‘Make sure they don’t regret it’: How restaurants are convincing you to come back
In an age when takeaway is on the rise and spending money on food increasingly means clicking a button on delivery apps and asking drivers to leave it at the door, it might feel as though the joy of dining out is being lost.
“You’re lucky to get someone to spend their money with you in the first place and you want to make sure that they don’t regret it.”
But in fact, switched-on restaurant owners are dialling up the delight, with Thornbury favourite Umberto Espresso Bar pouring dine-in customers limoncello on the house. The sweetener is a way to say thank you to diners who reach the minimum spend of $75 a head: the equivalent of a pasta, an entree and a glass of wine.
“While margins are getting thinner, we feel like this is a great opportunity to be more generous, actually,” says Umberto and Gigi Rooftop owner Marco Finanzio. “It leaves them feeling they got something extra … when they’re there, we’ve got to show them the best time possible.”
Finanzio is adamant that hospitality is not broken, as he explained at Monday night’s Good Food Symposium in Melbourne, a regular panel presented by Lightspeed that brings together industry experts to discuss the current state of hospitality. Casting a wider net while also nurturing relationships with repeat customers was a key sentiment among the five panellists.
Some are finding a middle ground between takeaway and dine-in, such as Smith & Daughters founder, chef and cookbook author Shannon Martinez, who opened a second outpost for Smith & Deli in a CBD laneway this year. It’s introduced convenient vegan dining options to a whole new clientele.
Martinez says she was thinking about what a city commuter would need – from a quick breakfast to a ready-made meal for dinner – when designing the Degraves Street deli’s range. She also introduced nationwide delivery for Smith & Deli ready-made meals this year.
Bang for buck is more important than ever, with data showing nearly half of diners are opting for low-price menu items when dining out, according to Rob Stone, senior director of APAC hospitality at Lightspeed. It’s led to an apparent ego death among restaurants who are leaning on casual dining and value-driven experiences to keep customers coming back for more.
Finanzio previously avoided dining deals but now offers a $25 pasta and wine night each Tuesday at Umberto.
“Tuesday is the new Friday,” he says. “It’s one of the busiest nights of the week.”
It comes after the restaurant owner consolidated his business from five venues – including the now-closed Joanie’s Baretto and Pastificio Sandro – into two, allowing him to be more present and connected with diners, and training staff to do the same.
He’s among almost half of hospitality operators who said customer experience and engagement were a top priority for growth and improvement in 2026, according to Lightspeed’s report.
“Perceived value for money is huge,” Martinez says. “You’re lucky to get someone to spend their money with you in the first place and you want to make sure that they don’t regret it.”
In the same vein, Istanbul-born chef Coskun Uysal, owner of Balaclava’s hatted Tulum, listened to his customers’ requests over the restaurant’s 10-year lifespan to introduce more casual Turkish food like kebabs and dips. This led to the opening of Kismet, a more casual mezze bar at the rear of Tulum, where a share-style feast will set you back $69 a head.
It’s a Trojan horse of sorts. The entry point is lower compared with Tulum’s fine dining $95 and $110 set menus, but once diners enjoy themselves and recognise a level of generosity, they’re likely to end up spending more on additional drinks and side dishes. As a result, the average spend per head at Kismet ($130) is nearly equivalent to what diners are spending at Tulum (approximately $150).
“People don’t want to feel ripped off,” says Martinez. “If they feel ripped off, they’re never coming back.”
Like Finanzio, Martinez is focused on training staff to build trust with customers, leaning on SevenRooms and other booking platforms to anticipate dining preferences. If a diner’s booking profile shows a previous inclination towards white wines, waiters will recommend a selection of whites from the menu.
“If I feel comfortable with my waiter I will eat what they say, drink what they say,” she says.
For Sutinee “Tinee” Suntivatana, owner of Melbourne cafes Tori’s and Humble Rays, 80 per cent of her menus cater to comfort – those dishes that keep regular customers returning, whether it’s fluffy Japanese strawberry shortcakes or Tori’s signature cream cheese-filled garlic pull-apart breads.
The remaining 20 per cent? This is where the team can get creative and cater to viral social media moments that bring in new crowds – maybe chewy Dubai chocolate-pistachio cookies, ube burnt Basque cheesecakes, or “dirty matcha” served in an icy glass frozen to minus 85 degrees.
“People are open to trying lots of new things,” says Suntivatana. “You can just adapt to your cafe or your restaurant.”
