How to Market Restaurant Tasting Events

A tasting dinner or pop-up has a fixed number of seats and a fixed date. That makes it easier to sell than a regular Tuesday, as long as people hear about it early and can buy a seat in one step. This guide covers where to sell tickets, a six-week promotion plan, the free Google and Facebook listings worth using, and how to turn every guest into someone you can invite back.

We build restaurant email programs through our restaurant email marketing service, so weigh that. Every fact below about Eventbrite, SimpleTix, Google, Facebook and the FTC was last rechecked against their own pricing and help pages in October 2026.

Short answer: pick a ticketing tool that takes payment up front and lets you collect each guest’s email and dietary needs. Email your own list first, then open tickets to the public about three weeks out. List the dinner as a Facebook Page event and a Google Business Profile event post, and put it on its own page on your website with event markup. Know the fees before you set the price: Eventbrite’s US service fee is 3.7% + $1.79 per paid ticket plus 2.9% processing, and SimpleTix charges 79¢ + 2% per online ticket plus your card processor’s fee. After the dinner, move every guest who opted in onto your own email list, so the next event starts with a warm audience.

Where to List and Sell Your Event

As of October 2026, from each platform’s own pages:

Sources: Eventbrite pricing, SimpleTix pricing, Create an event for your Facebook Page, Recurring Page events, Business Profile posts, Event structured data.

You don’t need all five. Most independent restaurants need one place to take payment, plus the free listings that send people to it.

Why Tasting Events and Pop-Up Dinners Are Worth the Infrastructure

The Revenue Case

Restaurant events range from corporate buyouts to ticketed wine dinners. What they share is a set menu, a set headcount and, if you sell tickets, money in the bank before the night. That changes how you plan. You order for a known number of guests, staff for a known number of covers, and price the menu once.

Eventbrite makes the same case on its restaurant page: selling tickets in advance guarantees attendance, reduces no-shows and makes inventory and staffing more predictable (source). That’s a vendor describing its own product, so treat it as the reason to prepay, not as a measured result.

The way to judge an event is simple arithmetic you can do before you announce it: seats times ticket price, minus food, labor, drinks and ticketing fees. If the number works at 75% full, the event is worth running. If it only works sold out, change the price, the menu or the seat count before you promote it.

The List-Building Case

Each ticketed event is also a chance to collect contact details from guests who chose to spend a night at your restaurant. That’s the guest you most want to invite back.

Hotels know this pattern well. A guest who books through a third party is easier to reach next time if the hotel collected their email directly. Restaurants are in the same position with marketplaces and reservation apps. The platform may hand you an attendee list, but your ability to invite those guests back depends on whether they opted in to hear from you.

A ticketed event with email capture works like a direct ordering system: you hold the guest data, you control the communication, and the next invitation goes straight to their inbox. Every guest who opts in at one dinner is a guest you can invite to the next one, and to a regular Tuesday service, without paying for the introduction again.

Choosing the Right Ticketing Platform

The short answer: use a marketplace when you have no audience yet and need to be found. Use a low-fee tool or your own site when you already have a list to sell to. Whatever you choose, it must take payment up front and capture each guest’s details.

Tock

Tock is a reservation and ticketing platform many restaurants use for prepaid dinners. We couldn’t open Tock’s own pricing or help pages when we checked in October 2026, so this post doesn’t quote its fees or features. If you’re considering it, ask Tock’s sales team these questions and get the answers in writing:

• Is pricing a monthly subscription, a per-ticket fee, or both?
• Can guests prepay in full, and can they add a drink pairing or upgrade at checkout?
• Can the same system run your regular reservations and your ticketed events?
• Can you export every guest’s name, email and marketing opt-in?
• Does it offer a waitlist when an event sells out?

Those five answers tell you whether it fits better than the options below.

Eventbrite

Eventbrite’s main draw is reach. It says it has more than 89 million average monthly users, and that restaurant events are featured on its marketplace for people searching for dining experiences in their area (source). If you’re launching your first event with no email list, that marketplace can put you in front of people you haven’t reached yet.

