Most restaurant marketing focuses on getting more customers. But there is another lever that is often easier and cheaper to pull: getting the customers you already have to spend a little more each visit. A 10% increase in average spend across your existing customer base has the same revenue impact as a 10% increase in footfall — with none of the acquisition cost.

1. Train Staff to Suggest, Not Sell

The fastest way to increase average spend is through staff recommendations, but only when they feel natural. A server who says your guest mentions a preference for rich red wines and recommends a specific bottle by name is giving good service. A server who asks whether you want to add a starter to every table regardless of context is pushing, and customers notice the difference.

Train your team to make one genuine recommendation per table — a dish they personally like, a wine that pairs well with what was ordered, a dessert that is particularly good that week. One well-placed suggestion typically converts at 20 to 30% and adds €6 to €15 to the average bill.

2. Redesign Your Menu for Visual Hierarchy

Customers rarely read a menu top to bottom. They scan it in predictable patterns — typically starting in the upper-right area, then moving to anchors and highlighted sections. Placing your highest-margin dishes in those zones, with slightly more visual weight than surrounding items, increases how often they are ordered.

Similarly, removing the currency symbol from prices (writing 18 instead of €18) reduces the psychological friction of spending. Small changes in layout can produce measurable increases in average spend without changing a single price.

3. Offer a Loyalty Reward That Incentivises a Higher Spend

If your loyalty programme requires a minimum spend to earn a stamp — say €15 or €20 — customers who are close to that threshold will often add a drink, a side, or a dessert to cross it. This is one of the most natural and frictionless ways to increase average spend: the customer is choosing to spend more in exchange for something they value.

Setting the stamp threshold slightly above your current average spend is a simple way to lift that average over time without any visible pressure on the customer.

4. Bundle Sides and Drinks into Meal Deals

Customers are more likely to add a side or a drink if it is presented as part of a meal deal than if they have to actively choose and price each item separately. A main plus a side plus a soft drink at a single bundled price feels like a decision made easier, not a sale being pushed.

Keep the bundle price at a discount of around 10 to 15% versus buying separately. That is enough to make the bundle feel worthwhile without significantly impacting your margin.

5. Introduce a Weekly Special That Creates Urgency

Limited-time dishes create a reason to order something beyond the usual. A weekly special — promoted on the menu, mentioned by staff, and pushed to your loyalty customers via notification — generates additional orders from regulars who already know what they usually want.

The notification element is key: a loyal customer who receives a message about a special smoked lamb chop available only this week is far more likely to order it than a walk-in who reads it on a chalkboard by the door.

Want to set up the loyalty element of this strategy? Visit tavoloplus.com/restaurants — free to start and ready in about 30 minutes.

How to Increase Average Spend per Customer in Your Restaurant