Valentine’s Day is one of the top three holidays in a year to dineout. With about 70 million heading out to dine on february 14th, Restaurants buck up every year to host lovers or singles in all of valentine’s glory!

Thoughtful, elaborate restaurants decorations, and marketing plans do pay off. Those who have been capitalising on it for years now, can tell you how important it is for a restaurant to deck up for Valentine’s.

If you have your restaurant completely booked out for Valentine’s then congratulations, but here is a small list of things for those still looking to attract more orders and customers.

Serve Aphrodisiacs!

Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love, and your menu should resemble that.This may sound a bit cheesy, but interchanging a few of your menu items with popular aphrodisiacs, gives your menu a valentine feel.  Or yet, have a Valentine special menu that consists of aphrodisiac or heart-shaped delicacies!

Customers are 50% more likely to order desserts on Valentine’s, so bringing your best game forward is necessary. Apart from tweaking your menu to incorporate more aphrodisiacs, desserts that speak everything sinful and chocolate are the way to go.

Prix Fixe menu

There are customers of all kinds. Some like to pick everything down to the last detail and some want straight-jacketed solutions, from different meals to wine pairings and desserts - all fixed and presented.

A prix fixe menu caters just to those people. They can come in, sit down and chat while palette, flavour and food choices will be taken care of by the restaurant. WIth busy lives, a “no sweat” valentine date may actually attract a lot of customers. If restaurants advertise at the right time, this might be the hit marketing strategy for Valentine’s.

Galentine’s Day on 13th Feb

Forget the cheesy, it’s as important to celebrate your girl pals as it is to celebrate Valentine’s with your significant other. So, declare 13th february a day for all the ladies out there. You can throwback to the hit TV series Parks and Recreation and include Leslie Knope in your marketing pitch terming 13th February as Galentine’s Day.

This day, become one of a kind destination for your lady customers to enjoy a valentine’s prix fixe lunch with their girlfriends, complete with booze, mimosa and delicious desserts.

Extra attractions

One has to keep in mind that a restaurant deals with different kinds of customers that have varied preferences. So it is good to have something else as an attraction to keep your guests entertained and attract new ones all through the day. For a restaurant expecting a lot of married couples as guests, it is sound to have a small play area for their kids so that parents can enjoy their meals in peace.

ALternatively, collaborating with a professional tarot card reader or a magician might give customers something to do while waiting for their orders. It’s also a very attractive side perk that customers get out of dining at your restaurant.

A romantic dine-in

While most people like to dine out, there is also a small crowd that prefers to do things the “netflix & chill” way. How do you cater to them? Third-party aggregator dependance on delivery does make orders reach customers, but you lose the personal touch there. So, undertake something personal for Valentine’s, launch your own branded online ordering system, send free desserts with delivery, or send a note and an offer with every delivery out from your restaurant. You could also name your delivery men as “cupid on wheels” and make them deliver food as they dress-up.

Planning to launch your own online ordering on Valentine’s? The experts are here to help. Contact our  team, and go online in just 24 hours!