Fees, as listed on Eventbrite’s US pricing page (source):

• Free events have no ticketing fees.
• Paid tickets carry a 3.7% + $1.79 service fee per ticket.
• Payment processing is 2.9% per order.
• Buyers pay the fees by default, or you can choose to absorb them.

As our own worked example from those rates: on a $95 ticket, the service fee is $3.52 + $1.79 = $5.31 before processing. On a 24-seat dinner, that’s about $127 in service fees across the room. Whether your guest or your restaurant pays it is your call.

The same pricing page lists waitlists, custom registration forms, add-ons and automated event reminders among the tools included. The restaurant page adds that you can collect dietary restrictions with custom questions on the registration form (source).

The part that matters most for your list: Eventbrite lets you build subscriber lists and import attendees from your past events. It also keeps an automatic “Purchasers” list of attendees who opted into your marketing during checkout (source). One limit to know: for compliance reasons, you can’t import attendees from events based in Australia, Canada or Germany. Plan to move opted-in guests from Eventbrite into your own email tool after each event, so the next invitation doesn’t have to go through a marketplace at all.

SimpleTix and Direct Ticketing

SimpleTix lists no setup or monthly fees. Paid online tickets cost 79¢ + 2% each, capped at $9.99 per ticket, and in-person tickets cost 25¢ (source). You can pass the fee to buyers or absorb it. Card processing is separate and depends on your processor. SimpleTix names Square, Stripe, PayPal and Authorize.net.

As our own worked example from those rates: on a $95 ticket, the SimpleTix fee is $0.79 + $1.90 = $2.69, plus your processor’s charge. On 24 seats, that’s about $65 in SimpleTix fees. Compare that with your own processor’s rate before you decide.

Direct ticketing through your own restaurant website keeps the guest on your site from first click to confirmation. You avoid a per-ticket platform fee, though your payment processor still charges its rate. The catch is discovery: a booking page on your website won’t find new guests on its own. It works best once you already have a list, a following, or both.

A sensible progression: use a marketplace for your first events if you need reach. Each time, move opted-in guests onto your own list. As the list grows, sell more of each event through owned channels and less through the marketplace.

What Every Platform Must Support

Before committing to any ticketing tool, check that it handles these:

1. Prepayment. Full payment at booking, or a deposit you can enforce.
2. Seatings and capacity. Separate times or ticket types if you run two seatings, with a cap on each.
3. Custom questions. Dietary needs and allergies, collected before the night.
4. Guest data and opt-in. Every guest’s name and email, plus a clear marketing opt-in you can export.
5. Follow-up. Reminder emails before the event and a way to email attendees after.

If a platform is missing one of these, you’ll be doing it by hand on the busiest week of the month.

The 6-Week Promotion Timeline

Selling 24 seats rarely comes down to one big post. It comes down to lead time and order: your own list first, the public second, reminders last. Six weeks is our recommended runway because it gives your regulars a head start and leaves room for a second push if seats are still open.

Weeks 5 to 6: Concept and Insider Access

Finalize the menu direction, date, price and format before any promotion starts. Then email your existing list before you announce publicly.

A subject line like “Before we tell anyone else” frames this as early access for people who already care. Give them something concrete: first choice of seats, a limited number of tickets, or early-bird pricing if you’re using it. Keep the subject line honest. Under the FTC’s CAN-SPAM rules, the subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message (source).

Set up the ticketing page during this window, and switch on a waitlist for when tickets sell out. A waitlist collects emails from people who missed out, and those are the first people to invite next time.

If you plan to list the dinner in Google’s event results, keep one rule in mind. Google says events must be bookable to the general public, and events that require a membership or invitation before buying a ticket are ineligible (source). Early access for subscribers is fine, as long as the event opens to everyone afterwards.

Post a single teaser on Instagram this week. No tickets yet, no price. Just enough to make people curious.

