When someone in Saida, Beirut or Tyre searches “restaurant near me”, Google shows three places on the map before anything else. Which three depends mostly on three things: how close you are, how well your Google Business Profile is filled in, and your reviews — how many, how recent and how good. You cannot move your restaurant closer, but you can do a lot about the other two.
1. Make sure your Google profile is complete
Reviews only help if the profile they sit on is right. Check that your Google Business Profile has:
- The right main category (for example “Lebanese restaurant”, “Café” or “Shawarma restaurant”), plus a few secondary ones.
- Correct opening hours, including holidays and Ramadan hours.
- Your phone or WhatsApp number, your website and a link to your menu.
- At least 10 recent photos: the food, the inside, the front of the shop so people can find it.
2. Get your review link
In your Google Business Profile, choose “Ask for reviews”. Google gives you a short link that opens the review box directly. That one link is what you will put everywhere — on the table, in WhatsApp and on the receipt.
3. Put a QR code on every table
The easiest moment to ask is when the guest is still sitting, happy, with the bill. A small card on the table that says “Enjoyed your meal? Review us on Google” with a QR code turns that moment into a review. You can make printable table cards for free with our QR table stand maker — choose “Google review”, paste your link, and print.
4. Ask in person — and at the right time
Most happy guests never think of leaving a review; they simply were not asked. Train your staff to ask with one short sentence when the guest says the food was good: “Thank you! It would really help us if you left a quick review on Google — the code is on the table.” Do not ask unhappy guests to review elsewhere or offer anything in exchange: Google’s rules forbid rewarding reviews, and it removes them.
5. Follow up delivery orders on WhatsApp
For delivery and takeaway, send one friendly message the next day:
Hi! Thank you for ordering from us yesterday. If you enjoyed it, a short Google review would mean a lot to our small team: [your review link]
Send it once, never twice. Our free WhatsApp link generator makes a chat link and QR code you can also print on bags and boxes.
6. Reply to every review — especially the bad ones
Replies show future guests that someone cares. Thank people by name for good reviews. For a negative one, reply calmly within a day, apologise for the experience, and invite them to contact you directly to fix it. A polite reply to a bad review often wins more trust than the bad review loses.
Never buy reviews. Google detects patterns — many reviews in a short time, from new accounts, from other countries — removes them, and can suspend the profile. Ten real reviews a month beat a hundred fake ones.
A simple monthly routine
- Week 1: update photos and check your hours.
- Every day: staff ask happy guests; QR cards are on every table.
- Every evening: reply to new reviews.
- End of month: count new reviews and compare with last month.
If you would rather have this set up for you, our packages include a complete Google Business Profile setup — and Restbits can put your full menu behind the same QR codes.