How to decide on a restaurant identify (+100 artistic concepts)

From The Dairy Godmother to The Infamous P.I.G., an incredible identify can positively make your restaurant stand out.

However considering of one thing that strikes simply the suitable stability of catchy, descriptive, and distinctive is less complicated mentioned than completed. And sadly, developing with an incredible restaurant identify is one thing you’ll should do fairly early on within the planning levels, because you’ll want it to use for loans, create signage, and begin promoting.

Hm. Good factor we’ve put collectively this restaurant naming information that will help you select a reputation that you just’ll love. We’ll break down what makes a great restaurant identify, what makes one not-so-great, and greater than 100 concepts that’ll have you ever saying, “That’s the one!” earlier than you recognize it.

Why restaurant names matter.

Certain, your meals is perhaps what brings folks again to your restaurant. However your identify’s what will get them within the door within the first place. 

Whereas selecting a reputation on your restaurant might be difficult, it’s one of the vital necessary selections you’ll make when opening your restaurant. Not solely is it doubtless the authorized identify on your restaurant operations, but it surely’s additionally what your present and future prospects will consult with you as. The appropriate identify will enable you construct a model on your restaurant, entice the suitable prospects and workers, and develop your online business. 

With main cities like New York Metropolis being residence to over 35,000 eating places, standing out from the group is fairly necessary.  So developing with a reputation that packs a punch will go a great distance in setting your restaurant up for achievement. 

What makes a great restaurant identify?

There are tens of millions of restaurant identify combos you may select from. All of us come throughout dozens of eating places day by day on social media or as we stroll down the road. However which of them stand out to you? Right here’s a touch: they in all probability meet the standards on this listing. Contemplate this your guidelines of all issues that make for a great restaurant identify.

• • Straightforward to recollect. You need your identify to come back up when individuals are deciding the place they need to eat. In case your identify simply involves thoughts, prospects usually tend to go to your restaurant. 
  • Clearly communicates your providing. Prospects ought to know what to anticipate earlier than they even step foot within the door. Think about the frustration of strolling right into a restaurant named The Sub Store solely to find—gasp—nary a sub to be seen.
  • Distinctive. Each restaurant has one thing completely different to supply. Whilst you would possibly discover a restaurant someplace on the planet with the identical identify, it’s finest to decide on a reputation that’s as distinct as attainable. This can enable you stand out regionally and on serps.
  • Easy to model. Your restaurant identify isn’t simply a reputation. It’ll must seamlessly translate right into a brand that may go on advertising and marketing supplies, constructing signage, and menus. Easy names typically make this simpler, however a designer can all the time offer you tips about what names work finest with the design you take note of.
  • It’s one that you just love. As a small enterprise proprietor, your restaurant is an extension of you. So it’s necessary that you just love the identify of your restaurant as a lot as your prospects do.

What makes restaurant names unhealthy?

We don’t like to evaluate. However sadly, there are methods to give you a foul restaurant identify.

As a result of we don’t need you to keep away from an costly mistake when naming your restaurant, listed below are some pink flags to keep away from when naming your restaurant.

• Typos. Examine your spelling and grammar. Then double-check it once more. The very last thing you need is to have spelled one thing incorrect and should cope with reprinting 1,000 napkins full of typos.
• Names which are off-brand. Earlier than developing with a reputation, take into consideration the values and imaginative and prescient of your restaurant. In case your identify doesn’t match your model, it’ll be harder to draw the suitable prospects. 
• Arduous to pronounce or spell. If a reputation is just too lengthy or too troublesome to pronounce, it will possibly deter restaurant goers from going to your restaurant. This may—sadly—be notably true for eating places with various cultural backgrounds. So whilst you need to shine a highlight in your distinctive delicacies, attempt to hold it easy.
• Is offensive. There’s a positive line between humorous and offensive. Relying in your model, you would possibly dare to stroll this line. However as a normal rule, it’s finest to err on the aspect of warning. You in all probability don’t need to begin your grand opening with some less-than-ideal press, like this restaurant in Vancouver.

Tips on how to future proof your identify.

In relation to the identify of your restaurant, you may all the time change your thoughts. However it may cost you.

Not solely will you find yourself spending precious time and sources altering your signage, web site, and different advertising and marketing supplies, you’ll additionally should take care of buyer confusion throughout that interval of transition. Relying on your online business construction, it might need authorized implications as nicely. So ideally, it is best to select one thing that sticks with you as your online business grows.Some future-forward issues to consider relating to your restaurant identify embody:

• Your long-term restaurant targets, comparable to your merchandise, areas, and growth plans.
• Authorized concerns, just like the potential to trademark.
• Keep away from choice which are too stylish and would possibly really feel outdated in a few years.

