# Build a restaurant website

Generate a restaurant, cafe or coffee shop site on the Saffron template, add your menu and hours, and publish it with a link to your own reservation page.

A restaurant site needs a menu, opening hours, a place to find you and a way to book or order. The generator can draft the first three from a short description. For booking and ordering, you link to the tool you already use.

## Which templates fit

| Template | What the generator uses it for |
| --- | --- |
| Saffron | Restaurants of every cuisine, and cafes and coffee shops. The generator's restaurant template. |
| Hearth | Bakeries. A bakery prompt goes here, not to Saffron. See [Build a bakery website](https://www.uova.com/help/use-cases/bakery-website). |
| Capitol | The general-purpose template and the fallback if a build fails. |

To see more restaurant designs, open [Browse and preview templates](https://www.uova.com/help/build/templates/browse-and-preview), choose the Restaurant category and press **Use Template** on one you like.

## What a generation includes

- One multi-page site on the template the generator matches to your prompt. The pages follow that template's own page plan, plus the template's legal pages. The exact set depends on the template.
- Copy written by the model from your description. The brand name and contact details come only from your prompt and the **+ Add** tray. Anything that was not supplied is removed or shown in the editor as an "Add your …" instruction, and those lines are hidden on the public site. Read every line before you publish.
- Legal pages as drafts for you to fill in. An unfilled one is left off the live site, with its links, until you edit it. Capitol has none.
- Images: when you are signed in the build may add fresh images, and your own photos (up to 20) and logo are carried in.
- One language per site, detected from your prompt: English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, German or Italian. Writing "in Portuguese" settles it.

## What to put in the prompt

A prompt can be up to 6,000 characters. Plain sentences work. This is a sample you can adapt:

```
Casa Rosa is an Italian restaurant in Leeds. We serve dinner Tuesday to Saturday, 5pm to 11pm. The menu is handmade pasta, wood-fired fish and a short wine list from Piedmont and Sicily. We have a private room for up to 20 guests. Phone 0113 555 0142.
```

- Name the cuisine and the city. The industry and tone decide the template.
- Give opening hours and a phone number so the draft has them. The phone number appears only if you write it.
- List a few dishes by name so the copy starts from your real food, then check every price and description.
- Attach your own food photos with **+ Add**. You can attach up to 20 per upload, up to 10 MB each. HEIC files are rejected, so export them as JPG first.

See [Write a prompt that works](https://www.uova.com/help/build/writing-a-good-prompt) for the full list of what the generator reads.

## Editor features to use

- [Edit text](https://www.uova.com/help/build/editor/text): double-click a dish name, description or price to type over it.
- [Images, video and the media library](https://www.uova.com/help/build/editor/images-and-media): replace a stock image with your own photo.
- [Add elements](https://www.uova.com/help/build/editor/add-elements) and [Pages and navigation](https://www.uova.com/help/build/pages): add a seasonal menu or a private dining page.
- [Forms and contact blocks](https://www.uova.com/help/build/editor/forms): choose the fields and the email address that receives enquiries. Project settings > **Forms** can send Reservation and Booking forms to a different recipient.
- [Responsive preview](https://www.uova.com/help/build/editor/responsive-preview): check the menu on Tablet and Mobile before you publish.

## Publish and connect

- Select **Publish** and choose the address. A `uova.io` address is included on every plan, and it cannot be changed after the first publish. See [Publish your site](https://www.uova.com/help/build/publish/publish-your-site).
- Add your own domain on a paid plan, either one you own or one you buy through UOVA. See [Connect a domain you own](https://www.uova.com/help/build/domains/connect-your-own-domain) and [Buy a domain](https://www.uova.com/help/build/domains/buy-a-domain).
- Messages from your site's forms arrive in your Inbox and are emailed to you. The default is up to 20 message emails per site per day, then one summary. The visitor gets no automatic confirmation email. See [Inbox and form messages](https://www.uova.com/help/account/inbox).
- Set a title and description for each page in [SEO settings](https://www.uova.com/help/build/seo).
- For reservations, add a button and set its Link field to your existing reservation page. For delivery or takeaway, do the same with your ordering page. See [Buttons and links](https://www.uova.com/help/build/editor/buttons-and-links).

## What UOVA does not do here

- Embedded reservation or ordering widgets are not possible, because scripts and iframes are stripped, and the Book section accepts only Cal.com, Calendly and Square Appointments links. Link a button to your reservation or ordering page instead. Online ordering and taking payment on the site are not covered by this guide.
- You cannot choose which template the generator uses. To pick a design yourself, start from a template instead. See [Start from a template](https://www.uova.com/help/build/templates/use-a-template).
- You cannot import an existing site. Rebuild it from a prompt and paste in your own wording. You can give the generator one link to an existing site or Google listing, which it reads for facts only, not for style.
- Scripts and iframes are not allowed in your own HTML, so third-party widgets cannot be embedded. The one supported embed is the Book section, which works with Cal.com, Calendly and Square Appointments only. For any other tool, link a button to its web address.
- You reply to form messages from your own email program with **Reply by email**. There is no in-app reply and no Inbox export.
- UOVA does not host email at your domain or forward it. See [Email and forwarding](https://www.uova.com/help/build/domains/email-and-forwarding).

## Common questions

**Can I use a cafe prompt instead?**

Yes. Cafes and coffee shops also route to Saffron. Say what you serve and where you are, as in the sample.

**Will the generator write my menu?**

The model writes the copy from your description, so give it your real dishes and check the result. Your brand name and contact details come only from you. Details it was not given are removed or shown as "Add your …" lines, which stay hidden on the public site.

Source: https://www.uova.com/help/use-cases/restaurant-website