Restaurant UGC fills tables when a real person shows what it feels like to eat there: the first bite, what they ordered, the table by the window. We have filmed UGC for restaurants and cafes in Lebanon, and these are the eight ideas we’d brief first. Restaurant UGC works best filmed at your venue, on the creator’s phone, and each video is edited with captions and cleared for ads, starting from $140 per video, depending on the creator.
Key takeaways
- People choose restaurants on TikTok. In a US survey, 58% of TikTok users said they had visited a restaurant after seeing it on the app.
- Eight ideas cover most venues, from the first-bite reaction to a look behind the counter.
- Film at the venue, at the right hour. Light, crowd and the dish at its best matter more than equipment.
- Order several videos and keep posting. One video is a moment; a series is a habit.
Our 25 UGC creators deliver over 80 videos a month, and we have made UGC for restaurants and cafes. This guide covers why UGC works for food, eight video ideas that fill tables, how to plan the shoot at your venue, and what it costs. If you already know what you want, brief our UGC creators.
Finding 1: People pick where to eat on TikTok
Restaurant discovery has moved to short video. A survey by the marketing agency MGH (November 2024) of 1,142 US adults who watch TikTok found that:
- 64% had learned about a restaurant on the platform;
- 58% had visited a restaurant after seeing it on TikTok, up from 38% in 2022;
- 52% had spent more than usual at a restaurant;
- 50% said TikTok is the key influencer in their restaurant choices.
That’s a US sample, not Lebanon. But the behaviour is familiar to anyone who has watched friends here pick a Saturday lunch spot from a reel.
Practical translation: your next customer is probably deciding from their phone. Give them a video that answers “what’s it like to eat there?”
Finding 2: Eight UGC ideas that fill tables
| Idea | What happens on camera | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The first bite | The creator takes the first bite of your signature dish and reacts honestly | Any venue with a hero dish |
| 2. What I ordered | A quick tour of the table: each plate, one line on each | Sharing menus, brunch, mezze |
| 3. The menu tour | Three dishes worth ordering, and why | New menus, first-time visitors |
| 4. Date night | Arriving, the atmosphere, the table, dessert | Dinner spots, rooftops |
| 5. Behind the counter | The coffee being pulled, the bread coming out, the grill | Cafes, bakeries, open kitchens |
| 6. The morning ritual | A creator’s coffee and breakfast before work | Cafes, breakfast places |
| 7. Friends’ table | A group sharing plates and passing them around | Casual dining, sharing menus |
| 8. Worth the drive | The road, the view, then the food | Mountain, seaside and village spots |
The first two are the easiest place to start: they show the food, they’re quick to film, and they work as ads.
Practical translation: pick two ideas for your first order, one that sells the food and one that sells the atmosphere.
Finding 3: Film at your venue, at the right time
Restaurant UGC works best filmed where people eat it, with the creator filming on their phone at your venue, so the shoot depends more on timing than on equipment:
- Choose the hour. Daylight by a window for brunch and cafes; the evening atmosphere for dinner and rooftops.
- Have the dish at its best. Plate it fresh for the camera, and be ready to plate it twice.
- Decide on the crowd. A busy room sells “this place is popular”; a quiet one is easier to film. Say which you want.
- Clear the table. Remove anything that shouldn’t be in shot: bills, phones, other brands’ bottles.
- Agree the sound. Music, the grill and the coffee machine add life, but the creator’s voice must stay clear.
Practical translation: book the shoot for a time when your kitchen can give the creator its full attention for an hour.
Finding 4: What to put in a restaurant brief
The most common reason a UGC video is filmed again is a creator not reading the brand’s guidelines, such as the wrong outfit or the wrong background. For restaurants, write these down:
- The hero dishes, by name, and how they should be described.
- The price or offer, if it should be said or shown.
- The table or corner you want in shot.
- Must not say: comparisons with other restaurants, or claims you can’t stand behind.
- The action: book a table, order on delivery, visit this weekend.
- Language: Lebanese Arabic, English or French, or the natural mix.
Our UGC brief template has every other field.
Practical translation: if the address or the opening hours should appear on screen, send them in writing. That’s where caption mistakes happen.
Finding 5: What the price includes
UGC starts from $140 per video, depending on the creator. Each video includes:
- A creator matched to your customers by audience, age and look.
- Your brand kit and a guideline, with our help on the final script.
- A captioned edit, with one round of revisions. Arabic videos are captioned in Arabic script.
- Paid-ads usage rights, generally for life.
- A post on the creator’s TikTok and an Instagram story, as a paid partnership with your venue tagged.
- Delivery within 3 days of the brief.
You pay upfront, and the creator is paid only once the work is fully delivered. Volume discounts exist, with no fixed percentage, because they depend on the creator and the brand.
Practical translation: a venue that posts every week needs a supply of videos. Order a set, not a single clip.
Plan a month of restaurant UGC
A simple plan for one venue:
| Week | Idea | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The first bite | Show the hero dish |
| 2 | What I ordered | Show the range of the menu |
| 3 | Behind the counter or the morning ritual | Show the people and the craft |
| 4 | Date night or friends’ table | Show the atmosphere |
Run the strongest one as an ad from your own account, and keep the others on your page. After a month you’ll know whether your customers respond to the food, the place or the people, and you can brief more of that. Our guide to UGC for TikTok ads covers hooks and testing.
Practical translation: keep the same creator for a series if your customers like them, or rotate creators to reach different crowds.
Three myths about restaurant UGC
Myth 1: “Food content needs a professional food shoot.” Professional photos sell the menu; UGC sells the experience. A real person enjoying the food is what makes someone book.
Myth 2: “One viral video is enough.” A viral moment fades. Regular videos keep your venue in people’s feeds when they’re deciding where to eat this weekend.
Myth 3: “AI can make the food look better.” People want a human touch, and with food they want the truth. Real plates, real reactions and a real room are what earn trust.
What to do this week
- Pick your hero dish and the one thing people should know about your venue.
- Choose two ideas from the table above.
- Decide on the hour and whether you want the room busy or quiet.
- Write down dish names, prices and the action you want, in writing.
- Plan four videos for the month. Read what UGC costs in Lebanon to set the budget.
- Send your brief. For photos of the venue and menu too, see our brand photoshoot ideas.
Restaurant UGC: questions
What kind of UGC works best for restaurants?
We’d start with the first bite and “what I ordered”. They show the food, they’re quick to film, and they work as ads. Atmosphere ideas such as date night and the friends’ table complete the picture.
Do you film at our restaurant?
Yes, that’s usually where restaurant UGC works best. The creator films on their phone at your venue; agree the time with us when you brief.
How much does restaurant UGC cost in Lebanon?
Starting from $140 per video, depending on the creator, with a captioned edit, paid-ads rights and delivery within 3 days.
Will the creator post the video?
Yes. Each video goes out on the creator’s TikTok as a paid partnership with your venue tagged, and as an Instagram story.
Have you made UGC for restaurants and cafes before?
Yes. We have filmed UGC for restaurants and cafes in Lebanon, alongside hotels, guesthouses and health brands.
Can we run the videos as ads?
Yes. Paid-ads usage rights are included, so you can run them as TikTok or Meta ads from your venue’s account.
Written by the StudioLebanon team: a photo, video and UGC studio in Zouk Mosbeh, Lebanon, working with 25 UGC creators and delivering over 80 UGC videos a month.