Restaurant website design starts with the menu, not the homepage
Restaurant website design for a chef-led kitchen starts by treating the menu as the site's most important page, because that is the page a hungry guest actually opens first, and every other decision on the site follows from how well that page reads.
What it costs
- Plans$117 a month
- Build fee$647, after launch
- Live in7 days
- Revisions5 a month
- Domain and hostingIncluded
Design decisions that follow the menu, not a template
Most restaurant website templates were built for a generic three-course dinner menu and then stretched to fit a tasting menu, a wine list or a bar program that never quite matches. We design the site around the actual shape of your menu, whether that is a single nightly tasting sequence, a grouped wine list, or a rotating small-plates board, so the layout serves the content instead of forcing the content into a layout that does not fit it.
Typography does the work photography usually does
A chef-led restaurant often has strong food but inconsistent photography, especially before opening. We design with a type system, using a real display face and a disciplined scale, that makes the site look intentional and confident even with modest imagery, because a well-set page of text reads as more credible than a poorly cropped stock photo.
One accent, one voice, across every page
We pick one accent color and one type pairing for your entire site and apply it consistently, from the homepage to the reservations page to a private events page you add six months later. A restaurant site that looks like three different people built it, one page at a time, is the most common failure we see when we take over from a previous designer.
What you get
Everything below is included on every plan unless the line says otherwise, and your part in all of it is the same: approve it. Nobody at your restaurant logs in to the website.
- 01 Typeset menu pagesYour tasting menu, wine list or a la carte menu, built as structured content rather than a PDF.
- 02 A brand-consistent design systemOne accent, one type pairing and one radius system applied across every page you launch with and every page you add later.
- 03 Mobile-first layoutDesigned and checked on a phone screen first, since most guests search and book from one.
- 04 Photography-light design fallbacksA design that reads well even before you have professional photography, so launch is never blocked on a photo shoot.
- 05 Fast, managed hosting90+ PageSpeed on a global content delivery network, included in the monthly fee.
In their words
What restaurant teams tell us about the work
We reviewed the draft on phones rather than a big screen, deliberately. Everything a visitor needs is up top, and the inquiry button stands out properly. It is far more practical than the old page when we share it with a caller.
Louisa NightingaleDining room supervisor, Thai family restaurantI was skeptical that a guide would change much for seasonal dining menus. I was wrong. People come to the first call prepared, and nobody has been asked to upload anything premature. It has replaced the hurried afternoon rewrite of the same instructions.
Felicity HarlowService manager, Spanish paella restaurantThey pushed us to be precise about seasonal dining menus, which felt slow at first and right at the end. The boundaries are drawn clearly: what the site settles, and what our people still decide. Correcting the site's accidental promises is no longer part of our calls.
Erica GatsbyReservations administrator, Chinese restaurant with banquet room
Case studies from restaurant teams
All case studies- 01A stronger opening exchange for seasonal dining menusModern British restaurant, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- 02Seasonal dining menus that work one-handedChinese restaurant with banquet room, Lexington, Kentucky
- 05Better conversations about seasonal dining menus start earlierLebanese mezze restaurant, Chandler, Arizona
Comparing this against Squarespace?
The best-looking option a restaurant can build alone. The two things to weigh are the weekly editing and what Squarespace says you can export.
We wrote a full page on it, including the cases where Squarespace is the better fit for a chef-led restaurant.
Questions about restaurant website design
Do you design around our existing menu or write a new one?
We design around your existing menu and its exact wording. We do not write your dish descriptions; you know your kitchen better than any outside writer could, and the design is built to present that copy at its best.
What if we do not have professional photography yet?
We design the site to read well as typeset text with modest or no photography, so launch is never blocked on a photo shoot. Photography can be added later as a standard revision once you have it.
Can the design change if our menu style changes later?
Yes. A significant style change, such as moving from a la carte to a tasting-menu format, is handled as a revision within your plan rather than a new project.
How is this different from a generic restaurant website template?
A generic template is built for an average restaurant and then filled in. We design around the specific shape of your actual menu and brand from the start, which is the difference between a site that looks like yours and one that looks rented.
Who decides the final design?
You do. We bring a direction built around the shape of your menu and your brand, you tell us what is wrong with it, and we change it. Design changes before launch are part of the build rather than revisions, so pushing back costs you nothing.
Can we keep our existing logo and colors?
Yes. Send whatever brand assets you have and we build the type and color system around them. If you have nothing beyond a logo, we choose a system that suits the room and show you why.
How many pages does the design cover?
Every page your site launches with, and every page you add afterwards. One accent, one type pairing and one spacing system applied consistently, which is the thing that stops a site looking like three people built it a year apart.
Do you design for dark mode?
Your site is built to read correctly in both light and dark appearance, because a phone in a dim dining room is often set to dark. Contrast is checked as pairs in both, not once on the default.
See it built for your kitchen
A live walk-through of the site you would get, in about 30 minutes. Plans from $117 a month, the $647 build fee invoiced only after launch, domain and hosting included.
Book a demoOr email and a person replies within one working day.