20+ Mother’s Day dinner ideas for restaurants to fill every table

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Mother’s Day is a big day, and it’s a wise idea for restaurants to start preparing for it since it’s the busiest day of the year for restaurants. Probably the most traditional experience for many families is a Mother’s Day brunch, which gives Mom the opportunity to indulge in all her favorites in the company of loved ones early in the day. But there are advantages to offering a Mother’s Day dinner for restaurants as well—especially if you’re a dinner-only establishment.

Naturally, you’ll want to make your Mother’s Day dinner extra special. That includes aiming for the perfect ambiance and making a special Mother’s Day menu. Since people expect different food for dinner than they do for brunch, this gives you the opportunity to get creative in the kitchen and serve up some dishes that’ll wow mom and hopefully keep her and her family coming back for more.

So, let’s take a look at some Mother’s Day dinner ideas for restaurants, what dishes may make the cut, and ways to get the word out so you get customers in the door to celebrate Mother’s Day—at night.

Know your audience

Before you decide on what you’re going to do for a Mother’s Day celebration, you’ll want to know your customers. If you’ve been in the business for a while, you know who your regulars are. Ideally, you’ll want to attract new customers as well. So here are a few steps to get a better idea of who exactly you’ll be serving:

1. Identify your target demographic. For established restaurants, you’ll have data to work with as well as holistic knowledge of your regular audience. Consider your customers’ average age, gender, location, and income level. Knowing these will help you plan a menu that gives your customers what they want and will help you get your ambiance right as well.
2. Check your data. Your front-of-house management system will have data on recent customer habits, and if you’re collecting longitudinal data, you’ll have data from previous Mother’s Day events as well. Look for patterns and trends in customer demand and spending, like which promotions or specials were most popular. Look at the average party size. Relying on data forecasting will help you make informed decisions instead of going by your gut.
3. Conduct surveys before Mother’s Day. Asking your customers what they’d like to see for a Mother’s Day dinner can give you valuable insight straight from the horse’s mouth. Check for example what their favorite dishes are to see if there’s any commonality, ask about dietary restrictions and preferences, and ask about what they’d like the ambiance to be like. Getting direct customer feedback is invaluable and can help you give customers the Best Mother’s Day possible.
4. Sift through your online reviews. If you have reviews from your previous Mother’s Day celebrations, pay extra attention to these to see what worked and didn’t work. As with surveys, reviews provide valuable customer insight and can give you ideas to improve.

Create a mouth-watering Mother’s Day menu

Getting your Mother’s Day menu right is mission critical for this day. And because we’re talking about dinner here, you can ditch any brunch menu ideas like eggs benedict, hash browns, french toast, waffles, frittatas, mimosas, or quiche.

Naturally, the Mother’s Day dinner ideas you choose will depend on your restaurant. If you’re an Italian restaurant or steakhouse, for example, you’ll want to lean into your strengths. But let’s look at some specific steps to creating a unique Mother’s Day menu that’ll make mom happy:

