Restaurant and café slideshow ideas that fill tables.

Updated 29 October 2026

The restaurant and café slideshows that bring people in show what happens behind the counter: the morning bake, how a dish is made, the week's specials, or the answers to questions guests ask every day. Open with a hook about one dish or one moment, give one photo and one line per slide, and end with when you are open and how to book.

Two example slideshows

Wavegrain drew both with its own slide renderer, using free-licence photos. They are examples, not customer posts. Swipe through each one.

Before the doors open

5 slides · Listicle structure

  • Slide 1: Before the doors open A morning at an example café
  • Slide 2: 6:00 The bread goes in
  • Slide 3: 7:00 We taste the first coffee
  • Slide 4: 7:30 Tables go outside
  • Slide 5: Open at 8 Come and say hello

How we bake our house bread

6 slides · Step-by-step explainer look · Educational structure

  • Slide 1: How we bake our house bread Two days for one loaf
  • Slide 2: Feed the starter The night before, so it is lively by morning.
  • Slide 3: Mix and rest Flour, water, salt and starter, then an hour's rest.
  • Slide 4: Shape and wait Into baskets, then a slow night in the fridge.
  • Slide 5: Bake at dawn A hot oven, with a lid for the first 20 minutes.
  • Slide 6: Fresh every morning Save this and ask for a slice

10 hooks for restaurants and cafés slideshows

  1. “Before the doors open”

    Story. People like to see the work behind the counter that guests never see.

  2. “How we make our house bread”

    How-to. A process shows the care in a dish, and the reader wants to taste the result.

  3. “This week's specials, in 5 photos”

    Listicle. A short, dated menu gives regulars a reason to come back this week.

  4. “What our team orders on a day off”

    Recommendation. Staff picks feel like an honest tip from someone who knows the menu.

  5. “Questions guests ask us every day”

    FAQ. It answers what stops people from booking, such as parking, dogs or allergies.

  6. “Our menu, ranked by the kitchen”

    Ranking. A ranking from the cooks invites guests to argue for their own favourite.

  7. “Where our vegetables come from”

    Proof. Real suppliers and real places are easy to trust and easy to check.

  8. “A Saturday in our kitchen, hour by hour”

    Routine. Time stamps turn a busy shift into a story people swipe through.

  9. “One dish, start to plate”

    Step-by-step. Watching a plate come together in order makes the reader hungry for it.

  10. “Save this for your next night out”

    Save prompt. It tells the reader the post is useful later, when they pick where to eat.

Formats that fit

Each format is a look and a post structure you can pick in Wavegrain.

  • TikTok caption story

    Story structure

    A morning or a shift told hour by hour as captions over your own photos of the kitchen and dining room.

  • Step-by-step explainer

    Educational structure

    How one dish, bread or drink is made, one step per slide, without giving away anything you keep secret.

  • Numbered list

    Listicle structure

    The week's specials or staff picks, one dish per slide, each with its price and the days you serve it.

  • Breaking news poster

    CTA structure

    A new menu, new opening hours or an event night, with the date and how to book on the last slide.

A week of posts

Monday
This week's specials, one dish per slide, with the days you serve them.
Tuesday
How one dish or bread is made, one step per slide.
Wednesday
Answers to the questions guests ask most, such as parking, dogs or allergens.
Friday
The weekend plan: opening hours, bookings and one dish to try.
Sunday
A behind-the-counter story from the week, told in captions.

Rules to watch

  • A business account on TikTok may only use sounds from TikTok's Commercial Music Library. A popular song from the general library is not cleared for business posts.
  • Prices, opening hours and dishes on a slide must match what you serve, and allergen information must be right. Say when a special ends.
  • Never post a fake review, pay for a good review or let staff post reviews without saying who they are. In the US the FTC bans these.
  • Ask guests and staff before a clear photo of their face goes in a post, and use your own photos of your own food.

Questions

What should a restaurant or café slideshow be about?

What happens behind the counter and what guests need to know: how a dish is made, the week's specials, a morning before opening, and answers to questions such as parking, dogs or allergens.

Which music can a restaurant use on TikTok?

A business account should use sounds from TikTok's Commercial Music Library, which are cleared for business use. Songs from the general library are for personal accounts.

Do I need to show staff or guests in the slides?

No. Food, the bar, the oven and the room carry a restaurant slideshow well. Both examples on this page show no faces, and if you want people in a photo, ask them first.

Does Wavegrain write the slides for me?

Yes. You give a topic, and Wavegrain writes the hook, 3 to 10 slides and the caption, places your own photos, and keeps everything editable before you export or schedule it.

Which size should a restaurant slideshow be?

1080x1920 (9:16) fills the screen on TikTok. For an Instagram carousel, use 1080x1350 (4:5) or 1080x1440 (3:4). Wavegrain exports all three.

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