43 Restaurant Survey Questions on Food Quality and Customer Needs

If you’ve been in the business for a while, you understand that comprehending your customers’ needs is not just crucial, it’s the heart of your success. Restaurant surveys are invaluable and indispensable for understanding what diners think about your food and service, empowering you to make informed decisions.

Creating a restaurant survey isn’t just about asking random questions, it’s about unveiling the true feelings and preferences of your customers. It requires careful thought and planning. A proper survey can help you understand what needs to be improved with your food, service quality, and ambiance to keep customers returning.

Knowing what you do best can help you attract customers.

“What do you do to make sure they come back over and over and over again? If you know what you offer, if you know yourself and you know your brand really well, it’s just about raising awareness for how great this place is,” says Chip Klose, founder of Restaurant Strategy.

Restaurant food quality survey questions

Food quality is the most important factor for diners when deciding where to eat. 68% of guests will choose a restaurant based on taste, presentation, and portion sizes. That’s why you should create a restaurant survey to ask about how customers feel about your dishes and menu, whether you run a full-service restaurant or a cafe.

1. How would you rate the overall quality of our food?

• Excellent
• Good
• Average
• Poor
• Very Poor

2. How satisfied were you with the taste of your meal?

• Extremely satisfied
• Very satisfied
• Somewhat satisfied
• Not very satisfied
• Not at all satisfied

3. How would you rate the freshness of the ingredients in your meal?

• Very fresh
• Somewhat fresh
• Average
• Somewhat stale
• Very stable

4. What did you like best about our menu?

_____________________________________________________________________

5. Was there anything missing from the menu?

• Yes
• No
• If yes, please specify: ___________________________________________________

6. How satisfied are you with the variety of options on our menu?

• Too few options
• Just right
• Too many options

7. Were we able to accommodate your dietary preferences?

• Yes
• No
• Partially
• If no, please elaborate: __________________________________________________

8. How would you rate the presentation of your food?

• Excellent
• Good
• Average
• Poor
• Very Poor

9. How would you rate the portion sizes of your meals?

• Too small
• Just right
• Too large

Restaurant survey questions to cater to customer needs

Aside from food quality, the level of service your staff provides is another crucial factor to ask in your restaurant experience survey. Most customers (over 90%) will simply leave your restaurant without complaining about dissatisfaction. Asking the right questions in your restaurant customer satisfaction surveys can help you understand their needs and improve your restaurant’s overall experience. 

10. Was the staff friendly and welcoming?

• Yes
• No

11. How was the speed of service during your visit?

• Very fast
• Somewhat fast
• Neutral
• Somewhat slow
• Very slow

12. Did your server make any menu recommendations?

• Yes
• No

13. How attentive was the staff to your needs?

• Very attentive
• Somewhat attentive
• Neutral
• Not very attentive
• Not at all attentive

14. How knowledgeable did you find our staff about the menu items and ingredients?

• Very knowledgeable
• Somewhat knowledgeable
• Neutral
• Somewhat unknowledgeable
• Not knowledgeable at all

15. Did our staff make you feel valued as a customer?

• Yes
• No
• If no, please elaborate: _________________________________________________

16. How would you rate the professionalism of our staff?

• Excellent
• Good
• Average
• Below Average
• Very Poor

17. Have you noticed any recent improvements in our service quality?

• Yes
• No

If yes, please elaborate: _________________________________________________

18. How easy was it to make a reservation at our restaurant?

• Very easy
• Somewhat easy
• Neutral
• Somewhat difficult
• Very difficult

19. How long did you wait to be seated after your reservation?

• Did not wait
• Less than 5 minutes
• 5-10 minutes
• 10-20 minutes
• More than 20 minutes

20. Did you receive a reservation reminder before your visit?

• Yes
• No

21. What additional training or support would enhance your experience with our staff?

_____________________________________________________________________

Restaurant environment survey questions

Your restaurant’s ambiance, cleanliness, and overall atmosphere are not just factors they are pillars of customer satisfaction and the likelihood of return. Creating a feedback survey about your restaurant environment will help you understand how customers enjoy being in your space. 