1. Consider moms’ favorite cuisines. Looking at customer data can be quite useful, since you may be able to parse out what dishes are most popular with mothers and grandmothers. Research current food trends to see what’s most popular. And while spendy entrées like lobster tail, beef tenderloin, or prime rib are popular on Mother’s Day, some moms want comfort food. If crispy fried chicken and mashed potatoes are what your customers want, give it to them.
2. Offer a variety of options. This doesn’t mean your menu needs to be huge—in fact, we recommend keeping it small to not overwhelm your inventory or back-of-house (BOH). But consider customer-specific things like dietary restrictions and vegetarian or vegan options to make sure all moms get to eat something they can enjoy. Yelp data shows that searches for vegan food were up 12% in 2023, so it’s top-of-mind for many diners. While one mom may be a fan of fettuccine alfredo with extra parmesan, some may be lactose intolerant, so bear in mind different dietary requirements.
3. Go local, seasonal, and fresh. It’s simple: Fresh food tastes good, and seasonal food is fresher. Additionally, highlighting local ingredients will help you create a unique meal and give you marketing opportunities to help boost your image.
4. Create a multi-course experience. One classy Mother’s Day dinner idea is a prix fixe menu. This can work well for many reasons. First, a multi-course meal feels like a real treat for many people, and it’ll work well with limited menu items. Offering several set meals, for example, can give people choices that fit their desires while streamlining your BOH operations. It’ll also make it easier for your customers to order, since you’ve already done most of the work for them.
5. Make unique Mother’s Day specials. Restaurant specials can get extra attention, especially if they’re for a limited time only. Set your chefs to work and create offerings that are unique to Mother’s Day. This’ll make mom (and grandma) feel special since she knows she’ll be getting something that’s only available once a year. It’ll also give you excellent marketing opportunities. Wins all around!
6. Craft thoughtful beverage pairings. A prix fixe menu is the perfect opportunity to pair beverages with each dish: one with an appetizer, one with the entrée or main, and one with dessert. You can also lean heavily on a wine list, since wine is quite common on Mother’s Day. If someone is getting a filet mignon, for example, you’re absolutely going to want to pair a high-quality red for them that hits the palate just right.
7. Lean into desserts. Dessert is the literal icing on the cake for Mother’s Day, so get your pastry chef (or other chefs, if you don’t have one) to create desserts that represent your A-game. You can go classic, like with varieties of cheesecake, cracker-crust apple pie, or homemade ice creams or sorbets.

Design an inviting ambiance

In addition to creating a delicious menu, setting a warm and inviting ambiance is a must. You’ll want to keep it in line with your restaurant’s already-established vibe, but dolling the place up for Mother’s Day will enhance the overall atmosphere. No matter how you go about things, make sure it fits your restaurant’s brand and concept:

1. Choose a theme. Consider the color palette you’ll want for decorations as well as a specific style of décor. Flowers are a must, so consider working with a local florist to decorate tables and the establishment as a whole.
2. Make your restaurant warm and welcoming. Add soft lighting, extra pillows on bench seating, blankets on the patio chairs, and inviting table settings (like candles and flowers). For customers who have booked in advance, you can go the extra mile and ask for photos to set on the table to make mom feel extra special.
3. Pay attention to music. If you have a casual, unfussy restaurant concept, try a throwback playlist with the top hits from the era when most of your mom customers were teenagers. Music from the ‘90s is a good catch-all. But if a mom is 30 years old, her teenage tunes would be music from around 2010—we know, time flies! For Gen X or Boomer moms bringing their adult kids, try ‘70s and ‘80s hits. If you have an upscale concept that doesn’t do pop, make a playlist with soothing music for a relaxing meal that doesn’t distract from dinner conversation. We’re not suggesting elevator music, but classical music or jazz is a solid bet.
4. Arrange seating that makes sense. Mother’s Day is a family meal, so you’ll want to ensure there are large tables that can accommodate large families. Some Mother’s Day events are more intimate affairs with only a few family members, however, so offering a variety of seating options will serve you well. Set tables in as circular a fashion as possible to encourage conversation. If you have an outdoor space like a rooftop, patio, or garden, use this area for large groups so they can enjoy the warm weather and fresh air.
5. Prioritize children. Many families will be coming with children, some of whom may be too young to sit at a table for long without getting bored. Print some fun Mother’s Day card coloring sheets and prep some extra crayon bundles. If you have a spare corner, add a safe play space for kids so the adults in the family can enjoy their conversation without iPads needing to be brought out for those shorter attention spans. And of course, have those high chairs and booster seats conveniently available for hosts to access.
6. Make your place as clean as possible. We recommend doing a deep clean of the whole restaurant before Mother’s Day to make the place as clean as possible. This will be valuable in the long run as well, since customers recognize and appreciate cleanliness. Handle those little repairs you’ve been putting off as well, like a jiggly bathroom lock or a wonky automatic soap dispenser.

