You already know guest feedback helps your restaurant. What you need are the right questions to ask.
This guide gives you 60+ restaurant feedback questions, sorted by category. You'll find questions on your overall experience, food quality, service, ambiance, reservations, takeout and delivery, and DoorDash Marketplace orders. We also point out which questions to prioritize, so a long survey never scares a guest off.
Use these on a comment card, an email, or a QR code survey. Pick the categories that fit what you want to learn today. Then we'll show you how to collect the answers and put them to work, without adding hours to your week.
TL;DR
This guide gives you 60+ restaurant feedback questions, sorted by category: general, food quality, service, ambiance, reservations, takeout and delivery, and DoorDash Marketplace orders.
Guest feedback catches problems privately, before an unhappy customer posts them in a public review on Yelp or Google.
Short on time? Skip to the 5 restaurant survey questions you should always ask.
You'll also learn how to collect customer feedback through comment cards, email, SMS, QR codes, and prompts after an online order.
The final step is the one to focus on: we show you how to turn feedback into action without adding staff work.
Why Guest Feedback Helps Your Restaurant
Most unhappy guests don't complain. They just don't come back. You lose the sale, and you never learn why. A quick survey tells you what went wrong while you can still act on it.
Public reviews make the problem worse. By the time a frustrated guest posts on Google or Yelp, the damage is done and everyone can see it. A private survey catches that same problem first, while you still have a chance to fix it and keep the customer.
Good guest feedback also tells you what's working. You learn which dishes people love, which servers stand out, and what brings guests back. That's how you protect customer satisfaction and grow the business.
Restaurant Feedback Questions by Category
You don't need to ask all 60+ questions at once. Pick the categories that fit what you want to learn right now, and rotate them over time. Keep each survey short so guests finish it.
Each category below gives you 8 to 10 example questions with a simple answer format: a rating scale, a yes/no, multiple choice, or an open-ended box for comments.
General and Overall Experience Feedback Questions
Start here. These catch-all questions give you a single satisfaction score you can track from month to month, so you can see whether guests are happier after you make a change. They also show how a guest found you in the first place, which tells you whether your marketing is doing its job. Without this category, you'll hear about the food, the service, and the room, but never the overall verdict a guest walked away with.
How would you rate your overall experience today? (1–5 scale)
How likely are you to recommend us to a friend? (0–10 scale)
How likely are you to visit us again? (Very likely / Somewhat likely / Not likely)
How did you hear about us? (Google / Social media / Friend or family / DoorDash / Other)
Was this your first time dining with us? (Yes / No)
What's one thing we could do better? (Open-ended)
Did we meet your expectations today? (Exceeded / Met / Fell short)
How would you rate the value for your money? (1–5 scale)
Would you choose us again over another restaurant nearby? (Yes / No / Not sure)
Food and Drink Quality Feedback Questions
Your guests come to you first and foremost for the food, so start here when your overall score drops. One guest reporting cold food is a slip. A dozen guests reporting it means your kitchen has a timing or plating problem to fix. And when guests repeatedly tell you they couldn't eat much on your menu due to dietary restrictions, that's your sign to add a few more options. Remember, guest satisfaction is critical to your restaurant’s success.
How would you rate the taste of your meal? (1–5 scale)
Was your food served at the right temperature? (Yes / No)
Did the portion size meet your expectations? (Too small / Just right / Too large)
Were your dietary preferences or requests accommodated? (Yes / No / Didn't apply)
How would you rate our drink selection? (1–5 scale)
What was your favorite dish tonight? (Open-ended)
Was your food fresh? (Yes / No)
How would you rate the menu variety? (1–5 scale)
Did anything about your meal fall short of what you expected? (Open-ended)
Service Feedback Questions
A guest will forgive an average meal from a great server. When a guest leaves a one-star review on Google or Yelp, service is usually the reason. These questions point you to the exact problem, like long wait times or a table nobody checked on, instead of a vague sense that service was off. They also show you which servers guests love, so you know who to put on your busiest shifts.
How friendly was your server? (1–5 scale)
Were you greeted within a few minutes of arriving? (Yes / No)
Was your order accurate? (Yes / No)
How would you rate the speed of service? (Very fast / Fast / Slow / Very slow)
Did staff handle any issues or requests well? (Yes / No / Not applicable)
Did your server make you feel taken care of? (Yes / No)
Did your server answer your questions about the menu? (Yes / No / Didn't ask any)
How long did you wait for your food after ordering? (Under 10 min / 10–20 min / 20+ min)
Did our staff make you feel welcome? (Yes / No)
Ambience and Atmosphere Feedback Questions
Ambience is easy to overlook, because you're in your restaurant every day. A squeaky chair, a burnt-out bulb, music that's crept louder over the months, you stop noticing after a while. Your guests notice restaurant atmosphere their first visit. These questions catch the small stuff that decides how long someone stays and whether they'd bring a friend next time, even when the food and service quality were both fine.
How would you rate the cleanliness of the restaurant? (1–5 scale)
Was the noise level comfortable for conversation? (Too loud / Just right / Too quiet)
Were the seats comfortable? (Yes / No)
How would you describe the atmosphere in a few words? (Open-ended)
Were the restrooms clean and well-stocked? (Yes / No / Didn't use)
How would you rate the lighting? (Too dim / Just right / Too bright)
Was the temperature comfortable? (Too cold / Just right / Too warm)
Was our restaurant easy to find and access? (Yes / No)
Would you say our space felt family-friendly? (Yes / No / Didn't apply)
Reservation Feedback Questions
A guest's night starts the moment they try to book a table, not when they walk in. If the reservation is a hassle, or they show up and still have to wait with no explanation, they're already annoyed by the time they sit down. Guests who reserve ahead tend to be your regulars and loyalty members, so this feedback tells you a lot about the people you most want to keep.