How do you select a restaurant identify? 7 tricks to get began

When you’re discovering your self a bit overwhelmed by the name-selection course of, we get it. Whereas selecting a reputation feels easy in principle, there’s quite a bit to consider. And let’s face it, not all of us are wordsmiths extraordinaire. 

So, listed below are a few of our prime ideas for navigating the method of selecting a restaurant moniker.

1. Begin with constructing a imaginative and prescient on your model. Spherical up particulars about your restaurant, your goal prospects, and pricing to tell the kind of identify you’re in search of. You would possibly have already got this info in your marketing strategy.
2. Take the time to brainstorm related phrases and phrases which may suit your restaurant. Take into consideration every little thing from the kind of delicacies you provide to your menu and even your location. 
3. Use AI instruments like Chat GPT and different free enterprise phrase mills—or our listing beneath—for inspiration.
4. Provide you with a big listing of names and begin to cross off those that don’t match the invoice.
5. Upon getting your prime picks, verify to see if any of the names have been taken. Use Google, native restaurant guides, and your native enterprise registries to verify for present companies with the identical identify. 
6. Examine to see if the web site area and social media handles can be found on your prime identify selections, so you may handle your restaurant with ease. 
7. Sleep on it. Selecting a restaurant identify is a giant determination and doesn’t should occur in a single day. It’s typically useful to present your self a while to mull it over earlier than you finalize your selection. 

35 identify concepts by restaurant vibe.

Want some inspo on your meals and beverage enterprise identify? We’ve received you lined.

And since the suitable vibes are key, we’ve rounded up a few of our faves and saved them organized that will help you get brainstorming.

Fancy restaurant names.

Fancy, full-service eating places typically select elegant and easy names that mirror the standard of the meals and expertise.

1. Armonía
2. The Lakehouse
3. Parlor
4. Kaiser 
5. Le Bistro
6. Marcello’s

Cute restaurant names.

A cute identify on your restaurant is an effective way to present off a enjoyable and pleasant vibe. They’re typically playful and quirky and have a constructive connotation—and would possibly even be enjoyable to say. 

1. Sundae Goals
2. Flowerpot Espresso Store
3. Toasty Teapot Cafe
4. Little Backyard Grill
5. The Bunny Bistro
6. Honeycomb Cottage

Romantic restaurant names.

From first dates to anniversaries, some spots are excellent for celebrating these particular moments of affection. If that’s your restaurant, attempt sticking to themes of affection or nostalgic references that’ll make company fall in love another time.

1. Cafe Amour
2. Backyard of Eve
3. Marjorie’s
4. Lover’s Bistro
5. Bisou, Bisou
6. Romeo and Juliet

Humorous restaurant names.

Naming your restaurant is severe enterprise, however that doesn’t imply the end result needs to be, too. Typically a bit humor is simply what you should get the suitable prospects by way of the door. 

1. We Don’t Have Salads
2. Fork My Life
3. Pho-king Soups
4. A Cluckin’ Good Time
5. French Fry Me A River
6. A Waffle Lot Of Waffles

Intelligent restaurant names.

Equally, you should use puns, wordplay, and even popular culture references to maintain your grub hub enjoyable and perhaps even a bit tacky.

1. Able to Wok
2. The Codfather
3. Eggtastic Breakfasts
4. Let’s Taco Bout It
5. Burger Meister
6. The Contemporary and the Livid

Catchy restaurant names.

Most restaurant names must be simple to say and bear in mind, however protecting your identify additional catchy might help you catch some extra company. Our prime picks? Names with rhymes and alliterations that roll proper off the tongue.

1. Frankie’s French Fry Home
2. Rolls and Bowls
3. Delilah’s Diner
4. Barbara’s Rhubarb Bar
5. A Fork of Pork
6. Hungry Hippo Hamburgers

Cool restaurant names.

We all know that cool might be fairly subjective, however names with a little bit of edge and thriller will certainly assist get your restaurant in with the in crowd. Are the cool children nonetheless saying that?

1. The City
2. Juniper Eatery
3. Social Supperclub
4. It’s Known as Surf
5. Invoice’s Daughter

65 identify concepts by delicacies.

Typically prospects are simply in search of a meal that captures their cravings. And whether or not they’re in search of Indian or Italian, the restaurant identify concepts on this listing would possibly simply enable you make it to the highest of your prospects’ must-eats listing. 

Breakfast restaurant names.