Promoting your Mother’s Day meal

You’ll want to get ahead of the curve with marketing for Mother’s Day since many other restaurants will be doing the same. We recommend keeping active social media profiles on all major platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Yelp Connect.

1. Use the power of imagery on social media. Posting tantalizing photos and videos of upcoming dishes is a great way to cement your restaurant in a customer’s mind long before the day arrives so they book in advance. We recommend posting these images and videos every few days, including relevant hashtags to get maximum reach.
2. Run social media contests or giveaways. Encourage user engagement by suggesting customers share their favorite Mom story or memory, and give a free dinner to the winner. This can create buzz and drive engagement through Mother’s Day and into the future, hopefully even creating an online community and conversation space in your social media outlets. Respond to comments promptly and be sure to answer all questions to demonstrate you’re engaged with your social media followers.
3. Send out targeted email campaigns. If you have an email list, use it to your best advantage. Personalize these emails by addressing the recipients by name and highlighting the unique aspects of your event. As with your social media posts, include the most beautiful photos you can and share the dinner menu, reservation info, and hours, as well as any special events you may be hosting.
4. Collaborate with local influencers. Partner with influencers to help you gain trust with new audiences. Reach out to local social media food influencers and bloggers to come for a meal well before Mother’s Day. They can post about what they ordered and give an honest review of their experience, plugging your upcoming Mother’s Day event in the video. Make sure to have a contract in place so all parties are on the same page, but rest assured that businesses make an average of $6.50 for every $1 spent on influencer marketing. Most importantly, many customers these days pick restaurants based on an influencer’s recommendation, so tap into that potential.
5. Use limited-time offers. Give out early-bird discounts for early bookings to create a sense of urgency in customers. Highlight how restaurants are typically slammed on Mother’s Day to get customers to commit to you early, and reward them for doing so—perhaps with a gift card.
6. Offer gifts and other freebies. A Mother’s Day gift is a wonderful idea to get customers in the door, whether it’s flowers from your florist of choice, a gift card, or merchandise from your restaurant.
7. Promote takeout as well as dine-in options. Some families would prefer to enjoy Mother’s Day at home but don’t want to do all the cooking. Their solution? You! Give families the opportunity to treat mom to a Mother’s Day meal in the comfort of their own home.

Track the effectiveness of your marketing campaign by looking at click-through rates, conversion rates, and engagement. This should be standard practice in marketing, but it’s especially important for such a busy day. Check the data during and after the campaign to see what worked and didn’t work so you can improve your marketing strategies in the future.

Collaborate with other local businesses

You’re likely going to work with a florist to decorate your restaurant. So why not collaborate with them further, giving them full credit for their work both at the table and with the bill? Try to set up an exchange: You send business their way by giving out their business card (with a discount) to your customers, while they give you a discount on your event florals. That way, both businesses can grow.

Hiring photographers and videographers can also help make the experience special for families. Families can pay to have high-quality photos and videos of their special day to keep for posterity, and the photographers can stand to get extra business afterward.

This strategy can work with other types of businesses that are typically mom-friendly. Consider reaching out to:

• Spas and wellness centers
• Boutiques and fashion retailers
• Local charities and other community organizations

Make sure that businesses you partner with offer discounts to your customers and watch both your businesses grow.

Make your service impeccable

For a day as special (and busy) as Mother’s Day, your front-of-house staff will need to be on their A-game. Assuming the place will be full, it’ll be as busy as it gets. So, you want to ensure your staff have all the tools they need to do their jobs well and efficiently.

You’ll also want it to be as easy as possible for customers to find you and make reservations. And for the latecomers who haven’t planned particularly well, finding an open seat via waitlists can be a godsend.

Yelp Guest Manager does all that and more. We put the most advanced tools in your staff’s hands while ensuring the best possible reach and communication with your customers.

If you want to see how Yelp Guest Manager can make your restaurant run as smoothly as possible on Mother’s Day and beyond, reach out to us for a demo. With a dedicated onboarding manager and easy, customizable setup, you’ll be glad you did.