6 Proven Restaurant Marketing Strategies for UK Restaurants

How to Attract More Diners in 2025 and Beyond

In the restaurant business, attracting customers is always one of the biggest challenges. You can hand out flyers, post on social media, or list on review sites — but if your efforts don’t reach the right audience, they won’t bring results.

In the UK, with its diverse mix of locals, immigrants, tourists, and Gen Z consumers, it’s essential to design a marketing strategy that targets your ideal customers effectively.

This article outlines seven highly effective marketing strategies for restaurants in the UK. As you read, take a close look at your restaurant’s strengths and challenges so you can choose the approaches that will work best for you.

Step 1: Identify Your Current Position and Strengths

Before choosing your marketing tactics, start with a clear, objective understanding of your restaurant’s current situation. Ask yourself:

• What are our key strengths? (e.g., locally sourced ingredients, unique culinary experiences, distinctive atmosphere)
• Is our concept and brand identity clearly defined?
• What makes us stand out from competitors?
• Who are our current customers? (age, gender, location, tourists vs. locals)
• What are our best-selling dishes? What’s our new vs. repeat customer ratio?
• Who are our main competitors nearby?

By answering these questions, you’ll be able to focus on the marketing methods that suit your restaurant best.

Step 2: Define Your Target Audience

An effective marketing plan starts with knowing exactly who you want to attract. Be as specific as possible:

• Age / gender
• Occupation / lifestyle
• Food values (health-conscious, fine dining, trend-driven, family-oriented, etc.)）

The more clearly you define your target audience, the easier it becomes to develop effective marketing strategies tailored to them.

What does your ideal customer look like?

By having a concrete image in mind, you can create messages and marketing initiatives that truly resonate with your audience.

Strategy 1: Optimise Your Google Business Profile

For UK restaurants, Google Search and Google Maps are among the most important channels for attracting diners. Keep your profile up to date with opening hours, high-quality photos, menus, and prompt replies to reviews. Optimising for local SEO can significantly boost visibility.

Strategy 2: Encourage Customer Reviews

Reviews are one of the most powerful motivators for new customers.

• Hand out QR code cards with the bill
• Offer subtle incentives for posting on social media (without violating platform policies)

⚠ Note: Avoid offering discounts in exchange for reviews on Google, as this violates Google’s terms.

Strategy 3: Build a Loyal Customer Base

While attracting new customers is important, increasing repeat visits is often more profitable.

Consider:

• Sending special offers via a loyalty app or LINE Official Account
• Creating stamp card programmes
• Sending birthday or anniversary messages via email

However, note that some of these methods work better for casual dining than fine dining. Choose approaches that match your brand concept.

Strategy 4: Maintain a Professional Website

After Google, potential customers often check your official website before booking.
Including these elements will help build trust in your restaurant：

• High-quality photos
• Clear brand story and concept
• Easy booking options Multilingual support (especially English, Chinese, and potentially Arabic) will help you appeal to international visitors.

Strategy 5: Boost Awareness Through Social Media (Instagram & RED)

Social media is now the front line of restaurant marketing. Instagram and Xiaohongshu (RED) are especially powerful for reaching both local and overseas customers.

These visual-first platforms allow you to showcase your dishes, ambience, and brand personality, sparking the “I want to go there!” impulse.

Instagram: Reach Trend-Savvy Local and International Foodies

Perfect for sharing stunning food photography and short-form videos (Reels) that highlight your space, seasonal menu, and unique experiences.

Tips for Instagram success:

• Post high-quality food and drink images, plus short videos with strong “sizzle” appeal
• Capture seasonal themes and ambience in Reels
• Use geotags to connect posts to Google Maps searches
• Add English captions and subtitles to reach touristsも取り入れる

Takpa offers end-to-end Instagram management, combining strong visuals with algorithm-savvy strategies to turn posts into bookings.

RED (Xiaohongshu): The Must-Use Platform for Chinese Tourists & Residents

Since Instagram is blocked in mainland China, RED is the go-to app for Chinese travellers, students, and expats. Many decide where to eat based on RED reviews, photos, and recommendations.

Why RED works:

• Direct access to Chinese customers (Google & Instagram are blocked in China)
• Lower competition in the UK market — higher chance of going viral
• Strong review culture in China means positive posts lead directly to bookings
• Influencer collaborations can rapidly increase awareness

🌟 Real success story: A client’s RED post went viral within days, leading to 20+ bookings the following week.

I highly recommend takpa!

The impact of entrusting them with marketing through Xiaohongshu (RED) has been clearly reflected in the results.

Thanks to takpa’s expertise and creativity, we were able to successfully reach our target customers.。

At Takpa, our native Chinese-speaking team handles everything — PR posts, influencer partnerships (KOLs), and official account management — so you can benefit from RED without speaking Chinese.

Strategy 6: Target Chinese Tourists Effectively

The number of international tourists is steadily recovering and continuing to grow year by year.　For many of these visitors—especially those with a strong interest in food culture—dining experiences are a key part of their travel plans.

This is why, moving forward, a marketing strategy that prioritises inbound tourism will be essential for attracting customers.

Having content on Instagram and Google Maps is now a basic requirement.　However, when it comes to reaching Chinese tourists, that alone is far from enough

Why do Chinese tourists require a different approach?

In mainland China, Instagram and Google are restricted, meaning most Chinese travellers cannot access this information.

Instead, they rely on platforms with huge domestic reach, such as Xiaohongshu (RED) and Dianping.

• Xiaohongshu (RED): Popular among Gen Z and millennial women, used to share and search for beauty, lifestyle, and food content. It’s so influential that “Check Xiaohongshu before visiting UK” has become a norm. Surveys show that over 80% of Chinese travellers choose RED as their primary platform for deciding which restaurants to visit.
• Dianping: Often called the “Chinese version of Yelp” or “TripAdvisor for food.” It’s a key reference point for many Chinese tourists when deciding where to eat. Encourage reviews here through in-store prompts like POP displays.
  

In short, relying on Google or Instagram alone means your restaurant’s appeal won’t reach them.

How takpa can help you attract Chinese touristAt takpa, we help restaurants in the UK and abroad capture the attention of both Chinese and other international visitors through strategic social media management.

• RED (Xiaohongshu) management: From influencer collaborations and experience-based content production to complete official account management in Chinese, we offer an end-to-end service.
  

We help you shift from simply “considering foreign customers” to creating a tailored inbound strategy that matches their spending behaviour.
The restaurants that take this step now will be the ones truly positioned to capture inbound demand in the years to come.