A restaurant promo video that brings in bookings shows four things a guest cannot get from a menu: the moment of arrival, the room when it is full, the chef at work, and the signature dish arriving at the table. Keep it to 15 to 30 seconds for Reels, TikTok and your Google Business Profile, put a 20 to 60 second silent loop at the top of your website, add subtitles, and end every version on one booking step: a date, a time and where to tap. Post short clips three to five times a week rather than one big film a year.

The rest of this guide covers what to film, how long each version should be, how to end on a booking, how often to post and what each way of making it costs, with a shot list you can hand to whoever is holding the camera.

What should a restaurant promo video show?

Guests booking a table are asking three questions: what will I eat, what will it feel like, and is it worth the night out. Film the answers, in this order of importance.

1. The signature dish. One dish people come back for, filmed from the pass to the table. Steam, a pour, a knife going through, the first spoonful. Close and slow. This is the shot that gets shared.
2. The chef. Ten seconds of hands and focus, plus one line to camera if they are comfortable: what the dish is and why it is on the menu. A real person makes a restaurant feel like a place, not a brand.
3. The room. Film it at service, not empty at 3 pm. Candles lit, glasses on tables, people talking. An empty room tells guests nobody else wants to be there.
4. The moment of arrival. The door opening, the host's greeting, the walk to the table. This is the part guests imagine when they decide to book, and almost no restaurant films it.
5. A guest moment. A toast, a shared plate, a laugh. Get written consent from anyone whose face is clear on screen, and never film a guest who has not agreed.

Leave out the logo animation, the slow pan across an empty bar and the stock music that sounds like every hotel lobby. Your sound is better: the sizzle, the room noise, a cork.

A shot list you can hand to whoever films

Film everything vertical first (9:16), because most of your versions will be vertical. If you also need a horizontal website hero, film those shots separately, with the camera turned, rather than cropping a vertical clip.

Film each shot for longer than you think you need. An editor can always cut a 30-second take down to two seconds, but cannot stretch a two-second take.

How long should it be on each channel?

Each channel has its own limits and its own viewer. Here is how we cut one shoot for each.

Some of those limits are hard rules. Google says Business Profile videos can be up to 30 seconds long, up to 75 MB and 720p or higher. Instagram raised the Reels limit from 90 seconds to three minutes in January 2025, and TikTok allows uploads of up to 60 minutes, according to Metricool, as of October 2026. Being allowed to post three minutes does not mean a diner will watch three minutes. Facebook, citing Nielsen research, reported that 47% of a video campaign's value came in the first three seconds. So the signature dish goes first, not the exterior or the logo.

The website hero has its own rule: it must not slow the page. Google's guidance on Largest Contentful Paint counts a video's poster image or first frame when measuring how fast a page loads, and the target is 2.5 seconds or less. Give the video a light poster image, compress the file, and test the page on a phone over mobile data before it goes live.

How do you end a promo video on a booking step?

A video that makes people hungry and then ends on your logo is an advert for whoever is nearest. End on one action, the same one every time:

1. Name a reason to book now. "Tasting menu this Friday and Saturday" or "The terrace opens at 5 pm." A date beats a mood.
2. Show the booking step on screen. A phone choosing a table at 8 pm is clearer than any slogan.
3. Make the tap short. Instagram added a Reserve action button in 2018 that works through booking partners, which at launch included OpenTable, Resy, SevenRooms and Tock. Turn it on. On Google, connect your booking system so the Reserve button appears on your profile.
4. Land on a booking page, not the home page. The link in your bio and in your Google profile should open the booking widget directly, with the restaurant name and today's availability visible on a phone.

If you are still choosing a booking system, our guide to OpenTable, Resy or your own booking compares the costs.

Do restaurant videos need subtitles?

Yes, on every social version. Many people scroll with the sound off, in bed, on a train, at work. Facebook's internal testing found that captioned video ads increased average view time by 12%, and its research found that 41% of videos were meaningless without sound. That research is from 2016, but the habit has not changed: a muted video with no words has to carry everything with pictures.

Keep subtitles short, two lines at most, in large type, placed away from the bottom of the screen where Instagram and TikTok put their buttons and captions. Check the spelling of every dish name. The website hero is the exception: it plays muted as a background and should carry no words, because the page around it already does.

How often should a restaurant post video?

Three to five times a week on your main channel, if you can keep it up. Buffer studied 2.1 million Instagram posts from 102,000 accounts and found that moving from one or two posts a week to three to five more than doubled follower growth, with about 12% more reach per post. Weeks with no posts at all showed slower growth than usual.

