How to Attract More Customers to Your Restaurant: 8 Proven Strategies for Locals and Tourists

How to Attract More Customers to Your Restaurant: Start With Where They Come From

Full tables are harder to come by than they were. In the United States, 60% of operators reported softer customer traffic in 2025 and 42% said their restaurant was not profitable last year, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 2026 State of the Restaurant Industry press release of 12 February 2026. The same release notes that more than 7 in 10 consumers would use restaurants more frequently if they had more disposable income. That is US data, but European operators will recognise the pattern: appetite intact, budgets tighter.

Europe has one advantage. EU tourist accommodation recorded nearly 3.1 billion nights spent in 2025, a record year, according to the Eurostat news article “Another record year for EU tourism in 2025”. International guests accounted for 48.1% of all nights spent in EU tourist accommodation in 2024, per Eurostat’s Statistics Explained page on annual accommodation results.

The three audiences: locals, visitors and passers-by

New customer acquisition is three jobs. Locals decide slowly and rely on word of mouth; once won, they return. Visitors decide quickly, often on a phone and in a language that is not yours, and in busy tourist destinations they can make up a large share of the people on the street in high season. Passers-by are pure foot traffic: they give you a few seconds at the door. Each group needs its own reason to choose you, so a clear unique selling point matters more than a long list of promotions.

Fix discovery first, then conversion, then return visits

Most restaurant marketing fails on sequence. Owners working out how to attract customers to a restaurant often discount before anyone can find them. A more reliable order starts with discovery: can the right people find you when they are hungry? Then conversion: does what they see persuade them to sit down? Then return visits.

The eight restaurant marketing ideas below follow that order, and marketing measurement runs through all of them.

Get Found First: Google Maps, Local Search and Your Own Website

A hungry person two streets away types “lunch near me” and picks from whatever the map shows. No advertising budget fixes an absence from that list. For a restaurant, local SEO is mostly unglamorous housekeeping: making the facts about the venue complete, machine-readable and identical wherever they appear.

Complete and maintain your Google Business Profile

According to Google’s Business Profile documentation, the profile controls how a restaurant appears in Google Search and Google Maps: its hours, photos, menu link and category. Google Business Profile Help describes local ranking as depending on relevance, distance and prominence. Distance is fixed by your address. The other two respond to effort, which makes the profile the cheapest route to better Google Maps visibility.

Publish a text menu that search engines and AI assistants can read

The menu is where many profiles fall down. A menu typed out as text on a web page is the most dependable format for search engines, map apps and AI assistants. A text-based PDF is better than a photo or scanned menu, which contains no machine-readable text, but any PDF is awkward to read on a phone. The difference matters when someone searches for a dish instead of a venue. A query for grilled octopus by the harbour can only match your kitchen if those words exist as text on a page.

The simplest fix is a menu page on your restaurant website with dishes, descriptions and prices typed out. If you already use a QR code menu such as platoo, which guests browse on their phones at the table, the link behind the code is a natural candidate for the profile’s menu field; our guide explains how to add a menu to Google Maps.

Keep name, address, hours and links consistent everywhere

Google is not the only directory. Apple Maps comes preinstalled on iPhones, Tripadvisor is where many travellers compare options, and AI search assistants draw on public listings like these. When the listings disagree, neither the algorithm nor the guest knows which to trust.

A typical scenario: a bistro moves its closing day from Monday to Tuesday, updates Google and forgets the rest. For months, other listings send guests to a locked door on Tuesdays.

NAP consistency (name, address, phone) is the baseline; hours, website address and menu link belong on the same checklist. Keep one master document and paste from it whenever something changes.

Turn Online Reviews Into Your Most Persuasive Sales Channel

Many diners have already narrowed their options before they leave the hotel or the office. Online reviews shape that shortlist ahead of the first visit: a venue with a solid star rating and comments from last week gets considered, while one whose latest feedback is two summers old gets skipped. Reviews are word of mouth with a permanent address, which is why online reputation management deserves a fixed slot in the weekly routine.

