As the day of love and romance approaches, restaurants and bars have an opportunity to boost their seasonal sales.
To do so, you need to prepare your restaurant for Valentine’s Day and create some promotional campaigns to drive bookings and footfall.
Roughly, 85% of adults, aged 18 and up, say they're likely to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Of those celebrating, nearly 74% “plan to dine at or order takeout/delivery from restaurants.”
Couples are likely to spend more on this special day, which they want to be a memorable time with their loved ones. Research supports this. Data found 71.8% of consumers planning to “spend more on Valentine’s Day” 2025 than in 2024.
The same research also showed 67% of consumers were planning to dine out on Valentine’s Day, with 38.8% of adults preferring casual dining. In addition, 60% said they were planning to spend between $50 and $100.
Read on to discover marketing and promotional ideas for your restaurant ahead of Valentine’s Day. From pre-event marketing tactics to day-of strategies and post-event retention techniques, we'll cover everything you need to make your restaurant’s Valentine's Day offering irresistible to guests.
What Is the Most Popular Food for Valentine’s Day?
While there is no single answer to this, research suggests that steak and sushi sales tend to overperform on Valentine’s Day.
Roughly 46% cited “menu specials” as the top reason to consider where they’ll dine out on Valentine’s Day. Meanwhile, 34.1% cited pricing as a deciding factor.
In terms of food, steak sales were among the highest (135%) compared to an average Wednesday in the year. Seafood followed with a 100% increased, followed closely by sushi sales, which jumped 94% on Valentine’s Day.
Sales of pasta dishes also climbed 91%, while dessert sales grew by 80%, suggesting that many diners like to complete their meal with dessert on Valentine’s Day.
How Do Restaurants Prepare for Valentine's Day?
You have the Valentine’s Day promotion and marketing ideas. Now you need to add the final touches so you can get more bookings for the special day.
Here’s a quick roundup of how to prepare your restaurant for Valentine’s Day.
Plan your marketing campaigns ahead of time. Preferably at least 1 month ahead. If not, then 2 weeks.
Consider your guests’ preferred method of communication. Send a teaser Valentine’s Day email campaign or newsletter including your reservation widget or booking links.
Prepare a limited-edition Valentine’s Day menu. Give your best-selling dishes a spin with punny names and a touch of flavor.
Match your restaurant décor to this special occasion. This can include red or black napkins, roses on the tables, and special menu announcements.
Set up two-top seating to seat guests and walk-ins faster. Use your restaurant floor planning software to manage this.
Create a waitlist to improve flow.
Valentine's Day Promotional Ideas & Strategies for Restaurants
Valentine’s Day is all about the preparations leading up to the special day. Couples will often buy gifts for their loved ones up to a week before V-day.
As a restaurant, you should take the time to prepare your venue for couples.
The following are promotional ideas to prepare your guests before February 14th.
Early bird reservations and incentives
Start by deciding if you’ll do something special for those who make an early booking. This could be anything from a free beverage to a free or discounted dessert.
Here are a few ideas:
Fixed-price menu special offer: Those who make a reservation before February 7th can get 20% off their menu choice. Or a bonus in their menu.
Limited-time offers: Create a sense of urgency with time-sensitive deals. For example, "Book before January 31st and receive a complimentary dessert with your meal."
Couple's packages: Design all-inclusive packages that bundle meals, drinks, and extras at an attractive price point. Give your packages exciting or dreamy names to entice bookings. For example, a "romantic getaway" package could include a multi-course dinner, paired wines, and dessert. If your dining concept is located in a hotel, the package could include a hotel room for the night.
Loyalty rewards: If you have a restaurant loyalty program, consider offering double or triple points for Valentine's Day bookings for loyalty program members. This not only incentivizes early reservations but also strengthens customer loyalty.
Further reading: Restaurant Customer Loyalty: Turning First-Timers to Regulars
Promote online events and bookings
If you’re running a special event for Valentine’s Day, make sure to highlight it on your reservation widget.
You should also promote the event ahead of time via marketing channels such as social media, email, SMS, or WhatsApp messaging.
If you’re using a restaurant reservation management system, like Servme, you can collect online bookings via Facebook and Instagram, and other platforms like Zomato, Tripadvisor, among others.
Restaurants in Saudi Arabia can get bookings via The Chefz and webook, whereas concepts in the UK and Ireland use Afternoon Tea. All of these are available through Servme.
Minimize cancellations with deposits
Often people get excited and make reservations only to forget about them.
Research shows 20% of diners don’t show up for a reservation they made. The reasons for no-show guests vary. However, 45% of guests say they don’t cancel because they can’t find information about canceling their booking.
On the other hand, concepts that collect reservation deposits are more likely to see fewer cancellations and no-shows.
Get more online bookings and reduce no-shows with Servme. Book a quick, personalized demo.
Offer a limited-time Valentine’s Day menu
Valentine’s Day is all about big plans, gifts, roses, a day for people to celebrate their loved one. This involves looking for places that have something special to offer.
Often a Valentine’s Day menu is the way to go. This doesn’t have to be extra fancy, although a fancy design will get you on your guests’ radar.