How easy was it to make a reservation? (1–5 scale)
Was your table ready when you arrived? (Yes / No, had to wait)
Did you receive a confirmation before your visit? (Yes / No)
How long did you wait to be seated after arriving? (No wait / Under 10 minutes / 10+ minutes)
Were any special requests for your reservation handled well? (Yes / No / Didn't request anything)
Which way did you book your table? (Phone / Website / DoorDash / Walk-in)
Were the available reservation times convenient for you? (Yes / No)
Was it clear how to change or cancel your reservation? (Yes / No / Didn't need to)
Did we hold your table for the full reservation time? (Yes / No)
If you take bookings through DoorDash Reservations, you can send these same questions right after a guest's reservation ends, in the same tool you already use, without paying for a separate survey app.
Takeout, Delivery, and Online Ordering Feedback Questions
Your off-premises guests never see your dining room, so none of the questions above apply. But they'll leave a public review just as fast. These questions catch the problems you can't spot from inside the restaurant: packaging that leaked on the drive, food that showed up lukewarm, an online ordering system that was a pain to use.
How easy was it to place your order online? (1–5 scale)
Was your order complete and accurate? (Yes / No, something was missing or wrong)
Was your food at the right temperature when it arrived? (Yes / No)
Was the packaging secure? (Yes / No)
Would you order from us again? (Definitely / Maybe / Unlikely)
Was your order ready at the time promised? (Yes / No, it was early or late)
How would you rate the ease of our online ordering system? (1–5 scale)
Did you find everything you wanted on our online menu? (Yes / No)
Were the delivery or pickup instructions clear? (Yes / No)
DoorDash Marketplace Order Feedback Questions
A DoorDash order is a different experience from dining in. The trip is longer, the handoff happens at the door, and if something goes wrong on the way, you're not there to catch it. Ask these guests their own set of questions. The answers tell you whether the DoorDash order matched what your listing promised, and whether a delivery guest might order straight from you next time.
Did your order match what you saw on the DoorDash listing? (Yes / No)
How would you rate the packaging after the delivery trip? (1–5 scale)
Was your food still fresh when it arrived? (Yes / No)
Would you consider ordering directly from us next time? (Yes / No / Maybe)
How did this delivery experience compare to dining in with us? (Better / About the same / Worse)
How would you rate the accuracy of the delivery time estimate? (1–5 scale)
Was your order easy to place on DoorDash? (Yes / No)
Did your food arrive at the temperature you expected? (Yes / No)
Would you recommend ordering from us on DoorDash? (Yes / No / Maybe)
The 5 Restaurant Feedback Questions You Should Always Ask
The five questions below cover the three pillars of any visit: food, service, and the overall experience, plus one open-ended question for guests to add a suggestion you haven’t considered.
Question | Format | What It Tells You |
|---|---|---|
How would you rate your overall dining experience? | 1–5 scale | Your headline score, tracked over time |
How was the quality of your food? | 1–5 scale | How the kitchen is doing |
How would you rate our service? | 1–5 scale | How the front of house is doing |
How likely are you to recommend us? | 0–10 scale | Guest loyalty and word of mouth |
What's one thing we could do better? | Open-ended | The problem you didn't know to ask about |
How to Collect Restaurant Feedback From Guests
The best channel depends on how your guest ordered.
On-premises (QR codes and comment cards). Put a QR code on the table, the receipt, or a small card, and dine-in guests can answer on their phones before they leave. A paper comment card still works too, especially with older guests. This is your best shot at catching feedback while fresh.
Email surveys. Email is ideal for a longer survey, since guests answer at home when they have a few minutes. It works well for guests who joined your loyalty program or ordered online, because you already have their address.
SMS surveys. People open texts fast, so it's a strong delivery method for quick one-to-two question feedback. Keep it very short, since nobody wants to type long answers on a phone.
In-app and website prompts. For online and delivery orders, ask right after checkout on your site or app, while the order is on the guest's mind. These online surveys reach guests who’ve ordered takeout or delivery.
Best Practices for Getting More (and Better) Survey Responses
Keep it short. Aim for 5 to 10 questions and under three minutes. Every extra question you add costs you responses, since guests quit long restaurant feedback forms partway through.
Ask immediately after the visit. Send the survey the same day, while the meal is fresh in the guest's mind. If your survey goes out a week later, guests likely won’t remember the details, and many won't answer at all.
Mix your question formats. Pair rating scales and yes/no questions with one or two open-ended boxes to find out the “why” behind a guest’s responses.
Act on what guests tell you. When guests flag specific problems, fix them, and then let the guests know you did.
Turn Feedback Into Action Without Extra Work
Right now your feedback may be scattered. Some on comment cards, some in texts, some in email, some tied to DoorDash orders. Guest experience management from DoorDash Commerce Platform pulls it all into one place.
It asks your customers to give feedback automatically, so you build up more customer insights without chasing anyone down. It pulls your reviews from Google and DoorDash into one dashboard, so you read and answer them in a single place instead of hopping between sites. AI-powered responses help you reply to every review in a few clicks, so guests feel heard.
Once you turn on DoorDash Commerce Platform, guest experience management sits right in your Merchant Portal, next to the rest of your tools. No separate login, no extra software to run.
Ready to Stop Guessing What Your Guests Think?
You already reach guests through DoorDash Marketplace. Guest experience management brings every review and comment, from dine-in to delivery, into one dashboard. It asks yourcustomers for reviews automatically and helps you answer each one in a few clicks.
Discover Guest Experience Management