How to ask for reviews without being pushy

Ask at the moment a guest volunteers praise; do not wait for the bill. A server who hears “that was excellent” can reply that a few lines online would help a small team, and leave it there. For quieter tables, a discreet card left at the end of the meal does the same job.

Two rules keep the practice honest. Never offer a discount or free drink in exchange: Google’s review policy strictly prohibits incentives, and other platforms publish their own rules against them. And ask everyone, not only the tables that seemed happy: a steady flow of genuine opinions improves review recency and reads as more credible than a wall of five stars.

Replying to praise and to complaints

An owner’s reply signals that the restaurant is actively managed and takes feedback seriously, and it is visible to everyone who reads the review, not only the person who wrote it. Keep thanks short and specific: mention the dish or the occasion.

For complaints, a good review response acknowledges the problem, says what has changed and invites the guest to continue the conversation privately. Do not argue over details in public. Recurring criticism is free consultancy: if three guests mention slow service on Sundays, the fix lies in customer service and guest experience, not in the wording of the reply.

Which review platforms matter for locals vs travellers

Residents and visitors rarely read the same pages, so decide where your effort goes.

Language is likely to matter to the second group. By analogy from online shopping: in CSA Research’s “Can’t Read, Won’t Buy – B2C” survey of online shoppers (2020), 73% of consumers wanted product reviews in their own language, if nothing else. You cannot write those reviews yourself, but you can encourage foreign guests to post in their native language and reply in it whenever possible.

Use Social Media and Food Photography to Bring People Through the Door

A guest choosing where to eat tonight may open a venue’s Instagram or TikTok before its website. Social media marketing for a restaurant has little to do with follower counts. Its job is to show what the food looks like, what the room feels like and whether other people enjoy being there.

What to post: dishes, people, proof

A workable rhythm rotates three kinds of content. Dishes: the plates you want to sell more of, shot as they leave the pass. People: the chef plating, the barista at the machine, the owner greeting a regular. Proof: user-generated content, meaning guests’ own photos and stories, reshared with their permission and a thank-you.

Short-form video suits kitchens because cooking is movement: a flame, a pour, a sauce going over a plate. A few seconds filmed on a phone is enough. Keep the profile consistent with your branding and signage, so that someone who saw a clip recognises the place from the street.

Real photos beat stock images

Real, well-lit photos of actual dishes show a searcher what will arrive on the table, which a generic image cannot do. Good food photography does not require a studio. Daylight from a window, a clean plate and a steady hand cover most of it.

When a local creator is worth the free dinner

Influencer marketing pays off in narrow circumstances. The creator’s audience should live nearby or travel to your area, and their usual content should fit your kind of venue. Agree beforehand what will be posted and when, and ask that the meal is clearly labelled as gifted.

Then judge the result as you would any other restaurant marketing spend. Likes are not the measure. Ask new guests how they heard about you and note how often that post comes up.

Win Over Tourists With a Killer Menu in Their Own Language

Foreign guests choose the restaurant they can understand. A menu in their own language, readable from the street, is what turns a passing visitor into a seated one.

How big the foreign-guest opportunity is in the EU

Foreign guests are the faster-growing half of the market. A Eurostat news article of 4 March 2026 reports that nights spent by international guests in the EU rose 3.4% (+49.7 million) in 2025, against 1.1% (+16.7 million) for domestic guests. Eurostat’s annual results for the accommodation sector split 2024 nights into 52% domestic tourists, 30% visitors from other EU countries and 18% non-EU visitors. In Q2 2026, Eurostat’s nights-spent statistics show international tourists ahead: 425.4 million nights against 424.4 million. UN Tourism’s World Tourism Barometer counts 793 million international tourists in Europe in 2025, up 4% on 2024.

Food is part of most trips. The World Food Travel Association, citing its 2016 Food Travel Monitor, says 93% of travellers can be considered food travellers, meaning they took part in a food or drink experience other than dining out in the previous 12 months.

