34 email marketing ideas for restaurants (plus 3 examples)

The best restaurant emails give regulars a reason to come back this week: a new dish, a returning favorite, a slow-night offer, an event, a holiday reservation window or a birthday treat. Keep each email to one main message, a mouth-watering real photo and one button (reserve, order or see the menu). Send weekly or every two weeks. Below are 34 email ideas you can schedule straight into your calendar, plus three complete example emails you can copy.

Before you start: what makes a restaurant email work

• One message per email. "Short rib is back" or "Book Thanksgiving", not both plus five other things.
• A real photo of your food. Shot on your phone in good light beats stock every time.
• One clear button. Reserve, Order online, See the menu, or Get directions.
• A subject line that names the thing. "Short rib is back Friday" beats "This Week at Ember".
• Send at decision time. Many restaurants send mid-afternoon, before people decide on dinner, or Thursday for weekend plans. Test your own list.
• Your address and an unsubscribe link in the footer of every email (CAN-SPAM basics, covered in our email marketing guide for small business).

34 email ideas for restaurants

Menu and food

• 1. New dish launch. Photo, a one-line story of where the idea came from, and the price.
• 2. A favorite is back. "The short rib is back for the season." Regulars already love it, so it is an easy reason to come back.
• 3. Chef's or owner's pick of the week. One dish, why it's great right now.
• 4. Seasonal menu change. Show three dishes from the new menu, link to the full menu.
• 5. Last chance. "Peach cobbler leaves the menu Sunday."
• 6. Behind the dish. The 12-hour braise, the local farm that supplies your tomatoes, the hand-rolled pasta.
• 7. Off-menu or limited batch. "We made 40 of these. Ask for the brown butter cake."
• 8. Drink feature. New cocktail, local beer on tap, a mocktail menu.

Slow nights and offers

• 9. Slow-night special. "Tuesdays: kids eat free" or "Monday pasta night, two plates and a bottle for $55."
• 10. Happy hour reminder. Times, three items, and a photo of the bar.
• 11. Lunch push. For restaurants near offices: a lunch combo with a time promise ("in and out in 30 minutes").
• 12. Email-only offer. "Show this email for a free dessert this week." Easy to track.
• 13. Bring a friend. A small treat when a regular brings someone new.

Events

• 14. Live music, trivia or game nights. Lineup for the month.
• 15. Tasting dinner or chef's table. Limited seats create urgency.
• 16. Cooking class or workshop. Pasta making, dumpling night, cocktail class.
• 17. Game-day plans. Specials, TV setup and whether to book.
• 18. Pop-ups and collaborations with a local brewery, bakery or chef.

Holidays and seasons

• 19. Valentine's Day reservations opening, with the set menu.
• 20. Mother's Day and Father's Day brunch or dinner bookings.
• 21. Thanksgiving: catering, pies to order or dine-in.
• 22. Holiday parties: private dining and group bookings, sent in September or October.
• 23. Gift cards: a reminder before the holidays. "The easiest gift for the person who has everything."
• 24. New Year's Eve menu and booking.
• 25. Summer patio opening. "The patio opens Friday."

More date-based ideas in our holiday marketing ideas for small business.

Relationship and loyalty

• 26. Welcome email for new subscribers, with a small first-visit thank-you.
• 27. Birthday email with a free dessert or drink during their birthday week.
• 28. Thank you after a first visit, with a link to leave a Google review.
• 29. We miss you for guests you haven't seen in 60–90 days. See our win-back email templates.
• 30. Meet the team. Introduce your chef, a long-time server or the dishwasher who's been there 15 years.

Practical updates

• 31. Holiday hours and closures.
• 32. Now taking online orders or delivery.
• 33. Private dining and catering for offices and events.
• 34. Anniversary of your opening, with a thank-you offer.

A 4-week email calendar for a restaurant

Pair it with your social posts. Our restaurant content calendar shows how to plan both together.

