13 Best Restaurant Websites Designed To Increase Sales

Find inspiration from these great restaurant websites and learn about key features that attract new customers, generate loyalty and increase profits.

12 min. read
February 14, 2024

Key takeaways

  • The best restaurant websites are easy for your customers to use and are designed to show up in Google search results. 
  • The most important features vary depending on your restaurant goals — online ordering increases direct sales as a whole, while seasonal CTAs promote specific dish sales.
  • Branding and design help your restaurant stand out from the competition, which can increase brand recognition and attract new customers.

Nowadays, I rely on the web to find new restaurants and browse menus before I ever reach their door. As a restaurant owner, you probably already know having the best restaurant website can drive sales and boost your bottom line. You’re probably also not a web designer and have a lot of other plates to juggle, and that’s ok. 

The good news is you don’t need to code to create a website that wins new customers. You just need to know what makes a restaurant website amazing.

If your goal is to increase sales through your website design, you’re in the right place. Here's what you need to have:

  • A digital menu so customers know what you offer.
  • Search engine optimization (SEO) to appear higher in search results.
  • User experience (UX) for easy navigation and engagement.
  • Calls to action (CTAs) to route customers to place an order.
  • Original photography to sell your dishes.
  • A mobile site for users across devices.
  • Online ordering to drive sales.

Want to see the best websites in action? Study my 13 favorites below to discover the smart choices they’ve made that help their restaurant websites drive sales. I’ll walk you through the key highlights from each one so you can get inspired to amp up your restaurant’s site.  

1. Ottavio’s Italian Restaurant Uses Strategic Web Page Design to Drive Sales

Ottavio's website features search-optimized text.

Their secret sauce for increasing sales:

  • Individual pages for the top menu items increase visibility in Google search results and attract customers to the website

Ottavio’s Italian restaurant knows your website is an excellent place to attract locals and convert them into paying customers. That approach is how they landed at the top of our list — we know that you and every other restaurant owner want to increase your sales.

You might think a beautiful takeout menu is enough, but future customers have to find your site before they can browse the menu. 

So, let’s chat about search engine optimization (SEO). Check out our restaurant SEO guide if you’re not familiar, but it’s a tactic that helps your site rank higher in Google searches. That means more customers find your site, check out your menu and place online orders. 

We can’t cover everything there is to know about SEO, but my best advice is to think about what your customers are searching for. 

Ottavio’s knows people are Googling “Italian restaurants in Lakeside,” so they incorporated this phrase into the most visible parts of their homepage. 

  • The homepage title is “Ottavio’s Italian Restaurant.” 
  • Their URL includes their Lakeside location. 
  • Their very first call to action (CTA) claims they have the “Best Italian Food In Lakeside.”

Now, when you type “Italian food in Lakeside,” Ottavio’s is the first independent restaurant site you’ll see. 

Pro tip: You can also beef up your menu SEO with dedicated product pages. I like to include a separate page for each dish, starting with the best sellers. Include the dish name in the page title, a brief description and a photo with ALT text. Most restaurants aren’t doing this, so you’re likely to beat the competition on search engines. 

When you effectively combine all of these SEO features with great site design and an easy-to-use online ordering system, you’re sure to see your online sales increase. 

In fact, Ottavio’s new website helped it increase online sales by $27,000 in 90 days. Antoinette Belvedere, the restaurant’s manager, says, “Our customers really love it. It's easy to use.”

2. Home Slice Pizza Hooks Users’ Attention

Home Slice's restaurant website features a looping video of unique characters at their restaurant.

Their secret sauce for increasing sales: 

  • Home Slice uses their personality to break out into the spotlight. You certainly won’t see Wonder Woman and Madonna sharing a pie at your Pizza Hut lunch buffet. 

The first thing I see on your site should say something about your restaurant — the food, the brand, the service. “Above the fold” content is everything a user sees before they scroll and it’s where they’ll spend 80% of their time

Most restaurants focus on food photographs, but Home Slice switched it up by streaming a video of eccentric guests arriving at their flagship location with hot pizza boxes. Their uniqueness is visually memorable, which is an important strategy to make customers remember you more than your competitors, thus driving in more orders.

There are no beauty shots of ooey-gooey cheese stretching, but you do see “Ziggy Stardust” waiting on takeout and “Mister Rogers” taking his shoes off for a very brave and barefooted stroll down South Congress Avenue.