22. How would you rate the overall ambiance of our restaurant?

• Excellent
• Good
• Average
• Poor
• Very Poor

23. How clean did you find our restaurant, including restrooms?

• Very clean
• Somewhat clean
• Neutral
• Not very clean
• Very dirty

24. How comfortable were the seating arrangements?

• Very comfortable
• Somewhat comfortable
• Neutral
• Not very comfortable
• Very uncomfortable

Online ordering and delivery survey questions

It’s easy to neglect those who prefer to order food online, focusing on in-house guest experience. However, they make up a considerable chunk of your customer base, with 70% of diners ordering delivery or takeout online. Let them know you value them by gathering targeted restaurant feedback about their experience with your website or app, such as for navigation, and boost customer retention with your restaurant’s online marketing.

25. How satisfied are you with our online ordering system?

• Very satisfied
• Somewhat satisfied
• Neutral
• Somewhat dissatisfied
• Very dissatisfied

26. How user-friendly is our online reservation system?

• Very user-friendly
• Somewhat user-friendly
• Neutral
• Somewhat difficult to use
• Very difficult to use

27. Did you experience any issues while placing your order through our mobile app or website?

• Yes
• No

If yes, please elaborate: ________________________________________________

28. Was your takeout/delivery order accurate?

• Yes
• No

If no, please elaborate: _________________________________________________

29. How would you rate the packaging of your takeout/delivery order?

• Very well-packaged
• Somewhat well-packaged
• Neutral
• Not very well-packaged
• Poorly packaged

30. Was the food delivered at the right temperature?

• Yes, very hot
• Yes, slightly warm
• Neutral
• No, slightly cold
• No, very cold

31. How likely are you to order takeout from us again?

• Very likely
• Somewhat likely
• Neutral
• Somewhat unlikely
• Very unlikely

Customer engagement survey questions

Asking customers about their engagement helps you understand their loyalty and potential for repeat business. Gathering insights about their overall experience, likelihood of recommending your restaurant, and connection to your brand can provide valuable strategic information to reduce turnover.

32. How likely are you to join our loyalty program?

• Very likely
• Somewhat likely
• Neutral
• Somewhat unlikely
• Very unlikely

33. What incentives would encourage you to dine with us more frequently?

• Discounts
• Free appetizers or desserts
• Exclusive menu items
• Priority reservations
• Other (please specify): _________________________________________

34. Have you recommended our restaurant to others?

• Yes
• No

If yes, what did you highlight: __________________________________________

35. What factors most influence your decision to return to our restaurant?

• Food quality
• Service quality
• Ambiance
• Price
• Location
• Other (please specify): _________________________________________

36. How do you prefer to receive updates about our restaurant (e.g., new menu items, special events)?

• Email
• SMS/Text messages
• Social media
• Phone calls
• Other (please specify): _________________________________________

37. How satisfied are you with the payment options available at our restaurant?

• Very satisfied
• Somewhat satisfied
• Neutral
• Somewhat dissatisfied
• Very dissatisfied

38. Would you like to use a table-side ordering system?

• Yes
• No
• Maybe

39. How would you rate the ease of navigating our website for information about our menu and services?

• Very easy
• Somewhat easy
• Neutral
• Somewhat difficult
• Very difficult

40. How interested are you in attending special events at our restaurant (e.g., themed nights, live music)?

• Very interested
• Somewhat interested
• Neutral
• Somewhat uninterested
• Not interested at all

41. What types of promotions do you find most appealing?

• Percentage discounts
• Buy-one-get-one offers
• Fixed-price menus
• Seasonal specials
• Other (please specify): _________________________________________

42. Have you participated in any of our special promotions or events?

• Yes
• No
• If yes, which ones and what was your experience? ____________________

_____________________________________________________________

43. What new events or promotions would you like to see at our restaurant?

_____________________________________________________________________

Best practices when conducting surveys in your restaurant

It takes careful planning if you want to survey your customers. You should know your objectives and find the proper methods and question types to collect valuable insights. 

Know your goal and target audience

Just like in restaurant market research, knowing is essential to your goals. Do you want to improve food quality, enhance customer service, or understand dining preferences? Understanding your goals helps you create focused questions that gather the correct data.