There are few issues as cozy as kicking off the day with a restaurant breakfast. So should you’re dispensing the bacon, don’t be afraid to lean into the breakfast theme.

1. Basket of Bacon
2. Breakfast Nook
3. The Egg of it All
4. Little Croissant Cafe
5. Dawn Stacks

Brunch restaurant names.

Brunch and breakfast are peas in a pod. However attempt one in all these choices on your restaurant to present off that traditional ‘‘lineup down the road for brunch’ vibes.

1. Early Hen Cafe
2. Crepes & Espresso
3. Sunny Aspect Up
4. The Brunch Firm
5. Too Late For Breakfast

Quick meals restaurant names.

When in search of quick meals, prospects need to get out and in as rapidly as they’ll. Whether or not you personal a meals truck enterprise or a drive-through, decide a reputation that balances comfort with scrumptious eats. 

1. Speedy Spuds
2. Burgs and Stuff
3. Pita Pit Cease
4. Hannah’s Hoagie Hut
5. Southern Fried Rooster 

BBQ restaurant names.

Everyone knows that BBQ is an expertise. Listed below are just a few concepts that lean into the hearty—and smoky—vibes of BBQ eating.

1. Creekside BBQ
2. Contemporary Off The Grill
3. Mike’s Craft BBQ
4. Racks
5. The Smoke Shack

Mexican restaurant names.

Each Mexican restaurant is exclusive, however all of them have one thing in widespread—the meals is brilliant, vibrant, and flavorful. Which implies your identify must be too.

1. La Cantina
2. The Burrito Bar
3. Cocina Mexicana
4. La Mesa Mexicana
5. Fiesta 

Italian restaurant names.

There’s one thing oh-so-classic about eating at an Italian restaurant. An Italian moniker might help talk authenticity whereas setting you other than different eating places within the space. 

1. Pisa Pizza
2. Enoteca Riviera
3. Antonio’s Pizzeria
4. Osteria Sociale
5. Nonna’s Kitchen & Bar

Chinese language restaurant names.

With a rustic as massive as China, there are such a lot of varieties of delicacies. So when making your selection, select one which highlights the regional flavors of your restaurant and ties in conventional Chinese language symbols or landmarks.

1. Golden Dynasty
2. New Age Kitchen
3. Xing’s Shanghai Classics
4. Nice Wall Bistro
5. Fortunate Wong’s Noodle Home

Indian restaurant names.

Showcase the genuine Indian eating expertise that highlights the spices and flavors of Indian delicacies. Don’t be afraid to reference well-known dishes and areas so diners know what to anticipate. 

1. Curry on Cob Road
2. Higher Biryani
3. Spice of Life
4. Plates of Punjabi
5. Delhi Delights

Seafood restaurant names.

In relation to a seafood restaurant you may’t go incorrect with a nautical theme. Select one which feels contemporary—like your seafood—whereas paying tribute to the seven seas. 

1. The Seafood Spot
2. Salt and Surf
3. The Atlantic 
4. Wave
5. Contemporary Catch Kitchen

Greek restaurant names.

Dive into the wealthy tradition of Greek meals with a restaurant identify that ties into well-known Greek dishes or mythology. When you’re feeling additional intelligent, be at liberty to toss some popular culture references in there too.

1. Nice Gyro’s
2. Colossus Cafe
3. Niko’s Taverna
4. Three Dads’ 
5. Home of Greek

Burger restaurant names.

Discovering a actually wonderful burger joint is like discovering a $20 invoice on the bottom. Uncommon, however attainable. Listed below are some choices that’ll assist your burger joint keep prime of thoughts. 

1. Between the Buns
2. Bob’s Burger Bar
3. Smash Burg
4. That Burger Joint
5. Henry’s Charbroiled

Bakery names.

Whether or not they’re in search of a day pick-me-up or an important day, these ones would possibly simply flip you into the native go-to for candy treats. 

1. Little Bakery on the Nook
2. Sam’s Bakeshop
3. Croissant Tradition
4. Broad Road Bakery
5. The Pastry Pantry

Sushi restaurant names.

Get new prospects rolling within the door with a restaurant identify that ties into Japanese custom and delicacies, whereas highlighting the star of the present: sushi.

1. Rice and Soy
2. Roll’d
3. Maki Mayhem
4. The Sushi Spot
5. Hoshi (Star) Sushi

Prepared, set, get naming. 

The excellent news about good? There are tens of millions of combos to select from. The world is really your oyster—actually, for these of you with seafood eating places.

So don’t be afraid to get artistic. And with 100 names for inspiration, your new restaurant identify is just some bites away.