As an Austin original, they understand their responsibility to keep it weird and invite you to join with a slice of ‘za.

The well-placed shot even uses their actual storefront and sign to headline the homepage with a main navigation bar at the bottom so users can still grab the menu and hours without digging. 

Consider your competition and brainstorm ways you can position your brand at a glance with:

  • Unique branding.
  • Clever food photography or video.
  • Customer testimonials.
  • Creative layout (careful not to sacrifice UX to impress!).

3. Talkin’ Tacos Loyalty Program Delivers Sales

Talkin' Tacos site features a loyalty program CTA to collect customer contacts.

Their secret sauce for increasing sales: 

  • Promoting their loyalty program at the top of their website and with a pop-up CTA has earned Talkin’ Tacos more than 40,000 customer contacts in their loyalty program. These are long-term customers who repeatedly order, which helped grow their direct online sales to $120,000 a month

An online menu and order button aren’t all you need to successfully convert new customers. Talkin’ Tacos made some strategic changes to their website that helped their direct online sales increase by 3,000%

One simple step is incorporating an actionable phrase, like “Join Talking Tacos Rewards,” on your site. It entices users to click and sign up for your promotion, whether that’s a loyalty program or free appetizer.

I like how Talkin’ Tacos sprinkles CTAs throughout its homepage with various offers, broken up with photos and new service highlights. Each prompt clearly offers value to the customer while supporting a specific goal for the restaurant.

Let’s break down some of what makes their CTAs successful:

  • Vivid green buttons and backgrounds contrast the site design and demand attention.
  • Clear value to customers with a raffle or promise of the best tacos in America.
  • Varied formats and locations with different button designs and text.

These target a mix of conversion goals, like “Order Now” to increase online sales and “Join Rewards” to support returning customers and collect customer data. 

Other CTAs to consider for your restaurant include:

  • “Make a reservation.”
  • “Try our new seasonal dish.”
  • “Buy one, get one” signs and other discounts.
  • “Order delivery or takeout online.”
  • “Find your location.”
  • “Sign up for rewards, promotions or app perks.”

As an added bonus, CTA’s deliver valuable data for restaurant marketing. Many customers won’t order on their first visit, but having a contact to share future promotions and events with them via email marketing encourages customer loyalty to help your business grow. 

4. Mobile Matters All Day, Baby

Screenshots of All Day, Baby's mobile website show responsive images and features formatted for mobile.

Their secret sauce for increasing sales: 

  • The creative branding and design of the All Day Baby restaurant aren’t lost for mobile users. 
  • The site is easy to navigate with resized CTAs and photography, so mobile users get the same information as desktop users without sacrificing function or beauty. 

Whether you know it or not, most of your customers are browsing your website from their mobile phones. In fact, mobile devices made up 60% of global e-commerce sales in 2023. If you want to sell to these customers, they have to be able to find and look at your site on the go. 

All Day Baby in LA has a beautiful website with a vintage flair, and it looks just as amazing on desktop as it does on mobile. More importantly — it’s just as functional on both devices

Many restaurant website builders will include a mobile responsive layout designed to automatically adjust for a smaller screen, like a phone or tablet. But, a truly mobile-friendly website isn’t that simple. The aspect ratios are massively different, and your design has to be, too. 

All Day Baby’s mobile site includes:

  • Images sized for mobile screens.
  • A thumbnail logo for the mobile menu.
  • Jump-to links at the top of long vertical menus.

These little considerations make your mobile site feel intentional rather than an afterthought. When your mobile and desktop designs are cohesive and well-designed, users can get all of the same information regardless of their device. 

That helps your customers navigate your site and order online without getting frustrated with oversized images or poorly structured menu layouts. 

Not only does a mobile-first experience allow customers to access your menu and order without hassle, but Google is beginning to prioritize mobile-friendly sites in search. So, you need a great mobile site if you want higher rankings in search results.

5. Google Search Results Say Doo-Dah Diner Is The Place to Be

Doo-Dah Diner's restaurant website features local awards, accolades, and reviews.

Their secret sauce for increasing sales: 

  • Doo-dah includes little hearts throughout its menu so users can easily see which dishes are fan favorites and vote on their own. 
  • They also highlight customer reviews with their restaurant awards on the homepage to back up that they really do have the best chicken and waffles in Kansas. 

Customers obviously can’t smell or taste your food through your website, but that’s not the only way to convince new customers you’re a must-try spot in town. 

