The right questions turn a feedback form from a box-ticking exercise into the most useful report your restaurant gets each week. The wrong ones, or too many of them, mean guests give up halfway or answer without thinking.
Below are 45 restaurant feedback questions grouped by topic. You should not use all of them. Pick three to six that match what you want to learn this month, put them on a short form, and change them when you have your answer.
How long should a restaurant feedback form be?
Short. Guests answer on a phone, usually while waiting for the bill or walking out of the door. A form that takes under a minute gets far more complete responses than a two-page survey, and more responses make your averages more trustworthy.
A good default is:
- One overall rating, so you can track a single number over time.
- One or two specific ratings on the topic you care about right now, such as food or service.
- One open question, so guests can tell you what you did not think to ask.
- Optional contact details, only if the guest wants a reply.
Overall experience questions
- Overall, how would you rate your visit today? (1 to 5 stars)
- How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague? (0 to 10)
- Did your visit meet your expectations? (Below / Met / Exceeded)
- What was the best part of your visit?
- What is one thing we could have done better?
- Was this your first visit? (Yes / No)
- What brought you in today? (Passing by / Recommendation / Social media / Regular / Other)
Food and drink questions
- How would you rate the food? (1 to 5 stars)
- Was your food served at the right temperature? (Yes / No)
- How would you rate the portion size? (Too small / Just right / Too large)
- Which dish did you enjoy most?
- Was there anything on your plate you did not enjoy?
- How would you rate our drinks? (1 to 5 stars)
- Did you find something on the menu that suited your dietary needs? (Yes / No / Not applicable)
Ask about a new dish by name for a few weeks after launching it. It is the quickest way to learn whether it should stay on the menu.
Service and staff questions
- How would you rate the service? (1 to 5 stars)
- Who looked after you today? (choose from a list of staff)
- How friendly was your server? (1 to 5 stars)
- How well did your server know the menu? (1 to 5 stars)
- How long did you wait to be seated? (Under 5 min / 5 to 15 min / Over 15 min)
- Was your food served in a reasonable time? (Yes / No)
- Did you feel welcome when you arrived? (Yes / No)
- Did anyone check whether you needed anything during the meal? (Yes / No)
Ambience, cleanliness and value questions
- How would you rate the cleanliness of the restaurant? (1 to 5 stars)
- How clean were the restrooms? (1 to 5 stars)
- How comfortable was your table? (1 to 5 stars)
- How was the music volume? (Too quiet / Just right / Too loud)
- How would you rate the value for money? (1 to 5 stars)
- Was the bill clear and correct? (Yes / No)
Takeaway and delivery questions
Put these on a separate form whose QR code is printed on bags and packaging, so you can see takeaway results apart from dine-in.
- How would you rate your order? (1 to 5 stars)
- Was your order complete and correct? (Yes / No)
- Did your food arrive at the right temperature? (Yes / No)
- Was the packaging good enough to keep your food in good condition? (Yes / No)
- Was your order ready at the time you were given? (Yes / No / Not sure)
- How did you order? (Phone / Walk-in / Our website / Delivery app)
Loyalty and return visit questions
- How likely are you to visit us again? (1 to 5 stars)
- What would make you visit more often?
- Is there a dish you would like to see on our menu?
- Which other restaurants do you visit for a similar meal?
- Would you like to hear about events and new dishes? (Yes, with optional email or phone)
Complaint questions
When something has gone wrong, a review form is not enough. Use a separate complaint form with questions that help you put it right:
- What went wrong? (comment)
- When did it happen? (date and approximate time)
- Which table, order number or branch was it?
- Can you add a photo? (optional image upload)
- How would you like us to make it right? (Refund / Replacement / A call from the manager / Nothing, just letting you know)
- How can we reach you? (phone or email)
A ready-made 5-question restaurant feedback form
If you want a starting point for a casual dining restaurant, use this and adjust it after a month:
- Overall, how would you rate your visit today? (1 to 5 stars, required)
- How was the food? (1 to 5 stars)
- Who looked after you today? (staff field with friendliness, knowledge and communication ratings)
- What is one thing we could have done better? (comment, optional)
- Can we contact you about your feedback? (phone or email, optional)
Questions to avoid
- Double questions such as "How were the food and service?". A guest who loved the food and waited forever cannot answer it. Split it in two.
- Leading questions such as "How amazing was your meal?". They inflate scores and make the data useless.
- Required contact details. Many guests will leave rather than share a phone number. Keep contact fields optional.
- Questions you will not act on. If nobody will read the answer, do not ask the question.
- Only asking happy guests for public reviews. If you invite guests to review you on Google or other sites, invite everyone. Selectively soliciting positive reviews is against Google's review policies.
Where and when to ask
Timing matters as much as wording. The best moment is right after the meal, while the experience is fresh and the guest has a minute to spare.
- Inside the bill folder or printed on the bill
- On table tents, facing the guest
- On takeaway bags and delivery packaging
- Near the cashier or exit
Our guide to creating a QR code feedback form covers printing size, contrast and the short line of text that makes people scan.
What to do with the answers
- Read new responses daily, ideally on the day they arrive. Email alerts help with this.
- Reply to every complaint where the guest left contact details. Our guide on responding to customer complaints includes templates.
- Track a weekly average for the overall rating and compare it with the previous weeks.
- Share praise with the team by name. Recognition is one of the cheapest ways to improve service.
- Change one thing at a time, then watch whether the related score moves.