Key points at a glance
- TikTok shows videos to people who do not follow you. That makes it interesting for new and young guests, especially in cities, nightlife districts and tourist regions.
- What works best are real glimpses: food being prepared, the team, behind the scenes, the journey from supplier to plate. Polished advertising looks are not needed.
- A recent smartphone, daylight, a small tripod and a clip-on microphone are enough for good videos.
- As a business, you use TikTok's Commercial Music Library for music. Popular hits from the general library are not cleared for commercial content.
- Better two videos a week for months than ten in the first week. And every profile needs a link to your own website with menu and booking.
This post is general information and does not replace legal or tax advice. Rules change and some differ between federal states: check the details with your chamber of commerce (WKO) or IHK, the competent authority or your tax adviser.
Does TikTok suit your venue?
TikTok works differently from classic social networks: the “For You” feed shows videos by interest, not only by connections. A new profile with no followers can reach thousands of people nearby with one good clip. On the other hand, a big audience is worth little if it never comes to your venue. Before you invest time, take an honest look at your guests and your business.
| Question | Speaks for TikTok | Speaks rather against it |
|---|---|---|
| Who are your guests? | Students, young professionals, tourists, a night-out crowd | Almost only regulars aged 60+, corporate clients, a lunch menu in a business park |
| What can be seen? | Food prepared on site, show elements, eye-catching dishes or drinks | Little to show, or a kitchen that cannot be filmed |
| Who films? | Someone on the team enjoys it and gets time for it | Nobody wants to, everything depends on the owner |
| Where are you? | City, nightlife district, day-trip or tourist region | Very small village with a fixed circle of guests |
| What is the goal? | New guests, awareness, applications from young staff | More revenue this week, at short notice |
An often underrated benefit is recruiting: videos from the team show young cooks, service staff and apprentices what it is like to work for you. If you are already active on Instagram, many clips can be used twice. How to set up your profile and Reels there is covered in the guide Instagram for restaurants.
Which videos work for restaurants and cafés
On TikTok, the videos that win spark curiosity in the first second and feel genuine. Glossy advertising gets swiped away quickly. For venues, that means: show what guests do not normally see, and show the people behind it.
| Format | Example | Especially suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation | A dish from raw ingredient to plate in 20 seconds | Restaurant, traditional inn, takeaway, food truck |
| Behind the scenes | Morning mise en place, a delivery from the farmer, washing up after the rush | Every business |
| Team | Who does what, the crew's favourite dish, an apprentice's first day | Every business, especially for recruiting |
| Show moment | Flambéing, latte art, a smoking cocktail, cutting a cake | Bar, café, bakery, club |
| Numbers and records | This is how many pretzels we bake on a Saturday | Bakery, takeaway, beer garden |
| Guest questions | Replying to a comment, for example how hot the curry really is | Every business |
| Announcements | New seasonal menu, roast goose season, live music on Friday | Traditional inn, bar, hotel, Heuriger |
What matters is a recognisable signature: a recurring sequence, one person who speaks regularly, or a series such as “dish of the week”. Recurring formats save you planning and make your profile recognisable. How dishes look appetising on a phone is explained in the guide Food photography with your smartphone; light and plating apply to video just the same.
How a good restaurant video is built
Hook in the first second
Start with the strongest shot, such as the finished dish or the flame, or with a question on screen: “Why we let our bread rise for 48 hours”.
Short and fast
Many good restaurant clips last 10 to 30 seconds. Cut out waiting time and change the shot every one to two seconds.
Sound and text
Original sounds such as sizzling, hissing or chopping are powerful. Add short on-screen text, because many people watch without sound.
Name the place
Mention your city or neighbourhood in the text and caption and tag the location. That makes it more likely the video reaches people nearby.
Clear invitation
End with one sentence on what guests can do: “Every Thursday from 5 pm”, “Book via the link in our profile”.
Smartphone setup: you need no more than this
For TikTok you need neither a camera nor a studio. A smartphone from the last few years films in good enough quality, as long as light and sound are right. Invest in a few sturdy helpers rather than expensive gear that gets in the way in the kitchen.