Social proof is like digital word-of-mouth, and Doo-Dah Diner does an excellent job selling how delicious their meals are right from the homepage. Just after a carousel of their most popular items, they highlight their many accomplishments and awards, including Top-100 Brunch Spot in the U.S. for 2023. 

They also feature a brief review, so you don’t even have to exit the page and head to Yelp to learn more. This is great for your customers’ experience and directly reinforces the social proof (not that Food Network needs any help with their review authority).

The proof is in the pudding, so to speak. Owner Timirie Shibley dreamed of an online system that would help her bring in new customers. After she connected with Owner.com, her restaurant’s site now ranks at the top of Google search results for key terms like “best diner in Wichita” and “best breakfast in Wichita” — driving over 40 new customers every month.

Social proof isn’t just press mentions. It can include:

  • Awards and recognition
  • Review carousels
  • Dish-specific reviews
  • Third-party review sites like Google My Business

76% of people regularly check local business reviews, so featuring social proof on your website saves them a step. But independent services like Google My Business profiles are still extremely effective, so don’t forget to watch and respond to your online reviews.

6. Maciel’s Plant Butcher Shop Knows Great Food and Great Photography

Maciel's uses food photography to entice customers and feature specialties.

Their secret sauce for increasing sales: 

  • Maciel’s features a mix of dishes, specialties and location shots to answer multiple user questions in one. 
  • They also feature their Instagram feed at the bottom to increase engagement and showcase new items or seasonal specialties.

Your best first impression with new customers will be your food photography. This is an excellent opportunity to feature your top menu items, most beautiful dishes and specialty items. 

Maciel’s nails this with gorgeous photography that matches the website design. The top homepage image shows multiple sandwiches, sides and drinks before users scroll to more photos to highlight their featured jams and handmade vegetarian deli meats, as well as the restaurant itself. 

High-quality images are vital for your menu and can increase your sales. It helps to show how good your food is, even when they can’t taste it (yet). The improved experience helps customers decide what they want to order and can even recommend items to increase your average order size.

There’s another bonus to website photography, and that’s search. 

Image search is a huge aspect of Google that most of your competitors are underutilizing. ALT text on images describes the photo so screen readers can describe it to blind and visually-impaired customers and so Google understands what it is. 

This does two things:

  1. Helps you rank higher in Google image packs and the image search tab to increase your online visibility and attract more customers. 
  2. Increases your restaurant’s accessibility to support and attract diverse customers and reduce your liability.

Most restaurants aren’t optimizing their food photography, so you can easily outperform other local restaurants and attract dozens of new customers. 

7. Metro Pizza Shares a Personal Touch

Metro Pizza builds customer relationships with personal connections and real reviews.

Their secret sauce for increasing sales: 

  • From the first heading on the homepage to their story page with family photos, MetroPizza feels like a warm, welcoming place to be. The text, photos and reviews tell you that the staff will greet you with a smile and a hot, classically delicious pizza pie. 

Metro Pizza is an almost 100-year-old restaurant with a lot of history and recognition to lean on. They have a personal history with their Las Vegas locations, and they use that in their positioning to connect with customers. 

A lot of us love the neighborhood staples our parents grew up going to and look forward to that go-to spot every time we come home. Declarations like “America’s Neighborhood Pizzeria since 1928” immediately touch on that nostalgia and recognition to attract customers. 

It’s clearly working on multiple levels. Within four months of premiering their website combining a state-of-the-art experience with this old-world charm, they received 100 five-star reviews via their new online system and earned a 4.9 satisfaction rating (on a 5.0 scale) from guests using the system.

The more you scroll, the deeper it goes. Metro Pizza claims to honor the traditions of classic American pizzerias with handmade, fresh ingredients and authentic recipes. Even their user reviews back up their classic charm, like this review from a featured customer named Tom:

 “You can’t beat their old school pepperoni pizza and the Domenica salad with their homemade Italian dressing. I just wish Dave, the manager, would give me the recipe … but he won’t.”

This review is so great because it highlights the charm and community focus of MetroPizza. Old-school flavors, lovingly made food and a manager that you know by name is a strong strategy to attract new customers. Plus, if your spot feels like a local staple, visitors and locals alike will want to keep coming back. 

8. Kuma’s Corner Commits to Their Brand

Kuma's Corner uses their unique and recognizable brand throughout their site.

