Restaurant accounts run out of ideas fast. These thirteen keep working because they come from what happens in a restaurant anyway: the cooking, the team, the customers and the big nights.
The food
- Start to finish. One dish, made from the first step to the last, with no words on screen. Our beef wrap for Da.Si.Mar Shawarma ran twenty-four seconds and went viral.
- From the grill up. For Halal Munchies we started where the taste does: two patties smashed and chopped with cheese, rolled into bread with sauce, wrapped in foil and cut open, starting and ending at the storefront.
- The whisper. For Shah’s Halal Food’s new sandwich, the film opens on “Shhhhhh”, with the microphone close enough to hear every crunch.
- The pour. For Qahwah House, one drink built in front of the camera, layer by layer, shot close on the counter with the café’s lights behind.
The team
- The tip screen. Seven seconds for Adobo Mexican Grill: the boss says “Great job today, you’re killing it!”, and the answer is the tip screen.
- Get ready with us, for a platter. A format made for outfits and make-up, pointed at a Halal Munchies platter: one order followed from the storefront to the finished box.
- Who drank it? For Azal Coffee, a Spanish latte comes back half empty, and the answer walks in wearing an apron and a foam moustache. Ten seconds.
The customers
- Comment your order. An Adobo team member builds her favourite bowl, then dares viewers to comment theirs: a comment with zero likes gets a free bowl.
- Ask the line. On a new Shah’s opening day, we handed the microphone to the people in the line: “What’s the thing about Shah’s?” Nineteen seconds, so a stranger finishes it knowing what to order.
The feed
- The see-through bag. A phone held up to a takeout bag “sees through” it to the platter inside. Five seconds, made to play again and again.
- The pocket. A man in a suit lists what everyone keeps in their pocket, the wallet and the keys, “but not me”, and pulls out a pocket pita.
- The trend edit. Nine seconds in glitch cuts: a street sign, the grill, the food, ending at the counter as the next order goes in.
The big nights
- The challenge. At a Ramadan festival in New York, Shah’s offered $500 to whoever finished a platter fastest without spilling. We kept the camera in the crowd, at the contestants’ shoulders.
How to use them
Pick a few and rotate them through the month: food films most days, a skit or a dare every week, and the big moments when they come. Each idea works on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts. To turn them into a month, read “How to plan a month of posts”; to write them down, “How to write a short video script”.
Or let us film them. Our plans run from 20 to 60 posts a month, filmed at your restaurant, with the views guaranteed. See the plans.
Questions owners ask
What videos do restaurants post on TikTok?
The food being made, the team, the customers and the big moments: a dish start to finish, a staff skit, a comment dare, an opening-day line.
How do I film food so it looks good?
Get close, keep the sound, and let it happen in order, from the first step to the finished plate.
Do restaurant videos need to be funny?
No. Da.Si.Mar Shawarma’s viral film had no joke at all. Mix food films with the odd skit from your own team.
How do I start?
Book a free thirty-minute video consultation with a partner: a few quick questions, then pick a time. Book a consultation