Restaurant Marketing Techniques

I've just learned how Dishoom got to 44,000+ reviews with a 4.8 rating. And the trick isn't the food. I mean, the food is great too. But when a restaurant has the same number of reviews as Westminster Abbey, about half of Big Ben, and a higher rating than both, you start wondering how they managed to pull that off. So I visited one of their locations and it became pretty clear. They use qr payment at the table. No waiting for the bill, no chasing staff, you just pay and leave. But what happens next is where it gets interesting. Right after payment, they ask you to rate your experience inside their own flow. And based on that input, they decide what happens next. If you give 5 stars, you're directed to Google to leave a public review. If you rate it lower, the feedback stays internal. As a result - a high volume of highly distilled traffic to Google Maps. In a world where 50-70% of discovery traffic comes from Google, and even a 0.1 difference in rating can impact revenue, your Google Maps presence becomes something you want to design and influence. Of course, the food and the experience have to be great. But for many places, that's already true. They just underperform when it comes to turning that into reviews. Design your flow, ask for reviews, and do it smart. That's how you get into the same league as Big Ben.

High-End Clients Don’t Find You They Hear About You By Elena Falconer In the rarefied world of luxury, visibility is not just about being seen , it’s about being spoken about in the right rooms. Luxury clients don’t scroll endlessly. They don’t search hashtags or compare prices. They listen. They listen to their inner circle, their trusted advisors, their personal shoppers, their inner concierge of influence. High-end clients are drawn by reputation, not reach. They are loyal to recommendations, to lived experiences, to brands and professionals who have earned the quiet endorsement of those already in their orbit. If you’re in the business of selling high-touch service , be it in fashion, hospitality, design, or private consulting , you must understand this: being discoverable isn't enough. You must be discussed. The Whisper Network of Luxury Referrals are the true currency of the luxury market. But not just any referral , elevated whispers that flow between private rooms, at members’ clubs, inside curated WhatsApp chats and at champagne intermissions. That kind of buzz isn’t created by loud marketing. It’s earned by delivering excellence, crafting extraordinary experiences, and knowing how to make a client feel deeply seen, understood, and subtly impressed. Are You Positioned to Be Talked About? Ask yourself: Is my brand aligned with the discretion and discernment of my ideal client? Do I provide such a tailored experience that my clients can’t help but tell someone? Have I activated my existing network to become my brand’s storytellers? Your visibility strategy should be rooted in intimacy and trust. That means: Collaborating selectively with aligned partners. Being present in the same physical and digital spaces as your dream clients. Designing offers that feel like an invitation, not a pitch. Create Moments Worth Repeating High-end clients are magnetized by details. From the handwritten note on the tissue-lined packaging to the way your team anticipates their preferences , these are the moments that get recounted at dinner tables and after-boardroom conversations. Every luxury brand story begins with a whisper. Make sure what’s being said about you carries the weight of excellence. Because in the luxury world, it’s not about being everywhere , it’s about being heard about in the right places.