The language barrier at the door: how a tourist picks between two restaurants

English alone will not cover foreign guests. Eurostat’s foreign language skills statistics (Adult Education Survey 2022) show 25.3% of working-age adults in the EU knowing no foreign language, 37.6% one, 24.7% two and 12.3% three or more.

A tourist choosing between neighbouring restaurants is more comfortable sitting down where the dishes, prices and ingredients are understandable in advance. A menu in the guest’s native language removes the language barrier at the moment they decide whether to sit down.

E-commerce offers an analogy, not proof. CSA Research’s “Can’t Read, Won’t Buy – B2C” study surveyed 8,709 consumers in 29 countries across Europe, Asia, North America and South America about online shopping, not restaurants. In it, CSA Research found 76% prefer buying products with information in their native language, 40% will never buy from websites in other languages, and 65% prefer own-language content even when its quality is poor.

What makes a multilingual menu a ‘killer menu’

A multilingual menu wins guests when it answers a stranger’s questions without a server:

• Descriptions, not word-for-word translation. Say what the dish is, how it is cooked and what comes with it.
• Allergens stated in every language.
• Photos of dishes whose names mean nothing abroad.
• Phone readability: large type, fast loading, no pinch-to-zoom PDF.
• Easy language choice, so a guest reaches their language in one tap.

Which languages to add first

Start from your own guests, not a generic list. Check which languages your reviews are written in and ask partner hotels which nationalities they host. Hotel F&B outlets can use front-desk data. Add English, then the top two or three nationalities, including non-EU visitors.

Translation quality: where machine translation needs a human check

Machine translation makes dozens of languages affordable, but machine-only menu translation risks mistranslated dish names. Have a native speaker check signature dishes, regional specialities and allergens, where a wrong word costs appetite or safety.

Putting the multilingual menu where tourists decide: entrance, window, table QR

Street visibility comes first: foot traffic in tourist destinations decides at the entrance, so display the menu and a QR code in the window, with flags or language names. At the table, a QR code menu lets a guest open the menu on their own phone and switch it to their language, while the server still takes the order. platoo is one example: a display-only QR code menu with translation into 40+ languages.

Make Your Menu and Pricing Do the Selling

Every channel covered so far ends with a guest reading your restaurant menu. Menu pricing, wording and layout then either lift the average spend per guest or lower it.

Menu engineering in plain terms: stars, plough-horses, puzzles and dogs

The menu engineering methodology developed by Kasavana and Smith classifies dishes by popularity and contribution margin to decide what to promote, reprice or remove. You need two figures per dish: how often it sells, and what it leaves after ingredient cost.

Repeat the exercise each season.

Descriptions and price presentation that reduce hesitation

Good menu descriptions answer what a guest would otherwise ask the server: what the dish is, how it is cooked, where the main ingredient comes from. One or two lines are enough. A common recommendation is to place the price at the end of the description, not in a right-hand column that invites people to scan for the cheapest line. A set menu, or prix fixe, removes the arithmetic altogether, which suits lunch trade.

Allergen and dietary information as a trust signal (and an EU legal duty)

Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 has applied since 13 December 2014, as its Article 55 sets out. Annex II of the regulation lists 14 substances or products causing allergies or intolerances, from cereals containing gluten to molluscs. Article 44(1)(a) makes those allergen particulars mandatory for food offered for sale without prepackaging; under Articles 1(3) and 2(2)(d) the regulation covers food delivered by mass caterers, a term that includes restaurants. Under Article 44(2), Member States may adopt national measures on how the information is made available, so check your national rules before settling on a format.

Compliance is the minimum; clear labels for dietary preferences add to it. Our editorial view is that allergen information in the guest’s language helps foreign guests with allergies order safely and with less staff back-and-forth. A QR code menu with translation shows the menu in the guest’s language while the server still takes the order.

Build Partnerships With Hotels, Guides and Neighbouring Businesses

Many visitors ask someone who works nearby where to eat. That makes hotel partnerships and other local partnerships one of the cheapest channels a restaurant has: no advertising budget, only relationships kept warm.

