“I have a Google profile and a Glovo listing — do I really need a website too?” Short answer: yes — and that website often pays for itself faster than almost any other investment in the restaurant. Here is why, and how much it costs.
Short answer: a restaurant website costs between €525 and €1200 depending on the features. The essentials — an online menu, a gallery and reservations — are included even in the starter package.
What a restaurant website needs
A guest looking for somewhere to have dinner wants answers within seconds. The website has to give them:
- Online menu — up to date, readable on a phone, with no PDF to download. This is the first thing the guest looks for.
- Photos — of the dishes and the interior. People eat with their eyes first.
- Reservations — a form or a system, so you don’t lose tables to a missed call.
- Location and opening hours — a map, address and phone number in a prominent spot.
- Local SEO — so you show up when someone searches for “restaurant” plus your town or neighbourhood.
The price levels
| Level | Price | Who it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | €525 | Menu, gallery, reservations by form, local SEO. |
| Business | €790 | Plus events, more pages, a richer gallery. |
| Advanced | €1000+ | Real-time reservation system, online ordering. |
Why it pays off quickly: the commission maths
Aggregators (Foodpanda, Glovo and the like) bring visibility, but they take a commission of between 15% and 25% on every order. On a €50 order the platform keeps up to €12.50. Multiply that by the number of orders per month.
Your own website brings direct reservations with no commission. Even a few direct reservations a month cover its cost within the first months — and every one after that is pure profit that the aggregator would otherwise have shaved off.
The website doesn’t replace the aggregators — it adds a channel that is entirely yours and takes no cut. The guests who would have come to you anyway go through directly, instead of via a commission.
How guests choose where to eat
To understand what the website has to do, think about how you choose yourself. A guest usually goes through the same steps within a minute or two:
- Searches on Google for “restaurant” plus a cuisine or neighbourhood — this is where it’s decided whether they see you at all.
- Looks at photos — of the food and the setting. If it looks good, they stay; if not, they close the page.
- Checks the menu — whether it has what they want, and at what price.
- Looks for how to book — a phone number or an online form.
The website has to serve each of these steps without friction. If it fails at any one of them, you lose the guest right there. That is why a readable menu, good photos and easy booking aren’t extras — they are the very funnel that brings the guest to your table.
Common mistakes with restaurant websites
- A menu as a downloadable PDF. Nobody downloads a file to their phone just to see the salads. The menu has to be right there on the page.
- Poor or missing photos. For a restaurant, the photos are half the sale.
- A hidden phone number. The booking number should be visible immediately and tappable from a phone.
- An out-of-date menu or opening hours. Nothing annoys a guest more than wrong information.
And what about us?
A restaurant website with us starts at €525 with an online menu, a gallery, reservations and local SEO. You see the finished design with a free demo within 24 hours, before you pay. More on our restaurant websites page.
In summary: A restaurant website costs €525–1200 and must have an online menu, photos, reservations and a location. It pays off quickly because it brings direct reservations without the 15–25% commission that aggregators take. Avoid a PDF menu and poor photos — for a restaurant, they are decisive.