How to Write a Restaurant Post People Actually Want to Read

By Pop Reso

Restaurant copy has a funny way of becoming advertising copy the second somebody sits down to write it.

You can hear the change immediately.

"Come join us tonight for an amazing dining experience you won’t want to miss!"

Nobody talks like that during a service. Imagine your Chef walking into the dining room and announce an “amazing dining experience.” The bartender doesn’t slide a new cocktail across the bar and call it “an incredible offer.”

They just tell you what’s good. That is usually a pretty good place to start.

A strong hospitality post does not need to sound clever, polished or particularly salesy. It needs to make somebody stop for a second and think, that sounds good.

The title gets them to stop. The description helps them picture being there.

That’s really it.

Tell Me What It Is

“Tonight’s Special” is technically a title, but it doesn’t tell anybody anything.

As does “You Don’t Want to Miss This” or “Something Exciting Is Happening Tonight.”

If the kitchen is doing scallops, say scallops.

If the bar is pouring Barolo by the glass, say Barolo.

If there is a band playing at eight, tell me who is playing and when.

Compare:

Tonight’s Special

with:

Pan-Seared Scallops Tonight

The second one has already done most of the work. You can add a little urgency if it belongs there.

Tonight’s Chef Feature: Pan-Seared Scallops

Then the description can simply finish the thought.

Pan-seared scallops with roasted cauliflower purée, brown butter and crispy pancetta. Available tonight while quantities last.

No hype required. The food sounds good enough on its own.

Calling Everything Amazing

There are a handful of words restaurants lean on constantly. Amazing, delicious, incredible, mouthwatering, unforgettable. They are not bad words. They are just doing a job that the food could probably do better.

“Try our delicious new pasta” asks the reader to take your word for it.

“Fresh pappardelle with braised short rib, red wine jus and Parmigiano” gives them something to imagine.

That difference matters.

You do not have to tell somebody the burger is mouthwatering if the photo is good and the description says it has double-smoked bacon, aged cheddar, caramelized onions and house sauce. Let the burger make the argument.

Happy Hour, Not Require Detective Work

Happy hour is one of the easiest things to overcomplicate. If the margaritas are eight dollars until six, that probably belongs in the title.

Not great: Happy Hour Is Here!

Much better: $8 Margaritas Until 6

Then give the guest the rest.

Classic lime margaritas for $8 from 3 to 6 today. Grab a seat at the bar or settle in on the patio.

Now they know what it is, how much it costs, when it ends and roughly what the experience looks like. That is useful copy.

If There’s Music, Tell Me Who’s Playing

“Live Music Tonight” is one of those titles you see everywhere because it is easy to write. Unfortunately, it also gives the guest very little to work with.

Live Tonight: Sarah James at 8

is immediately more interesting.

Then:

Sarah James brings acoustic soul and classic covers to the lounge tonight from 8 to 11. No cover. Dinner and cocktails available throughout the show.

A person deciding what to do tonight now has enough information to actually make a decision.

The same idea applies to DJs, comedy nights, trivia, drag shows, game nights and pretty much every other event. Names, times and details beat vague enthusiasm.

Real Scarcity Is Better Than Fake Urgency

Hospitality already have limited things. You do not need to manufacture scarcity.

Maybe the chef made eighteen portions of lamb shoulder.

Say that.

Only 18 Tonight: Braised Lamb Shoulder

Slow-braised lamb shoulder with rosemary jus and crispy potatoes. The kitchen prepared 18 portions for tonight’s service.

That feels believable because there is a reason for the limitation.

Compare that with:

HURRY!!! LIMITED TIME ONLY!!! DON’T MISS OUT!!!

One sounds like hospitality. The other sounds like somebody selling mattresses on television... lol.

If there are only eighteen portions, that is interesting enough.

New Menu Items Need More Than the Word “New”

There is nothing wrong with:

New Menu Item

It just wastes the best part of the title.

Try:

Just Added: Spicy Vodka Rigatoni

Then:

Rigatoni tossed with spicy vodka tomato cream, Calabrian chili and Parmigiano. Now available on our dinner menu.

Now “new” actually has something attached to it. The same works for a new cocktail, dessert, beer tap, brunch dish or seasonal menu. Most people are curious about new things. Give them enough detail to decide whether they care.

Date Night Is About the Night, Not Just the Price

Dining venues sometimes promote dinner for two as if they are selling a bundle.

"Appetizer. Two mains. Dessert. Sixty-five dollars."

That information matters, but the guest is not really buying a bundle. They are deciding where to spend Tuesday night.

So instead of:

Dinner for Two

try:

Tuesday Date Night: Dinner for Two, $65

Then make the description feel like an evening.