Their secret sauce for increasing sales: 

  • Kuma’s Corner knows what they’re about, and thanks to a customer-crafted website, so do their customers. They place bold claims like “Best Burgers On The Planet” next to original photography to show you how good their burgers are. Plus, they back it up with high-profile reviews from the likes of Food Network and TIME.

Kuma’s Corner created a trifecta of goodness with burgers, beer and heavy metal, all in one spot. And none of this is a surprise if you check out their homepage. 

Kuma’s site shows photo after photo of juicy, well-dressed patties, craft pints and re-imagined metal logos as headings to highlight all their offerings. 

The text is well-branded, too. Standout phrases like “Hallowed Be Thy Burgers” and the self-proclaimed title “Metal Burger Mecca” help build the restaurant’s theme while promoting the star of the show, the frontman — their beastly burgers. 

Why does this matter to you and your restaurant?

Strong, consistent branding tells your story and increases brand recognition. Kuma’s Corner isn’t just any burger restaurant, which is how they earn reviews like “Most Influential Burger of All Time” from powerhouse publishers like TIME. 

The heavy-metal positioning also provides a ripe opportunity for merch. Their online store is full of branded T-shirts, including metal references like Kuma-themed Black Sabbath album covers. That’s wearable advertising your customers are paying you for. 

All of this works together to make it a destination restaurant. It’s become a must-try burger for Chicago visitors, and the atmosphere matches the brand. The experience snowballs to increase food and merch sales, grow visibility and word-of-mouth, and keep customers coming in your door. 

9. SushiMe Roll’n Promotes Direct Orders

Sushi Me Rolln' makes ordering easy with main menu buttons and suggested items.

Their secret sauce for increasing sales: 

  • This website is built to drive sales, and that’s taken into consideration throughout the design. The site begins with a promotion to entice new customers, then backs its brand up with social proof, photography and CTAs to get customers browsing their menu. 

Direct orders through your site are an amazing way to increase your profits and own customer relationships with valuable data and contact information. 

Third-party apps are valuable for convenience, and a lot of customers already have the app on their phones. But there’s no question that commission-free delivery and takeout are better for your profit margins. 

SushiMe Roll’n’s homepage clearly has a goal, and that’s to drive online orders. And it works because their website with online ordering has helped them increase direct sales by $10,000 a month

First, their online ordering system is top-notch. The menu has strong original photography, social proof with customer likes and a discount on your first online order to help new users convert. 

Their homepage CTAs are powerful, too. In addition to 15% off and “Order Now” prompts, they immediately lead with their award as the best sushi restaurant in West Covina. Next, you can browse top menu items with photos, followed by another online order prompt and menu link.

Every scroll shows you a little bit more of what SushiMe Roll’n has to offer, and each section is designed to make you want to order.  

10. Forage Highlights Their Specialties

Forage highlights what makes them unique and their specialty items to differentiate from competition.

Their secret sauce for increasing sales: 

  • You don’t even have to scroll to know that Forage makes healthy and delicious food, thanks to clear headings and CTAs and original photography showcasing specialty salads, grain bowls and original Forage Kombucha. 

Forage is for everyone, and that’s evident from your first look at the website. The claim is featured in a scrolling ticker below the CTA “Make your mouth water” with a photo featuring several of their top dishes with a variety of traditional and animal-free proteins. 

Whether you have the best beachside cocktails in town or believe healthy food should be good for your soul and taste buds, the top of your homepage is an excellent space to differentiate your restaurant from the competition

Forage does an excellent job positioning their restaurant with:

  • Personalized CTAs that highlight their food and values.
  • Unique photography for their site and socials.
  • Distinct branded colors, fonts and site structure.
  • Unique values like local healthy food and housemade Kombucha.

Many cities have several burger spots, soup and sandwich cafes, and build-your-own bowl options. If you don’t know what sets your restaurant apart, neither will your customers. So there’s no reason they’ll choose you over the competition. Your site sets the stage for your food, so make it clear why your dishes are the star attraction to get more sales. 

11. Rebel Cheese Makes the Most of Content

Screenshots highlight Rebel Cheese site content including product pages and national reviews.

Their secret sauce for increasing sales: 

  • Rebel Cheese takes every opportunity to talk about its product, from telling the store’s history and creation process to explaining how they ship and store specialty vegan cheeses and deli meats. This is great for showing up in searches online to attract new customers, as well as answering important questions for customer experience.