Indians want to eat healthy and companies want to make healthier alternatives. But both customers and brands are often confused. Health food is a $30B market in India and we meet atleast 20 companies every week. My last post on Indians eating protein got a lot of attention. So here is a playbook for brands, entrepreneurs & startups making food as nutrition to consider. #1- Sell simplicity, not superiority. Protein is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Stop marketing it like it’s only for bodybuilders or fitness fanatics. The simpler your message, the broader your audience. #2- Educate, don’t exploit- Most Indians don’t know how much protein , carb or fibre they need, let alone where to get it. Be the brand that empowers with knowledge, not fear. Create tools, guides, or calculators that simplify nutrient requirements for different age groups, lifestyles, and budgets. Education creates trust, and trust builds loyalty. #3- Respect local wisdom- Stop chasing western trends and start celebrating Indian staples. Align your messaging with cultural relevance—it resonates deeper than imported fads. #4- Focus on affordability and accessibility- If your product costs more than an average meal, you’re solving a problem for the few, not the many. Create products that cater to the masses, especially rural and low-income communities. Affordability isn’t just ethical—it’s scalable. #5-Champion the underserved - Protein or carbs isn’t just for athletes or gym-goers. It’s crucial for children, pregnant women, and the elderly and they often are left out of the conversation. Tailor your products and campaigns to serve them, and you’ll stand out as a brand with purpose, not just profits. #6- Break the high-protein Halo - A “high-protein” claim shouldn’t be your only story. Focus on the overall quality of your product—minimal additives, real ingredients, and transparent labeling. If your protein bar has more sugar than a laddoo, you’re part of the problem, not the solution. #7- Decommoditize the narrative - Don’t just sell protein or fibre—sell the idea of a healthier India. Be the brand that shifts the conversation from “how much protein you eat” to “how balanced your diet is.” Make protein part of the bigger picture, not the entire story. #8-Make nutrient consumption a Public Good- Don’t just sell specific nutrient products; create ecosystems that make nutrient accessible and affordable for everyone. Collaborate with local governments to integrate protein-rich foods into public programs like midday meals and ration systems. You’ll build long-term demand while addressing a systemic health challenge." More notes continued in the comment section below.

This is how you win summer. Dominos dropped a hyper-local campaign built just for Mykonos. And it delivered. They positioned themselves as the one constant in the chaos. The message: no matter where you go, pizza finds you. What worked: → It’s culturally specific without being cliché. Dominos tapped into the rhythm of the island, beach by day, clubs by night and made food delivery part of the experience, not an interruption. → The storytelling is visual and clever. Riders aren’t the focus, they’re reflected in sunglasses. That subtle approach rewards viewers who pay attention and makes the brand feel like it belongs. → They activated locally. The Newtons Laboratory ran a performance campaign exclusively in Mykonos and brought the story to life inside the Domino’s store with custom materials. Strategy matched execution, which is what too many brands overlook. → It’s fun but focused. There’s personality, but it still reinforces Domino’s global promise ‘no matter where you are, we’ll get pizza to you.’ Newton’s Laboratory 👏

🍓🥥Food = Cultural Equity = Smart Advertising. Brands are no longer just selling products. They’re selling flavors, they’re selling feelings. Why? Because food is fun, personal, culturally rich, and impossible to scroll past. Food is a cultural access point. It builds emotional connection, sparks nostalgia, and drives consumer attention faster than traditional ads ever could. Look at rhode skin, LANEIGE, and SKIMS: rhode skin turned a donut into a cultural icon with their strawberry glaze campaign. Skincare instantly became sensory, delicious, and shareable. ROI: Sold-out launches, TikTok virality, cross-category relevance. LANEIGE makes lip care craveable with gummy bear and watermelon pop flavors, transforming daily skincare into a sweet, sensory ritual. ROI: Category leadership, high recall, and a product people love to photograph. SKIMS served pancakes and waffles in their pop-ups, making shapewear feel playful, human, and irresistibly fun. ROI: Viral social content, experiential buzz, brand intimacy. Food is not just an aesthetic, it’s cultural equity.  It carries stories, identity, and pride. It delivers higher engagement, faster recall, and genuine consumer love. Brands that treat food as cultural capital, not just a gimmick, are the ones winning the race for relevance. What’s a flavor or dish you’d love to see your favorite brand bring to life? #FoodMarketing #CulturalEquity #BrandStrategy #Rhode #Laneige #Skims #AdvertisingTrends #Storytelling #ConsumerBehavior #MarketingStrategy