Weeks 3 to 4: Public Announcement

Open tickets publicly across every channel: email, Instagram, a Facebook Page event and a Google Business Profile event post. Share the full menu concept and the price. Clear details help people decide. Vague “special experience” language doesn’t.

This is also the window for collaboration announcements. If you’re partnering with a local winemaker, a guest chef or a brewery, announce the partnership now. Each partner can share the event with their own audience.

If a partner or food creator gets a free seat or a discount and then posts about your dinner, the FTC expects that relationship to be disclosed. Its guidance says a “material connection” includes getting free or discounted products, and that clear words like “ad” or “sponsored” work, while vague terms like “collab”, “spon” or a stand-alone “thanks” don’t (source). Tell partners this up front so nobody is caught out.

Post behind-the-scenes content through this window: sourcing the main ingredient, a prep video, the table setup. It builds interest now and gives you material for the next event.

Week 2: Social Proof and Urgency

Post a seats-remaining update, and make it specific and true. “12 of 24 seats claimed” tells people exactly where things stand. “Seats are filling fast” tells them nothing, and readers know it.

If seats are still open, this is the week for a small paid boost aimed at people near you. Set a budget you’re comfortable losing, point the ad at the ticket page, and stop it the moment the dinner sells out.

Final Week: Last Push and Logistics

Post a “final seats” update on social and send a second email to your list. At this stage, the subject line should say what changed: “6 seats left for Thursday” is more useful to a reader than repeating the event name. Only send it if it’s true.

Send a pre-arrival email to confirmed guests. Include the start time, what to expect, parking, any dress code, and a preview of the menu. If your ticketing tool asked dietary questions, confirm you have each guest’s answer. Eventbrite, for example, sends buyers up to four automated reminders to finish required order-form questions, including 48 and 24 hours before the event (source).

Event Day and Post-Event

Capture content on the night: courses arriving, a short clip of the chef explaining a dish, the room once it’s full. Ask before filming guests. This becomes the promotion for your next event.

Send a post-event email within 48 hours. Thank guests, announce the next date or open its waitlist, and add a two-question feedback form: “What was the highlight?” and “What would bring you back?” The answers tell you what to change and give you honest quotes to use, with permission.

Add every attendee who opted in to your main email list, with a clear line about what they’ll get from you and how often.

Building Your Email List Through Events

Why Your Event List Is Your Most Valuable Asset

Event guests chose to come. They paid ahead, picked a date and showed up for something you designed. That makes them the people most likely to come to the next one, and the easiest to reach if you hold their email.

A social post reaches whoever the platform decides to show it to. An email reaches the inbox of every subscriber. For an event with a fixed number of seats, being able to reach a known group of people on a known date is the whole game.

To set up a restaurant email marketing system that works for events and regular service, structure matters as much as content. Tag event guests separately from regular diners, so you can invite each group to what suits them.

Two settings to get right on any ticketing tool:

• Collect details from every guest, not just the buyer. Eventbrite, for example, lets you collect a name and email for each ticket holder. If you only collect from the buyer, a party of four gives you one contact (source).
• Ask for marketing opt-in at checkout. It’s the cleanest permission you’ll get, and on Eventbrite it feeds the automatic Purchasers list (source).

How to Grow the List Before You Have One

If you’re starting from zero, these are the tools:

• A waitlist before tickets go public. A “get early access” sign-up on your website collects emails from people who are interested but not ready to buy. They’re your warm audience for the announcement.
• Partnerships with local businesses. A wine shop, specialty grocer or cooking school that shares your kind of customer can mention your event to their list in exchange for a mention, a discount for their customers, or a swap.
• Marketplaces as list acquisition. Treat the per-ticket fee on a marketplace as part of the cost of meeting a new guest. The goal is to bring each one who opts in onto your own list before the next event.
• In-restaurant collection. A QR code on the table or the bill linking to an event sign-up. A reservation confirmation that includes an opt-in for event news.
• Digital receipt opt-in. A line at checkout such as “Get invited to our next private dinner before we announce it.” It tells people what they’re signing up for, which is the point.