Share an appetizer, you choose two mains and finish with dessert for $65 every Tuesday. Wine pairings available if you want to make a night of it.

That last little bit sounds like a person. It also helps the guest picture what they are doing.

Wine Copy Does Not Need to Sound Like a Sommelier Exam

Wine descriptions can go wrong in two directions. Either they say nothing at all, or they become a wall of tasting notes. For a POP or post, you probably do not need either.

Instead of:

Wine Special

try:

Tonight’s Pour: Barolo by the Glass

Then give it a little context.

A rich Piedmont Barolo with dark cherry, spice and firm tannin, available by the glass tonight alongside our steak feature.

Enough information to create interest. Not enough to make somebody feel like they need to study before ordering it.

Cocktails are the same.

New Tonight: Blood Orange Negroni

followed by what is actually in the glass will usually do more than a paragraph about how “excited” the bar team is.

Sometimes the Patio Is the Whole Story

A restaurant does not always need a discount or a feature to have something worth posting.

It is twenty-six degrees. The sun is out. The patio is open.

That is news.

Sun’s Out. Patio’s Open.

The patio is open for dinner and drinks tonight. Sunshine, cocktails and full dinner service starting at 4.

That is enough.

People make decisions based on atmosphere all the time. A beautiful patio on the first warm Friday of the year may be a stronger reason to visit than ten dollars off an entrée.

Brunch Should Sound Like Brunch

“Sunday Brunch” works, but it does not make anybody hungry.

Sunday Brunch: Benedicts, Mimosas & More

does a little more.

Eggs Benedict, brioche French toast, breakfast skillets and $7 mimosas from 10 to 2 this Sunday.

The reader can see the table already. Family-style dining works the same way. Instead of Family Dinner, try Sunday Family Supper, Built for Sharing and describe what hits the table.

Family-style pasta, roast chicken, seasonal vegetables and warm bread every Sunday evening. Bring the crew and we’ll take care of dinner.

That feels a lot closer to hospitality than “Join us for our family dinner special.”

Takeout Copy Can Be Boring in the Best Possible Way

When somebody is ordering takeout, clarity wins. They want to know what they are getting, how much food there is and when they can pick it up.

Takeout Tonight: Family Pasta Dinner for 4

Rigatoni bolognese, Caesar salad and garlic bread for four. Available for pickup from 4 to 8 tonight.

Done.

This would not be the place to hide the important information behind a clever title.

Convenience is part of the offer.

For the Game, Sell the Bar

If the Jets are playing the Canucks, people already know there is a hockey game.

What they need to know is why they should watch it at your place instead of on their couch.

Jets vs. Canucks, Puck Drops at 7

The game is on the big screens with full sound tonight. Wings, cold beer and puck drop at 7.

Now you are selling the room. That is what matters.

Tastings Need Enough Detail to Feel Worth Leaving the House For

“Wine Tasting Thursday” is fine.

Taste Northern Italy: Five Wines Thursday Night

is better because it already answers a couple of questions.

Then:

Five wines from Northern Italy with guided notes from our host. Thursday at 7. Limited seating and reservations are recommended.

A tasting asks more of a guest than dropping in for a drink, so give them enough information to understand the experience.

The same applies to oyster nights, chef dinners, brewery events and ticketed evenings.

Thursday Night: Oysters & Champagne

Fresh-shucked oysters, Champagne by the glass and a special seafood menu from 5 until close.

That sounds like somewhere to go.

Flash Specials Are Allowed to Be Blunt

When something ends in two hours, let's get to the point.

Until 5: Burger & Beer for $12

Our house burger with fries plus a draft beer for $12 until 5 today. Dine-in only.

You probably do not need anything else. The time limit is already doing the work.

Write It the Way You Would Say It

This might be the easiest test of all. Imagine a regular guest walked through the door and asked, “Anything good happening tonight?”

Would you say:

We invite you to indulge in our incredible limited-time culinary experience featuring mouthwatering flavours!

Probably not. You might say:

Chef did a braised lamb shoulder tonight. There are only about eighteen of them.

That sounds interesting because it sounds real. Restaurant copy tends to get better when it stops trying so hard to sound like restaurant copy.

Before You Hit Publish

Read the title once without looking at the photo.

Do you know what is happening?

Then read the description.

Did you learn anything new?

Finally, ask whether there is some reason this matters today, tonight, this weekend or right now. If those pieces are there, you are probably finished.

You do not need three paragraphs. You do not need a pile of hashtags. You do not need to tell people something is amazing. Tell them what is happening. Make it sound good. Then let them decide where they want to go tonight.

Good copy does not explain everything. It gives people a reason to stop scrolling.