How to get more customers for a Montreal restaurant

Montreal diners are spoiled for choice. There are more good restaurants within a few blocks of the Plateau than in some whole cities, and people here eat out often, talk about food constantly and do not forgive a mediocre meal. For an independent restaurant, that is both the opportunity and the challenge. The places that do well are not always the ones with the biggest marketing budget; they are the ones that are easy to find, easy to choose and easy to come back to.

How do Montreal diners choose a restaurant?

Most people choose on their phone, often while already on the street. They search by neighbourhood ("restaurants in Mile End"), by dish ("best ramen Montreal") or by occasion ("bring your own wine for a birthday"). They look at photographs of food, check opening hours, and read what recent diners said. If your information is missing or wrong at that moment, they move on, usually to the place next door.

What should you fix first to get more customers?

Start with the basics, because they do most of the work:

1. Accurate hours everywhere, including holiday closures and seasonal changes.
2. An up-to-date menu online, with prices, in French first and English if you offer it.
3. Six to ten good food photographs that show what people actually order.
4. A clear description of what kind of place you are: bistro, counter, bring your own wine, brunch.
5. Replies to reviews, short and calm, including the critical ones.

Why does French matter for restaurant marketing in Montreal?

Quebec's language rules apply to your sign, your menu and much of your commercial material, and the OQLF requires French to be clearly predominant on a business name or trademark in another language that is visible from outside. Check the OQLF's current guidance for your sign. Beyond compliance, French-speaking Montrealers are most of your potential regulars. Write your descriptions, menus and social posts in good French first. Offer English as well if your neighbourhood and your guests call for it, which in much of Montreal they do.

How can a table d'hôte bring in more customers?

The table d'hôte is a Quebec institution: a fixed-price menu with a few choices, often including soup or a starter, a main and dessert or coffee. It is one of the strongest tools you have, especially at lunch, because it makes the decision easy and signals value. Keep it short, change it with the seasons, and publish it where people look, not only on a board inside.

Should you join MTLàTABLE or Montréal en Lumière?

Montreal's restaurant week, MTLàTABLE, organized by Tourisme Montréal, runs in late autumn, a quieter time of year; check Tourisme Montréal for the current dates. Restaurants take part with fixed-price menus. Montréal en Lumière, the winter festival, also has a restaurant program. Both can bring in new customers, but they only pay off if you:

• Design a menu that makes money at the festival price.
• Staff properly for the rush.
• Give first-time guests a reason to return, such as a card with your regular menu or an invitation to a later event.
• Track how many come back in the months after.

How can you use Montreal's summer to grow?

Summer is when Montreal lives outside. If your street becomes a pedestrian zone for the summer, make your terrasse inviting and visible from the street. If not, a terrasse permit, a window counter or a takeout picnic box can still catch summer foot traffic. Use the season to collect contacts from new guests, with their permission, so you can reach them in the quieter months.

How do you turn first visits into regulars?

Getting someone through the door once is the expensive part. Bringing them back costs much less:

• Remember them. A regular's usual order or table matters more than any promotion.
• Give a reason to return: a loyalty program, a seasonal menu, a monthly special dinner.
• Ask for permission to stay in touch, and follow Canada's anti-spam law when you email.
• Be bookable in the ways your customers prefer: online, by phone or as walk-ins.

What should a Montreal restaurant measure?

Keep it simple. Track covers per service, your busiest and quietest hours, how many guests return within a few months, and where new customers heard about you. Use quiet periods, such as early weeknights or the slow weeks after the holidays, to test a promotion or a set menu rather than discounting at your busiest times.

Mosey gives venues a listing diners can rate dish by dish, plus tools for loyalty, bookings and promotions. What those tools cost a Canadian venue is set out on the Canadian pricing page:

What Mosey costs in Canada

More guides for your business:

• Winter in Montreal for restaurants: surviving the slow months
• Do restaurant menus have to be in French in Quebec? A guide for owners
• Tip suggestions on payment terminals in Quebec: what restaurants must do

More in the Canadian guides for food businesses.