Do Facebook and Instagram ads actually work for restaurants?

Restaurants are one of Meta's best-performing categories: food ads average a 1.67% click-through rate at around $0.72 per click, and restaurant lead campaigns convert at roughly 18% — over 3x the cross-industry average. Facebook is also the #1 platform diners use to discover new places to eat.

How do I stop losing margin to DoorDash and Uber Eats?

Third-party platforms take 20-30% commission — often 30-40% of the order once service fees and marketing boosts are added. The fix is shifting repeat customers to direct channels: ads that point to your own ordering page, plus retargeting past guests, who convert 3-5x better than cold audiences.

What budget does a single restaurant need?

Most single-location restaurants see meaningful results from $1,500-$3,000/month in ad spend thanks to cheap local clicks. We'll tell you honestly what your market needs after the free audit — and if you should start smaller.

Marketing for restaurants & cafés

Full Tables. Direct Orders. Regulars Who Come Back.

Q: Can ads fill my slow weeknights?

Yes — that's exactly what scheduled, geo-targeted campaigns are for. We run midweek-specific offers to diners within real driving distance of your restaurant, timed to hit phones in the hours people decide where to eat, so demand shifts to the nights you need it.

Geo-targeted Meta ads that hit phones at dinner-decision time, mouth-watering creative shot from your actual menu, and ordering pages you own — so the margin stays in your kitchen, not a delivery app's pocket.

Get My Free Restaurant Growth Audit

59%of diners find new restaurants on Facebook

18%restaurant lead-ad conversion — 3x other industries

$10M+Meta ad spend managed since 2011

Sound Familiar?

The Math Every Restaurant Owner Is Fighting

Industry-wide numbers — not your cooking, not your service. Our job is to change your side of the equation.

3–5%

Typical profit margin

Nearly 60% of restaurants say rising costs and shrinking margins are their #1 challenge. Every wasted marketing dollar comes straight off the bottom line.

30–40%

Lost to delivery apps

Commission, service fees, and "marketing boosts" quietly eat up to a third of every third-party order. The apps own your customer — and your data.

Mon–Thu

Empty-table nights

Rent, staff, and utilities run seven days a week whether the dining room is full or not. Off-peak losses are the silent margin killer.

What We Build For You

A Dining-Room Filler, Not Just Ads

Geo-Targeted Meta Ads

Facebook & Instagram campaigns aimed at diners within real driving distance — timed to hit phones in the hours people decide where to eat.

Midweek offers that fill your slowest nights
Event, seasonal, and new-menu launch campaigns
Retargeting past guests — they convert 3–5x better than cold audiences

Direct-Order & Reservation Pages

Fast pages you own, so ad clicks become bookings and orders without a 30% commission in the middle.

Reservation-first and order-first layouts
Pixel + server-side tracking on every booking
Your customer list stays yours — for repeat-visit campaigns

Food Creative That Triggers Appetite

Scroll-stopping dish videos and photos edited for cravings — steam, pull-aparts, pours — the content that makes thumbs stop.

Hook-first Reels & Stories cut from your kitchen
Chef, staff, and behind-the-pass story angles
Fresh variants every few weeks so ads never go stale

Transparent Owner Reporting

You see cost per booking, cost per direct order, and revenue per campaign — not vanity likes.

Weekly plain-English updates
Real Ads Manager access — your account, always
Month-to-month after the first 90 days

Proof, Not Promises

Local Campaigns We've Actually Run

0xROAS sustained for a local business

$0Cost per qualified local lead

0%Lower cost per lead vs. previous agency

Geo-targeted local-business campaign from our portfolio — same playbook we run for restaurants. See the case studies →

How It Works

From Form to Full Tables in Weeks

Free Audit

Fill the form below. We review your ads, ordering flow, and local visibility, then show you where covers are leaking — with numbers.

Offer & Launch

We build the offer, the landing page, and geo-targeted campaigns around your slowest nights. Live in days, not months.

Test & Tighten

Dish creative and audience testing drops your cost per booking week over week. Losers die fast; winners scale.

Steady Covers All Week

Predictable bookings and direct orders — including Monday through Thursday — with reporting an owner can actually read.

Restaurant Owner Questions

Asked Before You Ask

Do Meta ads actually work for restaurants?

Restaurants are one of Meta's best categories: food ads average a 1.67% click-through at around $0.72 per click, and restaurant lead campaigns convert near 18% — over 3x the cross-industry average. Facebook is also the #1 place diners discover new restaurants.

How do I stop losing margin to delivery apps?

Shift repeat customers to channels you own. We point ads at your own ordering and reservation pages and retarget past guests — warm audiences convert 3–5x better, and every direct order skips the 20–40% platform cut.

Can ads fill my slow weeknights?

That's the core play: midweek-specific offers, geo-targeted within driving distance, scheduled to hit phones in the hours people decide where to eat tonight.

What budget do I need?

Most single-location restaurants see meaningful results from $1,500–$3,000/month in ad spend — local clicks are cheap in this category. We'll tell you honestly what your market needs after the audit.