Hotels, apartments and concierge desks

Hotel concierges and reception staff recommend nearby restaurants to guests who ask where to eat, and they tend to name places they know personally. The audience behind those desks is large: according to Eurostat’s annual results for the accommodation sector, EU tourist accommodation offered 29.7 million bed places across 681,000 establishments in 2024.

To earn hotel concierge referrals, invite front-desk teams to a tasting and leave a one-page card with opening hours, walking directions and dietary options. Apartment hosts have no reception, so a line in their welcome folder does the same job.

Tour guides, attractions and event venues

Tour guides and tour operators need dependable stops: a kitchen that seats a group on time, a set menu agreed beforehand and one named contact. Museums, wineries, event venues and neighbouring shops can trade referrals more informally. This is slower than influencer marketing, but word of mouth from a guide who eats with you regularly carries more weight than a single post.

For hotel restaurants: attracting diners who are not staying with you

Hotel F&B outlets face the reverse problem: passers-by assume the dining room is for residents only. A street-level entrance, a menu displayed outside, the restaurant’s own name and listing, and ties with nearby offices, theatres and guides all signal that outsiders are welcome.

Fill Slow Days and Low Season With Events and Off-Peak Offers

Every venue has tables that earn nothing: Tuesday evenings, the gap between lunch and dinner, the weeks after the last tourists leave. The rent and the staff are already paid for, so each extra cover in those hours counts for more.

Read your own seasonality before you discount

August and July accounted for 18% and 16% of all nights spent in EU tourist accommodation in 2022, over a third between them, according to a Eurostat news article of 23 May 2023. The same article shows how uneven seasonality is: July and August made up 59% of the year’s nights in Croatia, 48% in Bulgaria and 43% in Greece.

National figures only set the frame. Your own till data shows which days and dayparts are weak, and whether the cause is low foot traffic or passers-by who don’t come in. A coastal venue’s problem is the shoulder season; a city bistro’s may simply be Monday.

Event formats that suit small teams

Special events and themed nights work when they give people a reason to come on a specific date. Formats that need no extra hires travel best: a quiz, a tasting of one producer’s wines, a regional dish cooked once a week. Keep the same weekday so it becomes a habit for locals.

Offers that protect your margin

Promotions and off-peak offers should be fenced by time. A late-afternoon happy hour or a weekday prix fixe lunch is designed to shift demand to slow days and dayparts without discounting the whole menu. Build the offer around high-margin dishes, give it an end date, and check whether it brings additional guests or merely moves regulars to a cheaper hour.

Turn First-Time Visitors Into Regulars and Measure What Works

Everything so far serves new customer acquisition, which is the expensive half of the job. It is usually easier to bring back a guest who already knows you than to win a new one. Repeat customers also do something advertising cannot: they produce word of mouth and referrals among people who trust them.

Low-tech retention: recognition, consistency, a reason to return

Retention rarely needs software. Staff who remember a name or a usual order, a dish that tastes the same in March as in August, and a concrete reason to come back cover most of it. That reason can be a seasonal menu date or a stamped card serving as a basic loyalty programme. Customer service and guest experience decide the rest. If you collect addresses with consent, email marketing can stay modest: one short message a month is enough.

Simple numbers to track each month

Marketing measurement fits on one page. Count table reservations and walk-ins, new reviews, and the guests your staff recognise as returning. A month with few new reviews is an early warning.

Menu scan statistics add one more line. If your QR code menu tool reports scan or view counts and you print a separate code for each placement (table, window, hotel lobby, flyer), comparing the counts indicates which entry points actually drive menu views. Scans show attention, not sales, so read them next to the till.

A 30-day action plan in priority order

Start with what guests already see: in the first week, correct your listing, opening hours and menu. In the second, brief staff on recognising returning guests and asking for reviews. In the third, choose one reason to return and announce it at the table. In the fourth, fill in the monthly sheet and drop any channel that shows nothing.

None of the eight strategies needs a large budget. They need order: be findable, be understandable to locals and visitors alike, and give each guest a reason to return. Start with the weakest link and measure before adding the next.

Frequently Asked Questions About Attracting Restaurant Customers