Digital signage for restaurants
What to show on restaurant screens: 4 ideas to make better use of them
A screen does not have to show the same menu over and over. It can highlight dishes, make updates easier, promote events and become another touchpoint with your customers.
More than a screen with a static menu
Many restaurants install a screen and, over time, end up showing the same menu or promotion again and again. In that case, the problem is not necessarily a lack of screens: it is that the available content is serving only one purpose.
Starting with the objective changes the approach. The same screen can draw attention to a particular dish, present the full menu, promote an event at the venue or strengthen the relationship with customers. Content stops being a fixed element and starts responding to different business needs.
The following four ideas show how to put this approach into practice with specific examples of content for restaurant screens.
If you are still getting started with restaurant digital signage, begin with the practical guide at /en/magazine/restaurant/digital-signage-for-restaurants-guide.
Highlight a dish or menu item
A menu presents options, but not every item needs the same visibility. A screen can feature a specific dish or menu item as its own piece of content.
For example, seafood paella at 19,90 € can take centre stage in a dedicated creative instead of appearing only as another line on the menu. The purpose is simple: make a chosen product easier to notice.
Decide what to highlight — not how to sell the entire menu at once.
Show menus, prices and changing information
Another content type for restaurant screens is information that changes often — menus, prices, seasonal items — without reprinting materials each time.
For example, a Mediterranean menu on screen could be organised into Starters — Homemade croquettes, 8,50 €, and Mediterranean salad, 9,50 € —; Mains — Seafood paella, 19,90 €, and Grilled sea bass, 18,50 € —; and Desserts — Cheesecake, 6,50 €, and Crema catalana, 5,90 €.
The focus is content you can update when the offer or prices change — not cost-saving as the main message.
Promote an upcoming event
The screen does not have to function as a menu all day. If the restaurant hosts an event, part of the schedule can carry a short message: what is happening, when, and how long that information should stay visible.
A creative saying “Live music night — Friday, 21:00” turns the screen into a channel for what is happening at the venue. Timing matters: every message has a useful window, then other content types should take over.
Use the screen as a customer touchpoint
Not everything shown on a screen has to try to sell a dish. It can also be used to extend the relationship between the restaurant and the people who visit it.
A message such as “Follow us and share your experience” does exactly that: it shifts the focus from the product to the community and uses a touchpoint inside the venue to invite customers to continue the relationship beyond their visit.
Alternating this kind of communication with menus, products and events helps prevent the screen from being perceived purely as a sales catalogue. It can become part of the restaurant experience and identity without resorting to testimonials, reviews or messages that do not come from real customers.
One screen, different objectives
All four examples use the same medium, but they do not serve the same purpose. Highlighting the paella draws attention to a product; presenting the full menu organises useful information; promoting the live music night communicates an event; and the social message creates another customer touchpoint.
That is one of the keys to making better use of restaurant screens: instead of asking only what design to put on the screen, ask what type of content and what objective the venue needs to communicate at any given moment.
Content can be adapted by time of day, day of week or a specific need. A screen that displays the menu for one period can highlight a product or an upcoming event at another.
For the commercial restaurant digital signage solution, see /en/industry/restaurant-digital-signage.
Create, organise and publish content with iMediaGO
Once a screen starts serving several purposes, being able to manage the content shown on it also becomes important. iMediaGO lets restaurants create, organise and publish this type of content to their screens, so they can work with different pieces depending on what they need to communicate.
Technology is the medium; the important decision remains editorial: choosing which information deserves prominence, when it should be shown and what purpose it serves within the venue.
Restaurant project: four uses for one screen
Bring these ideas to your screens
Create, organise and publish different content for your restaurant screens with iMediaGO.