11 restaurant email marketing examples to boost your brand

The key to successful restaurant email marketing is this: If you wouldn’t serve it, don’t send it. 

But don’t worry, restaurant emails aren’t as hard as you think. 

From welcome emails to emails promoting an upcoming event, we’ve selected some of our favourite templates and food emails from actual restaurants for inspiration. And we’ll explain how you can copy the idea for your next email marketing campaign. 

11 restaurant email examples (+ templates) you can copy 

Before we jump in with examples and templates, it’s important to get one thing about restaurant email marketing out of the way…

Your customers are constantly on the go, using their smartphones to check email. Your restaurant emails need to be responsive, meaning that the design and layout adapt to whatever device your audience is issuing. 

You don’t want a customer to have to pinch and zoom in just to see the latest cocktail you’re serving or how to make a booking. 

Now that that’s out of the way, check out 11 of the best examples and templates of restaurant email marketing done right.  

Restaurant welcome emails 

The first email you’ll send when someone signs up for an email marketing campaign is the welcome email. Its purpose is to welcome new customers and make them feel like they’re a part of a community. 

You can also use the welcome email to entice guests back to your restaurant and show them how easy it is to book a table, read more about your story and follow you on social media. 

Here are a few templates and real-life email examples that your guests will welcome in their inboxes. 

1. A design that’s easy to follow                     

How to copy: 

Munchery isn’t a restaurant. It’s a place for people to find recipes and have meals delivered. We listed it here because of its simple design – something your restaurant or bar can copy. 

Munchery puts ‘Welcome to Munchery’ at the very top – the hero image. This lets guests know immediately why they’re getting this email and makes them feel a part of the larger community. 

This welcome email has 3 very clear blocks – each one tells the customer exactly what to do and has a CTA (call to action) that invites them to visit the website. 

You can do the same by inviting your audience to view your menu, check out upcoming events, and make a booking. With Superb, they’ll be able to book directly from the link you include in your email. 

For anyone who worries that writing a restaurant email will take too long, this is a perfect example of less is more. 

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2. Give the people what they want… your food                     

How to copy: 

Imagine a customer opening the email above? They’d immediately see the incredible food that the restaurant is known for – its greatest hits. 

What would happen next? They’d keep scrolling down the email. That’s the power of a great welcome email. It catches attention and engages from the start. 

The restaurant email template above is easy to copy. Mouth-watering photos at the top and a simple welcome message at the bottom. 

See how they included a RESERVE NOW button and wrote it in all caps? That makes the CTA stand out and lets the reader know exactly what to do after receiving the email. 

Keep the text simple. Remember that the point of a welcome email is to welcome and make the reader feel like part of your community.

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3. When simplicity = elegance            

How to copy: 

Here’s another restaurant email template packed with delicious ideas for your welcome email. 

The hero image (the first one) is a beautiful photo with the restaurant’s logo over the top. As the customer scrolls, they see the welcome message and then they’re introduced to what makes the restaurant special (it’s steak in this template). For your business, maybe it’s a cocktail, a special ingredient, or a chance to show off your Michelin stars and other accolades. 

This restaurant email template includes a special offer at the bottom + a way to book a table. If you’re using Superb's Guest Experience Management platform (GXM), you can forget about having to waste time answering the phone. Include your reservation link directly in the email and make it super easy for guests to book.

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4. What happens when food images get the attention    

How to copy: 

Know what makes this restaurant email template so good? The number of images. It’s a feast for the eyes and reminds your customer why they signed up for your emails in the first place – because they love your food and the experiences you create. 

Another thing we love about this template is the clear CTA buttons – RESERVE NOW. Instead of using different calls to action like in our first example, they keep it clean and simple with one goal. 

With Superb’s GXM platform, you can easily export your guest list to your favourite email marketing system and automate your welcome emails. People signed up because they want to hear (and see) you. Don’t keep them waiting. 

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5. Make less the new more 

How to copy: 

Who says you have to write a novel to make a great welcome email? Not us. 

This restaurant email template is a great example of how less is more. It opens with a simple ‘Welcome to our restaurant’ and ends with a CTA to confirm the email address. If your email platform requires confirmation like this, don’t miss the opportunity to personalise this part of your welcome flow. 

Speaking of personalising, we love how this template uses the guest’s first name to make the recipient feel welcomed and valued. 

Restaurant newsletters

The best restaurant email newsletters are anticipated inbox arrivals. They offer a glimpse of what’s going on behind the scenes, upcoming events, and invite guests to come back for another visit. 

Check out some of our favourite restaurant newsletter email templates and examples below. 

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1. Highlight the newcomers 

How to copy: 

Your newsletter is your chance to share news with an audience that wants to read it. It’s different from posting something on your social media or running digital ads. The people who receive your newsletter want to get it – they’re ready to hear what’s going on. 

We chose this restaurant email template because it’s easy for any restaurant or bar to copy. It opens with a hero image and headline that tells the reader exactly what you’re going to write about – happenings and updates at your restaurant. 