Next, identify who will take part in your survey. Are you targeting first-time diners, regular patrons, or a specific demographic, such as families or young adults?

Knowing your audience allows you to tailor your survey questions to meet their needs better. For example, if your restaurant primarily caters to families, you might include questions about how family-friendly your environment is. On the other hand, if your customers are mainly young professionals, you could ask about the convenience of your online ordering system.

Choose the right survey method

There are several ways to gather feedback, each with its benefits. Choosing the correct method ensures you get valuable data that can help improve your restaurant’s food quality and customer satisfaction.

Online surveys are popular because they are easy to distribute and reach a broad audience. You can send surveys via email, post them on your website, or share them on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. 

Meanwhile, in-person surveys allow you to engage with customers directly and capture immediate reactions, even nonverbal ones. Make it part of your restaurant policy for servers to ask guests how their meal was before they leave and not their responses. 

Paper surveys can also be effective, especially if placed on tables or included with the check. Mobile survey apps provide another convenient option, allowing customers to share feedback quickly via smartphones. 

Use different question types

Different question formats can capture different data types, giving you a fuller picture of your restaurant’s performance and guests’ needs.

Multiple-choice questions are great for collecting quantitative data. They allow customers to choose from predefined answers, like asking which event notification method they like and providing options.

Rating scales are great for assessing satisfaction levels. For instance, you can ask, “How would you rate the overall quality of our food?” and have the guests choose from 1 to 5, with 1 being poor and 5 being excellent.

Open-ended questions also exist, which allow customers to share detailed opinions and suggestions. These questions can reveal insights that you might not have considered. 

Create short and focused surveys

Short surveys are easier and quicker for guests to complete, which means more people will share their thoughts. They should take no more than 10 minutes to complete, and there should be a maximum of 10-15 restaurant survey questions per template.

Focus on the most critical areas: food quality, service, and customer satisfaction. Instead of asking 20 questions about every possible aspect of the dining experience, choose 10 key questions that provide the most helpful information.

Choose the best time to request feedback

.Asking at the right moments ensures that your customers’ experiences are fresh in their minds, leading to more detailed and honest feedback. 

Post-meal surveys are a great way to distribute them. When guests have just finished their meal, their thoughts on food quality and service remain clear.

For customers ordering or booking a reservation online, you can ask them to answer your reservations survey after completing the transaction. Most POS systems and online booking platforms allow you to send automated survey links. If you’re emailing the study, the best time is mid-morning, from 9 AM to 12 PM.

Offer incentives to motivate customers

Incentives increase customer survey response rates and show your customers that you value their time and input. Discounts on future visits, complimentary appetizers or desserts, entry into a prize draw, or loyalty program points are great ways to encourage participation. 

Make the incentive easy to redeem. For example, provide a discount code immediately after completing the survey or automatically add loyalty points to their account.

Set the duration of the survey

Short-term surveys usually last a week or two. They’re perfect for getting quick feedback on specific changes, such as a new menu item. 

Longer surveys, lasting a month or more, are better for understanding overall trends and seasonal changes. For instance, a restaurant might conduct a month-long study to see how different seasons affect customer satisfaction and food quality.

When scheduling your survey, consider your restaurant’s busy seasons and peak dining periods. During holidays or special events, customers might have different experiences compared to regular days. If you’re not careful, this can skew your survey results, so consider timing your survey during a representative period that reflects your typical dining experience. 

Act on feedback promptly

When you respond quickly to restaurant survey results, you show your customers that you value their opinions and are dedicated to improving their dining experience.

For instance, if you notice a pattern of customers complaining about slow service during peak hours, immediately develop a strategy to improve staff efficiency. This might involve hiring more servers, providing additional training, or reorganizing your floor plan. 

Similarly, if multiple guests suggest adding vegetarian or gluten-free options, work with your chef to update the menu. This way, you show them that you’re taking their feedback seriously and want to give them the best meal every time.

With 7shifts, you can easily monitor customer feedback and assign tasks to the right staff. Our restaurant task management app lets you create, standardize, and track essential to-dos, showing customers your commitment to customer satisfaction.