3 full example emails

All three are for a fictional neighborhood spot, say Ember Kitchen. Swap in your own details.

Example 1: A favorite is back

Subject: The short rib is back Friday

Preview text: Braised for 12 hours, on the menu until it runs out.

Hi Jordan,

It's cold enough again, which means one thing in our kitchen: the braised short rib is back.

Chef Luis braises it for 12 hours in red wine and stock, then serves it over creamy polenta with gremolata. Same recipe as last winter, because you told us not to change it.

It's back on the dinner menu from Friday, and we make a limited amount each day, so weekends sell out early.

[Reserve a table]

See you soon,

Dana, Ember Kitchen

418 Alder St, Portland OR · Unsubscribe

Example 2: Slow-night offer

Subject: Tuesdays just got better: two pastas and a bottle for $55

Preview text: Every Tuesday this month. Dine-in only.

Hi Jordan,

Tuesdays are quiet here, so we're making them worth the trip.

Every Tuesday in November: any two pastas and a bottle of house red or white for $55. That includes the cacio e pepe and the wild mushroom pappardelle.

Walk-ins are welcome, but booking guarantees a table.

[Book for Tuesday]

Dana, Ember Kitchen

Dine-in only. Not valid with other offers.

418 Alder St, Portland OR · Unsubscribe

Example 3: Holiday party bookings

Subject: Booking your team's holiday dinner? Start here

Preview text: Private room for up to 24, set menus from $48 a person.

Hi Jordan,

If you're the one organizing the work holiday dinner this year, we can make it easy.

Our back room seats up to 24. Pick one of three set menus (from $48 a person), and we handle the rest: place cards, a festive cocktail on arrival, and one bill or split bills.

December weekends fill up first. Reply to this email or tap below to check dates.

[Check December dates]

Thanks,

Dana, Ember Kitchen

418 Alder St, Portland OR · Unsubscribe

Subject lines that work for restaurants

• "[Dish] is back Friday"
• "Only here until Sunday: [dish]"
• "Tuesday plans: [offer]"
• "Your birthday dessert is waiting"
• "Mother's Day tables are open"
• "We made 40 of these"
• "Meet the person behind your favorite pasta"
• "The patio opens this week"
• "Holiday party? We've got a room"

Keep them under about 50 characters so they don't get cut off on phones, and make the preview text add a detail, not repeat the subject.

How to measure what's working

• Clicks on the reserve or order button are your main signal.
• Redemptions: use "show this email" or a code so you can count them.
• Covers on promoted nights: compare Tuesdays with and without an email.
• Unsubscribes: a spike means the email felt off-topic or too frequent.

Open rates are less reliable since Apple Mail's privacy features, so don't judge by opens alone.

Growing the list that receives all this

Ideas are useless without subscribers. Table cards with a QR code, a sign-up offer (free dessert on your next visit) and an opt-in on your reservation and online order forms work well for restaurants. See how to build an email list for wording and setup.

If you'd like these emails written for you, Scala writes and sends email campaigns to your own customer list, using your menu and photos, alongside a week of planned social posts. You approve every email before it goes out. See pricing.

Frequently asked questions

How often should a restaurant send marketing emails?

Weekly or every two weeks works for most restaurants. Send when you have something real to share, like a new dish, an event or a holiday booking window, and keep the schedule steady.

What should a restaurant email newsletter include?

One main message (a dish, an offer or an event), a real photo of your food, one clear button such as Reserve or Order, and your address and unsubscribe link in the footer.

When is the best time for a restaurant to send emails?

Many restaurants send mid-afternoon, before people decide on dinner, or on Thursday for weekend plans. Test two send times on your own list and keep the one with more clicks and bookings.

What are good email ideas for slow nights?

A recurring slow-night deal like a pasta night or kids-eat-free Tuesday, an email-only dessert offer, a happy hour reminder, or an event such as trivia. Track redemptions to see what fills seats.