That is a lot of video for a kitchen. The way to make it work is one good shoot cut into many clips: the dish on its own, the chef's line, the arrival, the room at 9 pm, a weekend special. A single afternoon of filming at service can feed several weeks of posts.

Pick your main channel by who you serve. A Toast survey of about 1,450 U.S. adults, published in 2026, found that TikTok is the top way Gen Z discovers new restaurants, at 38%, while word of mouth leads overall at 38% and Facebook sits at 27%. A late-night noodle bar near a college and a neighborhood bistro for families should not post on the same channel. Whatever you choose, keep your Google Business Profile current with new photos and a short video, because that is where many guests decide.

What does a restaurant promo video cost?

There are three ways to make it, and they cost very different amounts.

Crew costs depend on hours on site, the number of people, lighting and how many versions you need. Clutch's video production pricing data puts typical agency rates at $100 to $149 an hour, as of October 2026, and some agencies charge a day rate for filming instead, so get a quote that lists every deliverable.

For a steady flow of posts, we offer 10 social clips a month for $690, or monthly social content for one channel from $1,190 a month, which covers planning, editing and posting. We confirm the final price before any work begins. You can see how this fits together in our work for Atelier Mercer, where we made the restaurant's website, films and booking.

What we can't promise

A video brings people to the booking button. It cannot fix a booking page that fails on a phone, a Google profile with old opening hours, or a meal that does not match what the film shows. We also cannot promise that a clip will go viral or name a number of bookings it will bring. What a good video does reliably is show the right guest what the evening will feel like, and make the next step obvious. If guests are also asking ChatGPT or Google where to eat, read our guide to getting a restaurant recommended by AI search.

How Project 66 Studio can help

We plan the shot list, edit your footage into versions for Reels, TikTok, Google and your website, and end every one on your booking step, from $149 per finished minute, or 10 social clips a month for $690. See our hospitality and restaurants page, check pricing, or start a project.

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Questions people ask

How long should a restaurant promo video be?

For Instagram Reels, TikTok and a Google Business Profile, 15 to 30 seconds works best, and Google caps Business Profile videos at 30 seconds. A website hero loop can run 20 to 60 seconds, muted, and a full website film 60 to 90 seconds. Put the signature dish in the first two seconds of every version.

What should I film first for my restaurant video?

Film your signature dish, from plating to the first bite, because it is the shot people share and the one that sells the table. Then film the chef at work, the room at full service and the moment a guest arrives. Film during real service so the room looks alive.

Can I film restaurant videos on a phone?

Yes. A recent phone filming vertical in good light is enough for Reels, TikTok and Google, as long as the camera is steady and the lens is clean. Follow a shot list, film each shot for longer than you need, and have an editor cut, subtitle and version the footage.

Do restaurant videos need captions or subtitles?

Social versions should always carry subtitles, because many people watch with the sound off. Facebook's 2016 testing found captioned video ads increased average view time by 12%. Keep subtitles to two lines, in large type, clear of the buttons at the bottom of the screen.

How often should a restaurant post videos on Instagram?

Aim for three to five posts a week on your main channel. Buffer's study of 2.1 million Instagram posts found that moving from one or two posts a week to three to five more than doubled follower growth. One afternoon of filming at service, cut into short clips, can cover several weeks.

How much does a restaurant promo video cost?

It depends on how it is made. Project 66 Studio edits video from your own footage from $149 per finished minute, makes AI and motion films from $990 per finished minute, and offers 10 social clips a month for $690. A filmed crew shoot is quoted by hours and crew size; we confirm the final price before any work begins.

Read next

• How to get your restaurant found in Google and recommended by AI
• What a restaurant website costs in 2026
• Squarespace, Wix, Toast or a custom site for your restaurant?

Sources

1. Manage your Business Profile photos & videos, Google Business Profile Help (read 27 Oct 2026).
2. Instagram extends reels to three minutes and updates profile layout, Storyboard18 (read 27 Oct 2026).
3. How Long Can TikTok Videos Be?, Metricool (read 27 Oct 2026).
4. Facebook adds automated captions for video ads, offers tips to improve video performance, Social Media Today (read 27 Oct 2026).
5. How Often Should You Post on Instagram? What Data From 2 Million Posts Tells Us, Buffer (read 27 Oct 2026).
6. How Guests Discover New Restaurants in 2026, Toast (read 27 Oct 2026).
7. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), web.dev (Google) (read 27 Oct 2026).
8. Making it easier to do business on Instagram, Instagram for Business (read 27 Oct 2026).
9. Video Production Pricing Guide, Clutch (read 27 Oct 2026).