One of the smartest marketing ideas I have seen recently came from an unexpected place. It came in a takeout bag. When I ordered delivery from Desi Galli, an Indian restaurant in New York City, I noticed a bright red envelope tucked inside. On the front, it said: Stop. No peeking. Open only at Desi Galli with a cashier present. Naturally, this got my attention. Inside was a gift card worth anywhere from $5 to $500. But there was a catch. To find out what you received, you had to visit the restaurant in person. This is a deceptively sophisticated example of incentive design. Rather than pushing discounts or sending reminders, Desi Galli used anticipation, curiosity, and a small element of chance to encourage delivery customers to walk through the door and experience the restaurant firsthand. Why does this work? Because people are wired to resolve uncertainty. We enjoy the feeling of possibility. And when a business creates a moment of positive suspense, it does more than drive foot traffic. It builds emotional connection. The broader lesson is useful far beyond restaurants. Ask yourself: What specific action do you want your customers or clients to take? And how could you make that action more appealing, rewarding, or even a little fun? Small moments of delight often change behavior more effectively than reminders or instructions. Well done, Desi Galli. A smart strategy from a restaurant I already admired for its food.

Few case studies illustrate the brilliance of indirect demand generation quite like the #Michelin Guide. To understand this masterstroke in #Strategy, we must look to France in 1900. The Michelin brothers, André and Édouard, faced a formidable bottleneck. They manufactured tires in a market where the consumer base consisted of a mere 3,000 cars. The problem was not the quality of their product, but a severe lack of market utilization. If people did not drive, tires did not wear out. If tires did not wear out, the replacement cycle stagnated, and sales remained negligible. As a strategist, one must recognize that when direct marketing fails, the solution lies in stimulating the broader ecosystem. The brothers hypothesized that to sell more tires, they needed to induce a behavioral shift: make the populace want to drive further and more frequently. Driving means friction, tread wear, and the purchase of new tires. Their execution was the introduction of the Michelin Guide, initially distributed as a complimentary booklet for motorists. It provided logistical information—maps, mechanics, and gas stations. However, the strategic genius lay in its inclusion of restaurant recommendations. The objective was singular: give owners a compelling reason to undertake long road trips. The initiative evolved in 1926 when the company introduced a tiered rating system for dining establishments. This was a masterclass in psychological incentivization. One star denoted a restaurant worth stopping for on your route. Two stars indicated a place worth a detour, encouraging drivers to add miles to their journey. The ultimate tier, three stars, was reserved for exceptional cuisine worth a special journey. By defining value through travel, Michelin gamified driving. To ensure integrity, Michelin employed anonymous inspectors, injecting mystery and authority into the ratings. The stars became the most prestigious culinary accolade. Chefs became obsessed, knowing a single star equated to fame, while losing one spelled financial ruin. In this ecosystem, chefs became unwitting catalysts for Michelin's core business. The culinary world's obsession created a self-sustaining engine of vehicular travel. Motorists eagerly drove across France chasing gastronomic excellence, wearing down their tire treads exactly as calculated. Today, the Guide stands as an arbiter of culinary perfection. Top chefs dedicate their lives to the pursuit of these stars. Yet, peeling back the layers of prestige reveals a pragmatic foundation. The phenomenon exists because a rubber manufacturer needed to sell tires and understood that the best way to do so was to sell the journey instead. The strategic lesson here is profound: when confronted with a limited market, do not merely push the product. Cultivate and incentivize the ecosystem that makes your product a necessity. Create demand indirectly. DC*

Cheese Board Pizza, Berkeley, CA (from my post yesterday about pipe cleaners) has a line out the door every single day. Here's their entire menu: One pizza type per day One sauce One salad When they sell out, they close Most founders would think: 'We need more options to attract more customers." Cheese Board thinks: 'Fewer options create more desire." The scarcity psychology that works: →Limited availability creates urgency →'Better get there before they sell out' vs. 'I can order anytime' →Simplicity reduces decision fatigue →No menu anxiety. You either want today's pizza or you don't. Exclusivity builds community →You're part of the group that 'gets it' →FOMO drives action →Missing out today means waiting until tomorrow How founders can apply this: Instead of: 20 pricing tiers Try: 3 clear options with limited spots Instead of: 'Available anytime' Try: 'Next cohort starts Monday, 15 spots only' Instead of: Endless customization Try: 'This is how we do it. Take it or leave it.' Instead of: Always available demos Try: 'Demo slots: Tuesdays only, 4 spots' The uncomfortable truth: Abundance doesn't create demand. Scarcity does. When everything is available, nothing feels special. Most founders fear limiting options will lose customers. But Cheese Board proves the opposite: constraints create cravings. What could you make scarce to make it more valuable?"