Using the List Between Events

The most common mistake with an event list is only emailing when there’s something to sell. Subscribers learn to skip you, and every announcement starts cold.

Send one or two emails a month. One is the event announcement. The other is a bridge: a note from the chef on the season’s menu, a look at a supplier, or a preview of the next concept before tickets go on sale. It keeps you familiar without always asking for money.

Whatever you send, the FTC’s CAN-SPAM basics apply to marketing email in the US (source):

• Include your valid physical postal address.
• Give a clear, easy way to opt out of future marketing email.
• Honor opt-out requests within 10 business days.
• Don’t use misleading “From” details or subject lines.

Social Media Strategy for Event Promotion

Instagram

Instagram is your primary event promotion channel because food-interested audiences already spend time there, and it’s where photos and video of a tasting menu do their best work.

Use Reels for two moments: a “what to expect” video about two weeks out (prep, the table, the chef introducing the menu) and a short highlight video after the event. Use Stories for running updates: tickets open, seats left, last call.

Save your event Stories as a Highlight with an “Events” cover. Someone who finds your profile weeks later can see that your dinners happen, what they look like, and that another one is coming.

Working with a restaurant social media management service means event content goes out on schedule and stays on brand, without anyone having to post during service.

Facebook

Create a Facebook event for every ticketed dinner, hosted by your restaurant’s Page. Facebook’s help center says all events hosted by Pages are public, and you choose whether the event is in person or online when you create it (source). Put the ticket link and the menu in the event details.

For a regular series, such as a monthly chef’s table, Facebook lets you create a recurring Page event. You pick a daily or weekly frequency and an end date, and events can recur up to 52 times. Once a recurring event has started, its location and time zone can’t be edited (source). Set those correctly the first time.

Local food groups on Facebook can also help, where their rules allow event posts. Read each group’s rules before posting, and post once rather than repeatedly.

Google Business Profile

Add an event post to your Google Business Profile for each ticketed dinner. Google’s help page says event posts need a title, start and end dates, and times. If you leave out the times, the event shows as lasting 24 hours on those dates. You can add a description, photo, video and an action button that links to the ticket page (source).

Other details from the same page worth knowing:

• Posts show in the “Updates” or “Overview” tabs of your profile on mobile, and in “From the owner” on desktop, on both Search and Maps.
• You can schedule a post for later, or set it to repeat weekly, monthly or on a custom schedule.
• Posts that include a phone number in the description may be rejected if Google can’t verify the number belongs to the business.
• For regulated goods, which usually include alcohol, Google says you can post but shouldn’t include content about the products. For a wine dinner, describe the dinner and the menu rather than promoting the wines themselves.
• Featured posts about events can show on your mobile profile, pulled from your Facebook or Instagram or from your own posts. Google says this is currently available in English for single-location food and drink businesses in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Put the Event on Your Own Website

A Google Business Profile post helps people who already look at your profile. A page on your own website can also appear in Google’s event results on Search and Maps, if it’s built the way Google asks (source).

What Google’s event documentation asks for:

• One page per event. Each event needs its own URL with markup on that page. Google supports pages focused on a single event, not a page listing your whole calendar.
• Three required properties. The event’s name, its start date (with time zone), and its location, including the address.
• Ticket details in offers. Price, currency, availability (such as InStock or SoldOut), the ticket URL, and when sales open. Google asks for the lowest available price including service charges and fees, updated as prices change or tickets sell out.
• Status changes. If you cancel or postpone, update eventStatus instead of deleting the page.
• Real events only. Google says not to mark up business hours, coupons or short-term promotions as events, and the event must be bookable to the general public.

If you sell on a ticketing site, Google’s advice is to check whether that publisher already takes part in Google’s event experience. If it does, keep posting there and you don’t need your own markup. Either way, validate your page with Google’s Rich Results Test before you announce.

How Recurring Events Build Long-Term Revenue

The compounding comes from repetition. A one-off dinner is a good night. A regular series gives guests a reason to keep your emails, your profile and your calendar in view.