A couple of blog posts might not increase your sales, but that doesn’t mean that content doesn’t have a place on your restaurant website. The kind of information that I’d recommend for your website really depends on your restaurant. 

Rebel Cheese is the perfect example. This vegan deli has a ton of press after a recent 2023 appearance on SharkTank, which means a lot of people are searching for their site and products. And their orders aren’t limited to their Austin, TX location, which means they need national visibility. 

Web content is a good way to make your site appear in more searches. The more quality pages and information that are on your site, the more Google wants to promote it in searches. 

Content means a lot of things. Rebel Cheese has a few particularly great examples:

  • Meet the Cheeses introduces products with individual pages, photos, key details, dietary information and more. These pages are why you can search “Ash Cevre vegan cheese” on Google, and Rebel Cheese is the #4 result, as of February 2024. 
  • Infographics and images quickly explain the product ingredients, process and what makes this vegan cheese so rebellious. 
  • FAQ pages help users learn more about the cheeses, order options and shipping for long-distance clients. 
  • Press mentions and reviews to build social proof and highlight products like their Shark Tank Box. 

While this isn’t a fit for every restaurant, there are still some takeaways you can use on your website. Consider an FAQ page for things like parking and dietary restrictions, and individual product pages are an excellent choice for showing up in search results. 

12. Saffy’s Lives for the Aesthetic

Saffy's site uses unique designs and purposeful photography to set a casual, inviting tone.

Their secret sauce for increasing sales:  

  • The images are purposeful, with the top photo showing multiple dishes, hands reaching across the table and a freshly poured glass of wine. It shows action and community, and even their animated illustrations add a flair of personality and switch it up from other restaurant images. 

The second you open Saffy’s site, you’re met with a bold Marigold logo and stunning colors and textures in a dinner table photo. As you scroll, you’ll find animated shawarma turning and a tea kettle pouring.

The layout itself isn’t revolutionary, but the little touches of custom illustrations and branding really stand out. With messages like “where you can eat with your hands and drink with your friends,” it’s clear this is a casual spot to relax with company. 

Intentionally-crafted site branding like this gives a peek into your restaurant’s personality

A lunch truck might keep it fun and funky with bold colors and organic shapes, while a fine dining spot might opt for a minimalist design with chic fonts and warm, moody colors. 

When done well, this aesthetic and personality combine to create a unique experience that feeds into a customer’s fear of missing out

Saffy’s homepage makes it seem like this is a place to enjoy with others, laughing over dinner with wine and homemade hummus. That warmth makes you want to call all of your friends for the weekend’s dinner plans. And it can be the edge that encourages an order from your site instead of the gyro place down the street. 

13. Talat Market Keeps Contact Info Front and Center

Talat Market is eat-in only, so they promote reservations for their sales goals.

Their secret sauce for increasing sales:  

  • Where most restaurants place an “Order Online” button in the top-right corner, Talat Market promotes “Reservations” as their primary goal to encourage customers to commit to a date and come in to place their order. 

Not every restaurant offers takeout and delivery, so you don’t need large “Order Now” buttons and ticker tape specials on your homepage to compete. You can focus on what really matters instead — your open hours and location. 

Talat Market in Atlanta is a fine dining restaurant more interested in reservations than to-go bags, so getting you on the road ASAP isn’t the priority. Instead, they entice you to plan ahead with open hours just before a block of photos to show off their location and menu items. 

If stunning cocktail photos aren’t enough, the homepage highlights their achievements, including a James Beard Rising Star Chef honor and a few Atlanta Magazine features.

Talat Market understands that fine dining is about the food and the experience, so to-go orders don’t align with their restaurant’s brand — and it won’t benefit their bottom line. Understanding your individual goals and how your website can serve them is vital to growing in the right direction. 

Websites Connect With Customers and Drive Sales

Creating the best restaurant website for your business doesn’t have to be a headache. Regardless of your web experience, you can create a site that showcases your restaurant and appeals to customers to increase your sales. 

We’ve covered a lot of must-have features and inspiration, including compelling CTAs and mouthwatering food photography. As well as sales strategies like online ordering to support sales growth. 

Ready to see results from your restaurant website design? Get a free demo of Owner.com’s restaurant website builder, which includes automated marketing, a mobile app and more.

Frequently asked questions

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Adam Guild is the CEO of Owner, a restaurant marketing platform that makes online growth easy for restaurants.

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