Gear for restaurant videos
- Smartphone with a clean lens: wipe it before every shoot, kitchens have grease in the air
- Portrait format 9:16 and a fixed resolution, for example 1080p or 4K at 30 frames per second
- Small tripod or clamp mount for top-down shots of the pass or the worktop
- Clip-on microphone for videos where someone speaks, because kitchen noise swallows voices
- Daylight by the window or a small LED light, no direct flash
- Editing app on the phone, such as CapCut or TikTok's own editor
- A dedicated business phone or a profile that several people on the team can access
Mind hygiene when filming in the kitchen: the phone does not belong on the worktop, and whoever films washes their hands afterwards. And only show what a guest or the food inspector would be happy to see. A video from a messy kitchen can do more harm than none at all.
Music: why businesses use the Commercial Music Library
Music is often half the success on TikTok, and this is exactly where businesses make the most mistakes. The well-known hits in the general music library are licensed for personal use, not for advertising by companies. TikTok's business help states explicitly that businesses cannot use the general library commercially and should use the Commercial Music Library instead. That applies to regular posts, duets and stitches just as much as to ads and branded content.
According to TikTok, the Commercial Music Library is a pre-cleared library of around one million tracks that businesses can use on the platform free of charge. When you switch your profile to a Business Account, TikTok only shows these cleared tracks when you add music. That is an advantage: you cannot accidentally pick a hit that is not allowed. A Business Account also comes with analytics and contact fields.
How to get it right
- Run your venue's profile as a Business Account
- Choose music only from the Commercial Music Library
- Use original sound from the kitchen, bar or dining room
- Use your own music or music with written permission from the rights holders
Better not
- Use a personal account for the venue to get access to the charts
- Download other people's videos with music and re-upload them
- Let the radio in the venue play along and use it as the soundtrack
- Simply bring a song over from another network because it was cleared there
How often to post? Frequency and time needed
There is no fixed number that always works. What matters is that you keep it up for months. Posting daily in the first week and then pausing for two months wastes the effect. Plan a frequency that stays realistic even in peak season, and work with batched filming days.
| Phase | Frequency as a guide | Time per week |
|---|---|---|
| Test phase (first 2 to 3 months) | 2 to 3 videos a week | About 2 to 3 hours for filming, editing and replies |
| Ongoing | 1 to 3 videos a week, plus replies to comments | About 1 to 2 hours with fixed formats |
| Promotions and season start | Extra clips before an opening, a seasonal menu or events | As needed, ideally produced in advance |
After about three months, take an honest look at the analytics: which videos were watched for a long time, which were shared, and do guests come in saying “I saw you on TikTok”? If not, it is no failure to put the time into your website, Google profile or newsletter instead. How to fit TikTok sensibly into your weekly and yearly plan is shown in the online marketing plan for restaurateurs.
Profile, legal notice, team and guests on camera
A venue's TikTok profile is a business presence. The same basic rules therefore apply as for your website and other networks. The key points at a glance:
- Legal notice (Impressum): business social media profiles also need easily accessible provider details, in Austria under the E-Commerce-Gesetz (ECG), in Germany under the Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz (DDG). A link in the bio to the legal notice on your website is common. Details are in the guides Legal notice in Austria and Legal notice in Germany. If you don't have one yet, the free legal notice generator helps.
- Team on camera: ask staff beforehand whether they want to be filmed, and ideally record their consent in writing. Nobody should feel pressured.
- Guests on camera: only film guests if they agree, and watch out for recognisable faces in the background. If in doubt, film before opening or only hands and plates.
- Label collaborations: if you or a creator receive something in return, it must be recognisable as advertising. More on this in the guide Influencer collaborations.
- Community Guidelines: showing alcohol is not banned for bars, but TikTok has rules, for example on excessive drinking and content for minors. Check the guidelines before staging drinking games or shots.
From video to guest: website, link and results
A video watched 50,000 times does not fill a single table on its own. The path from clip to visit almost always runs through the profile and the link in it. That is where it is decided whether interested people find opening hours, menu and booking within seconds. TikTok does not belong to you, but your website does: it remains your home on the web, even when platforms and trends change.
- Link in bio straight to your website, not to a link list with ten destinations. What belongs there is shown in the guide Restaurant website: the 13 things guests look for.
- Bio with place and offer, for example “Viennese cuisine in the 7th district · lunch menu Mon to Fri”.
- Same photos and dishes on TikTok, website and menu, so guests find what they saw in the video.
- Ask in the venue: ask new guests how they heard about you. That is the simplest way to measure success.
The right website for your videos
See in the free preview how your venue looks on a phone with menu, opening hours and booking, ready for the link in your profile.
A free preview of your venue website, designed by us.
