HomeWebsites for restaurants and cafés
Websites for restaurants and cafés
Websites for restaurants, cafés and takeaways
Most diners decide where to eat on a phone, often minutes before they go. They want the menu, prices, opening hours and a way to book, without downloading a PDF. We design restaurant websites that deliver all of that quickly and make allergen information easy to find.
- Text menus that load instantly and update in minutes
- Table booking and ordering links on every page
- Allergen and hygiene rating information done properly
01 / How diners decide
How diners choose where to eat
Restaurant searches are short and impatient: “brunch near me”, “Sunday roast”, “vegan Thai”. People flick between Google Maps, Instagram and your website to check the menu, prices and atmosphere.
PDF menus
A PDF menu is slow on mobile, hard to read and poorly understood by search engines. Diners give up before they find the dish they wanted.
Out-of-date details
Hours on the website that differ from Google, or last season’s menu, cost bookings and trust.
Booking buried away
If the book-a-table button is not on every screen, people call during service or try somewhere else.
02 / Example design
Template preview: Larkspur Kitchen & Café
Larkspur Kitchen & Café is a fictional café we created for this design, to show how menu, hours and booking can all sit within a thumb’s reach on a phone.
- Book-a-table and menu buttons up front
- Opening hours and location near the top
- Space for the food hygiene rating before ordering
- Dishes, prices and reviews are placeholders
03 / Must-have features
Features for a restaurant or café website
Built for hungry people on phones, and for staff who need to make changes fast.
Text menus
Menus in real text, organised by course, with dietary labels and prices, updated by your team in minutes.
Table booking
Link or embed your reservation system, with large-group and private dining enquiries handled separately.
Ordering links
Direct links to your own ordering system or delivery partners, with allergen information available before checkout.
Hours and directions
Hours, address, map, parking and accessibility at the top, matching your Google Business Profile exactly.
Events and private hire
Pages for set menus, events, private dining and gift cards, which bring in bookings beyond the regular week.
Atmosphere photography
Food and room photos compressed properly, so they look great without slowing the page.
04 / Hygiene and allergens
Food hygiene ratings and allergens
Two areas of food law affect your website directly.
- Food businesses in Wales and Northern Ireland must display their hygiene rating sticker at the premises; in England display is voluntary, and Scotland runs the separate Food Hygiene Information Scheme. The FSA provides official images and a code widget that updates automatically, recommends showing your rating before customers choose food or place an order online, and only allows your current rating to be used. FSA: displaying your rating
- There are 14 allergens that must be declared. For food sold online or by phone, allergen information must be available before the purchase is completed and again when the food is delivered. FSA allergen guidance
- Menus should encourage diners with allergies to speak to staff, and the allergen information you publish must stay accurate whenever recipes change.
- Booking forms and mailing list sign-ups collect personal data, so they need a privacy notice and, for marketing emails, clear consent under UK GDPR and PECR.
You confirm your rating and allergen details; we make sure they appear where diners and the FSA guidance expect.
05 / Local SEO
Local SEO for restaurants and cafés
Most restaurant searches are for somewhere nearby, often right now, so your Google Business Profile is frequently the first thing people see.
- Choose the most specific primary category Google offers, such as Italian restaurant, Brunch restaurant or Coffee shop, rather than just Restaurant.
- Add your menu and booking links to the profile, and keep holiday opening hours up to date.
- Reply to reviews, good and bad, briefly and politely. Never offer a free dessert or a discount in exchange for a review. Google review policy
- Use restaurant structured data on your site for cuisine, opening hours and menu link, matching the profile exactly.
Our local SEO service can keep this in shape for you.
06 / Checklist
What a good restaurant website includes
A quick check before your next menu change.
- Menu in text, not PDF, with prices and dietary labels
- Book-a-table button on every page
- Opening hours that match Google
- Allergen information and a prompt to speak to staff
- Current food hygiene rating shown as the FSA recommends
- Address, map, parking and accessibility details
- Private dining, events and gift card pages
- Photos that look good without slowing the site
- A privacy notice for bookings and mailing lists
07 / Cost
What a restaurant website typically costs
How our packages usually fit hospitality.
Essential, from £1,000
A single page for a café or small restaurant: menu, hours, location, booking link and hygiene rating.
Business, from £2,500
Separate menu, private dining, events and gift card pages, with a menu your team can edit.
Bespoke, custom quote
For groups with several sites, or venues needing custom ordering, gift card or loyalty integrations.
Final pricing is agreed in writing before work begins.
We test restaurant sites on mid-range phones over mobile data, because that is how most diners will see them. See website design or creative design.
Questions
Restaurants and cafés: common website questions
Why not just upload a PDF menu?
PDF menus are slow on phones, awkward to read and hard for search engines to understand. A text menu loads instantly, can be updated in minutes and helps you show up for dish searches.
Do we have to show our food hygiene rating online?
In England it is voluntary. Display at the premises is required in Wales and Northern Ireland. Many businesses show it online anyway, using the FSA’s official images or widget, which updates automatically if your rating changes.
What allergen information should the website have?
If you sell food online for collection or delivery, allergen information must be available before the order is completed and at delivery. For dine-in menus, clear labels and a prompt to speak to staff are good practice.
Can you add online table booking?
Yes. We link or embed the reservation system you already use. Fees from booking providers are separate.
Can staff update the menu themselves?
Yes. We set up a simple editor so dishes, prices and dietary labels can be changed without a developer.
A better website
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Send us your business name, a brief description of what you'd like to achieve, and your preferred budget, and we'll be in touch soon.