Marketing doesn’t fix empty restaurants. I’ve lost count of how many times F&B teams have asked me: “What can marketing do to help us drive more covers?” The assumption is almost always the same. More social media. More press. More influencers. More partnerships. A new photoshoot. A new menu design. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: none of these things will sustainably fill a venue if the experience itself isn’t designed to attract demand in the first place. Marketing creates visibility. It creates desirability. But it cannot create relevance where it does not exist. Some of the biggest commercial turnarounds I’ve seen didn’t come from bigger marketing budgets. They came from operational decisions. Changing opening hours to capture a previously ignored revenue window. Introducing the right menu at the right time of day. Rethinking entertainment (not just adding it, but placing it intentionally to shape energy and flow). Repositioning a bar so it becomes a destination, not just an amenity. Refining storytelling so guests understand why they should come, not just what is available. Sometimes the solution isn’t to market harder. It’s to operate smarter. MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants is a perfect illustration of this. Many of the venues at the top are not the biggest advertisers, nor the most visible on paid channels. What they have instead is something far more powerful: a clear identity, a distinctive point of view, and an experience that people actively seek out and talk about. Their reputation isn’t built on media spend, it’s built on relevance. The most successful venues don’t treat marketing as a last step (something you do once everything else is decided). They involve marketing early, when concepts are being shaped, when guest journeys are being designed, when commercial strategy is being defined. Because marketing is most powerful when it amplifies something inherently compelling. Not when it’s asked to compensate for something that isn’t. Covers and revenue don’t come from one department. They come from alignment between concept, operations, entertainment, pricing, timing, and storytelling. Marketing is the amplifier. Operations is the engine. You need both.

The less you do, the more you win… even in crisis times. Especially in times of crisis, this is the story of Chili’s. In Europe, most of us have never walked into a Chili’s. It’s a Tex-Mex casual dining chain in the US. Think burgers, fajitas, margaritas, and sizzling skillets. Fun? Yes. Thriving in a downturn? Surprisingly, yes. While competitors like TGI Friday’s and Red Lobster were filing for bankruptcy in 2024, Chili’s grew. More customers. More sales. More relevance. Why? Because they cut through complexity and went back to basics. Here’s what brands in any industry can learn from their turnaround: - 1. Cut clutter, deliver better. They trimmed 25% of the menu. Simpler kitchen. Faster prep. Fewer errors. More consistent quality. The result? A single dish, chicken crispers, jumped 66% in sales. Not because it changed. Because it was finally done right. - 2. Ask the people closest to the problem. The CEO runs listening sessions across the US. He asks one question: “If you were CEO, what would you change tomorrow?” One idea? Fix the fry salt shaker. Seasoning used to take 30 shakes. Now? A redesigned shaker and a better bowl. Hotter, crispier fries. Happier teams. - 3. Value that doesn’t race to the bottom. They introduced barbell pricing. €6 deals for the cost-conscious. €12 premium options for those who want more. It’s not just pricing—it’s flexibility. - 4. Make your classics go viral. The Triple Dipper wasn’t new. But it looked incredible on TikTok: cheese pulls, dips, textures. That social-first framing boosted sales by 70%. Now? It makes up 14% of all revenue. Big picture? +50% revenue growth over the last 3 years. +31% sales in a single quarter (while competitors dropped). +20% traffic growth during industry-wide decline. Triple Dipper sales ↑ 70% year-on-year. Chili’s didn’t invent a new product. They fixed what was broken. They trimmed the fat. They made it work harder. This is what growth looks like when you don’t chase more... you just do better. (Never had Chili's but I 'm hungry now and want some...) [Source: The Wall Street Journal]