Our team works with a lot of restaurant brands, so we love finding fabulous restaurant Instagram accounts to follow for inspiration. (We also just really, REALLY love food – as evidenced by this recent quote from a Belle team member: “I feel like all of our team trips center around eating, and I’m not mad about it.”)
Beautiful food pics have been a staple of Instagram since its inception, but the best restaurant Instagram marketing goes beyond pretty pictures to really engage the audience with creative content and compelling brand storytelling. So without further adieu, here are ten of our favorites:
Restaurant Instagram Marketing: 10 Accounts You Should Be Following
1. Wendy’s
Wendy’s is known for their playful and often trolling persona on Twitter, but don’t underestimate their Instagram. Filled with quirky internet trends and interactive graphics, Wendy’s is a great follow for a laugh and the entertaining comments section. They also boast a high engagement rate – showcasing the effectiveness of this interactive approach to social media.
2. White Castle
White Castle takes a customer-led approach to their Instagram by heavily featuring UGC (user-generated content). The Instagram feed is filled with photos of customers attending White Castle on their graduation day, with their friends, and even reposting TikToks of customers enjoying their food. The slider chain takes this a step further with its Craver Hall of Fame contest every year.
An article in Forbes discusses the importance of user-generated content for brands, citing it as “giving customers a unique opportunity to participate in a brand’s growth instead of being a spectator.”
3. Bad Roman
Bad Roman has only been open for a few months but has already amassed almost 45K followers on Instagram. This NYC restaurant is putting a playful twist on Italian food and their Instagram feed presents the beautiful aesthetics that audiences love. It’s highly curated with photos of the food and ambiance. Bad Roman also utilizes their stories to highlight the customer experience by reposting their diners’ photos.
Freedom a la Cart is a Columbus cafe that employs and empowers survivors of sex trafficking. Their feed entices with beautiful food and beverage offerings, but more than that, they keep a strong connection to their cause. One example is their Voices of Freedom series which highlights survivor stories and expert information. Their story highlights help raise awareness for their causes and display their community connections. Freedom a la Cart is the perfect example of using Instagram to promote a mission while conveying brand personality.
Monty’s is an LA local plant-based burger chain named for the owner’s pup. The Instagram has close-up photos of the tasty food, as well as fun videos describing how they make it. True to their namesake, there are plenty of dogs pictured at their storefronts and posing with their food. What could be better than puppies and burgers?
6. First Watch
First Watch’s menu of breakfast, brunch and lunch is on full display, showcasing seasonal food and drink items and the fans who love them. Guests are so engaged on Instagram that the restaurant has made some of its most popular seasonal menu items permanent additions, like its Purple Haze lavender lemonade.
The Daytime Dining concept also uses social media to surprise and delight fans when launching new menu items. First Watch recently hosted a Tropical Sunrise Getaway Giveaway, which awarded a trip to Florida inspired by a new fresh-squeezed juice with the same name. According to outgrow, an average of 34% of new customers are acquired through giveaway contests.
Crumbl Cookies is a franchise that has gone viral over the last few years, most notably for its weekly rotating menu. Crumbl utilizes its social media to drop new flavors every Sunday night with a fun video that customers return to view each week. Their feed also gives in-depth descriptions of each cookie to increase the temptation.
8. Chili’s
Chili’s creative Instagram page plays into pop culture using trends to connect with their brand and their audience. Some examples include turning their menu into a music festival line-up, jumping into real-time social conversations like catering weddings with Chili’s, and using Kourtney Kardashian’s recent pregnancy announcement as a social post. This tactic keeps their Instagram fresh and relevant for the over 400K people who follow it.
Taim mediterranean kitchen uses Instagram as a way to whet their followers’ appetites and give a deeper look into their employer brand. The “lunch time GOAT,” as it was recently dubbed by Infatuation DC, features employees and their favorite orders. There are thousands of ways to personalize their pitas, bowls and salads. taim also features vegetarian and vegan menu items.
10. Chopt Salad
Chopt Salad uses Instagram to highlight the creativity that weaves throughout its brand identity. They showcase fresh ingredients and the customizability of their salad bar. They also give a behind-the-scenes look at how some of their top-selling dressings and bowls are created.
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