Notice how the image captures your attention right away – that’s a great way to showcase anything new on your menu or at your bar. The CTA button leads the reader to the website where more information is waiting. 

This template works great for any monthly newsletter – from holidays where you promote gift cards, to summer events and the tickets you’re selling. You can also use this template and layout to highlight new team members or behind-the-scenes stories from your restaurant or bar.

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2. FOMO is real… use it 

How to copy: 

Here’s a great example of how to use the seasons to influence your restaurant newsletter. And promote your new menu! 

We like this restaurant email because it’s clean and easy to read, with enticing food images that keep you scrolling down the page and thinking, ‘I gotta book a table soon’. For your restaurant, this wouldn’t take so long to replicate. 

Another thing to notice is that they used the same CTA at the top and bottom of the email. Why? You want your first call-to-action to be above the fold – that’s the part you’ll see on your phone before you have to scroll one time. Guests know immediately how to book their next table. And for those who made it to the end, there’s a CTA there, too. 

It’s all about making sure it’s easy for your guests to make a reservation and plan their next visit. 

Restaurant event promotion emails 

The power of restaurant event email marketing is strong. While many restaurants are heading to social media to connect with their audience, email remains a successful and important marketing tool.

Let’s dive into restaurant email templates and what makes them worth copying for your next event or promotional email. 

Spoiler alert: The key takeaway when writing a promotional email for your restaurant or bar is to keep it simple. Always make sure the guest knows exactly what you want them to do – make a reservation. 

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1. Pictures are worth a 1,000 words   

How to copy: 

When you open an email about a gin tasting, what do you want to see? Gin. 

That’s what makes this restaurant email template so great – it uses beautiful images to do the work. The text is quite simple and includes only the facts, no fluff. 

For your next restaurant or bar event, copy this style. Make sure you include the date, the name of the event, and any special guest. 

With Superb’s GXM, you can presell with prepaid tickets and include that link directly in the email, making it easy for guests to secure a spot and easier for you to prepare by knowing who’s attending. 

Think a gin tasting sounds like a delicious idea? Check out 30 more of the best restaurant and bar event ideas here. 

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2. The power a personal invitation           

How to copy: 

This restaurant email template is great, but including the name of the recipient would’ve taken it over the edge. 

For your restaurant, cafe or bar, do that! Include the name of the person so it feels like an actual personal invitation. 

The rest of this template is a great starting point for your next event. Notice how they called it an ‘invitation-only’ event? That makes your audience even more likely to book – everyone wants to feel like a special part of something. 

As for images and layout, this template kept it super simple and to the point. Think about the difference between this type of clean, simple email and the newsletter or welcome emails above? Thinking about how each step of your restaurant email marketing strategy will look helps you tell one complete story to your guests.

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3. Increase attendance with a simple trick 

How to copy: 

Is it obvious that we like event promotion emails with simple messaging? We think they’re more effective because, let’s be honest, everyone’s inbox is too full these days. 

Keeping your messaging simple is a great way to make sure your customers read your email and understand what you’re telling them. 

While its simple design is eye-catching, it’s the way this restaurant email template ‘invites you and a friend to be our guests’ that really caught our attention. 

It’s an automatic upsell when another guest comes. And it’s another person who'll meet your restaurant or bar, fall in love with it, and become a regular customer. 

Even if your event offered a free tasting menu, you’d still make money by selling open bar tickets or offering bottomless champagne. With Superb, selling these prepaid tickets is easy for restaurants and bars and happens directly within our system – no need for a third-party tool or extra software. 

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4. Get to the point with the point 

‍How to copy: 

Simple. Clean. To-the-point. This email template doesn’t get bogged down with unnecessary words and images. Everything the guest needs to know is right there in black and white (literally). 

We added this example to show you that you don’t need to spend hours designing an email. One hero image at the top, the event details under that… the end. 

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Restaurant email marketing top 8 tips 

Whether you’re sending monthly newsletters, promotions, welcome emails or emails about your latest menu items, here are our favourite copywriter’s top guidelines: 

1. With every email you send, always use clear language and your restaurant’s branding.
2. Want customers to open your emails? Write a subject line that makes them immediately understand what the email is about. 
3. When possible, use numbers or percentages in your subject lines. These have higher open rates. For example: 2 new wines to try.
4. Emojis. If your brand uses them, then go for it! If not, leave them alone. 
5. For welcome emails and promotional emails, always use the guest’s first name when possible in the subject line and/or the body of the email. 
6. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best days to send restaurant emails. Saturdays and Sundays are the worst. 
7. Always use photos in your emails (when possible) – remember that guests like you because of the delicious food and drink you serve. Use that to your advantage and whet their appetites to book their next table. 
8. Don’t get stuck with a welcome email and nothing else. Or worse… a monthly newsletter and no welcome email. Focus on variety in your restaurant email marketing strategy – from promotional emails and menu changes to updates about opening hours and holidays.