Here are a few ideas to boost your restaurant’s sales.
Romance-time cuisine: Develop dishes featuring ingredients known for their romantic properties, such as oysters, chocolate, or figs.
Heart-shaped delights: Transform classic dishes into heart-shaped versions, from pizzas to ravioli to desserts.
Love potion cocktails: Craft unique, visually striking cocktails with romantic names, colors, and presentations.
Couple platters: Create elaborate dishes or menus for two, encouraging a more intimate dining experience.
Valentine's Day tasting menu: This is a great idea for boutique eateries and wineries. Offer a special multi-course menu that takes diners on a culinary journey of love-inspired flavors.
Boost bookings with marketing
Your Valentine’s Day promotion can’t go without some marketing juice. This means promoting your special day, event, menu, and offerings via social media, email, and other platforms.
Email marketing for restaurants: Use your email software, or reservation software like Servme, to send a Valentine’s Day email blast. If you already send a monthly newsletter, this could be a special Valentine’s Day email campaign to increase reservations ahead of the big day.
If you’re a Servme user, you can choose to send your V-Day blast using auto-tags to segment guests based on previous dining experience.SMS marketing: If email is not what your guests prefer, then you can use SMS marketing for your restaurant and send out an SMS blast to guests. Make sure you include a reservation link so guests can make a booking.
Social media marketing: Use the platform popular among your guests to run a Valentine’s Day ad campaign to drive bookings. Guests can proceed to make a booking via the platform or via the phone. Make sure you use eye-catching visuals to engage guests online and prompt them to make a booking. You can also use user-generated content (from previous events or occasions) to act as social proof.
Use online reservation platforms: Aside from Facebook and Instagram, there are several booking channels you can use, such as Reserve with Google, Tripadvisor, Michelin Guide, among others.
Surprise guests with giveaways
Spice up your marketing by combining several restaurant marketing ideas ahead of V-Day.
Offer a special giveaway to two surprise couples. If you manage multiple restaurants, you can offer a special surprise to one couple in each venue.
Post-Valentine's Day Guest Retention Strategies
The special day is over and guests are leaving with a smile on their faces. But your work as a restaurant owner or manager isn’t done just yet.
Make sure you make the most of your Valentine’s Day experience with the following post-dining tips.
Use automated guest surveys
If you’re using guest experience management software, like Servme, you can send automated guest surveys after you close checks.
This allows you to collect information about guests’ dining experience, get reviews on areas like speed of service, value for food, ambiance, among others.
Monitor online reviews and respond promptly
Whether you have an in-house social media team or if you do it yourself, keep an eye on guest reviews and comments.
What are guests saying about their Valentine’s Day dining experience at your restaurant? If you’re getting positive reviews, take screenshots and share them on social media.
Create a guest tag to segment for Valentine’s Day diners for future campaigns
Use a reservation and CRM system to collect guest information and add ‘Valentine’s Day’ guest tags. This will help you engage and contact people ahead of next year’s Valentine’s Day.
Repeat guests drive higher revenues and profits for business. So, make sure you don’t miss out on an opportunity to increase guest loyalty for your restaurant.
Further reading: Discover How to Create Personalization with Restaurant CRM Software [Checklist]
Share UGC on social media
Reshare posts from your guests on social media to your account’s stories, take screenshots for future use, and more.
User-generated content (UGC) acts as social proof and can drive future foot traffic and reservations.
Prepare for your next dining event
With Valentine’s Day over, take a look at your calendar to see what’s next.
If you’re in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, you’ll likely be preparing your restaurant for Ramadan.
If not, then you may have other special dining events in the works. Keep guests on their toes and create more limited-time or seasonal menus. This is a great revenue management strategy for restaurants.
What Are Some Creative Caption Ideas for Restaurants on Valentine’s Day?
To market your restaurant for Valentine’s Day, consider the channels you use in your restaurant’s marketing strategy.
Keep your messaging short, emotional, and action-oriented. Highlight the romance, limited-time offers, and easy reservation process.
Here are a few examples of creative Valentine’s Day captions.
Social media:
“Love is on the menu this Valentine’s Day 💕 Reserve your table and celebrate with a special dinner made for two. Call us to book your table!” [+ add link to booking widget or phone number]
SMS / WhatsApp:
“Make it a night to remember. ❤️ Book your Valentine’s table now and enjoy our limited-time menu for two.” [+ add link to booking widget or menu]
Email subject line:
“Plan the Perfect Valentine’s Date Night at [Restaurant Name]” 💕
Use our ChatGPT Prompts Guide to craft catchy, actionable Valentine’s Day posts and messages.
Set Your Calendar for Valentine’s Day
By now, you have a plan and various Valentine’s Day promotional ideas for your restaurant.
Now, all you have to do is align your staff and put your plan into action. Because, tick tock. The clock is ticking. The days are flying by and you want to make this Valentine’s Day a dining success!
Discover how Servme helps you manage online reservations, waitlists, your CRM, and marketing campaigns blasts from a single dashboard. Book a quick demo to try it now.
Nada Sobhi
Marketing
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