… depending on your venue.
- Write the menu as text. Dishes, prices and allergen information.
- Take real photos. Food, dining room, terrace and team, in daylight.
- Add bookings. A visible button on every page and a tap-to-call number.
- Fill in practical info. Hours, map, access, reviews, privacy notice.
- Link your Google profile. Website and booking links on your profile, the same hours everywhere.
Do it without spending your evenings on it
Voxtya website
A restaurant website ready in minutes: online menu and QR code, commission-free bookings, Google reviews on display, photos from your profile. €29/month, 30-day free trial.
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Sources
The rules quoted in this guide come from these official pages, checked on October 18, 2026.