Consistent scheduling helps people plan. “First Thursday wine dinner” becomes something regulars expect, so they look for the announcement instead of waiting to be persuaded. The shift you’re after is from guests who come when you push, to guests who come because they know it’s on.

The cycle works like this:

1. Run the dinner and collect opted-in guest emails.
2. Send bridge content between events.
3. Announce the next date to subscribers before the public.
4. Open to the public and add new guests from marketplaces, partners and social.
5. Grow the list and repeat.

Measure it so you’re not guessing. Track how many tickets each event sells to existing subscribers versus new guests, how fast each one sells out, and whether event guests later book regular service. Your reservation system and email tool can tell you most of this if guest emails match across both.

Use the post-event survey to test ideas before you commit to them. Two questions after each dinner tell you what guests want next, from the people who already showed up and paid.

The Direct Channel Payoff

Every ticketed dinner is a small test of whether you can fill seats without a middleman.

Hotels that move guests from OTAs to direct booking don’t just change where the booking happens. They gain a way to talk to the guest, a reason for the guest to come back, and data they control. The restaurant version is the same: events that capture guest emails, deliver a good night, and lead straight back to your tables.

Marketplaces and reservation apps are useful for meeting new guests. The point is not to avoid them. It’s to make sure each guest you meet through them has a reason, and a way, to come back to you directly.

What to Do Next

Pick one date. Choose your ticketing tool based on whether you need reach or already have a list. Build the ticket page and your own event page before you announce anything.

The checklist:

• Set up ticketing with prepayment, dietary questions, per-guest details and a marketing opt-in.
• Email your own list first, about five to six weeks out.
• Open publicly around week three, with a Facebook Page event and a Google Business Profile event post.
• Post an honest seats-remaining update in week two.
• Send a pre-arrival email in the final week.
• Send a post-event email within 48 hours and move opted-in guests onto your list.

Don’t wait for the perfect concept. Run one event, learn from who came and what they said, and run it again.

Related Posts

• Prix fixe menu marketing: pricing and filling a set menu
• Restaurant wine program marketing: wine content and wine dinners
• Build a restaurant email list from scratch: sign-ups at every touchpoint
• Use Google Business Profile to get more customers: posts, photos and menus

FAQ

How far ahead should I promote a restaurant tasting event?

We recommend about six weeks. Email your own list first in weeks five and six, open tickets publicly around week three, and save the final week for a last push and pre-arrival details. A shorter run can work for a small dinner with a loyal list, but it leaves no room for a second push.

Should I sell tasting dinner tickets on Eventbrite or my own website?

Use Eventbrite when you need to be found by new people. It reports more than 89 million average monthly users. Sell on your own site when you already have a list, to avoid the per-ticket service fee. In the US, Eventbrite charges 3.7% + $1.79 per paid ticket plus 2.9% processing, and buyers pay by default.

How much does SimpleTix charge per ticket?

SimpleTix lists 79¢ + 2% per paid online ticket, capped at $9.99, and 25¢ for in-person tickets, with no setup or monthly fees. Card processing is charged separately by your processor.

Can I list a pop-up dinner on Google?

Yes, two ways. Add an event post to your Google Business Profile with a title, dates and times. And give the event its own page on your website with event structured data (name, start date and location). Google says the event must be bookable to the general public to appear in its event results.

Do partners or influencers have to disclose a free seat at my event?

The FTC says yes. A free or discounted meal counts as a material connection, so a creator who posts about it should disclose it clearly, using words like “ad” or “sponsored.” Vague tags like “collab” or a stand-alone “thanks” aren’t enough.

What should I send attendees after the event?

A thank-you within 48 hours, the next date or its waitlist, and a two-question feedback form. Then add guests who opted in to your main list, and make sure every marketing email has your postal address and a working unsubscribe link.

If you want the email side of this to run without you managing it, our restaurant email marketing service sets up the lists, sign-ups and automated sequences, and a restaurant website can host event pages Google can read. Get in touch to talk it through.