Typography Trends in Hospitality Websites: What Works for Bars & Restaurants

The best typography for hospitality websites uses clean, readable fonts that match your venue’s personality. While serif fonts work well for upscale restaurants and luxury hotels, sans serif fonts suit casual cafes and modern bars.

You might be wondering why this is even worth paying attention to. Well, your fonts shape how guests perceive your brand before they even step through the door. So if your typography is messy or hard to read, potential diners might click away in seconds.

At PBR Web Design, we’ve seen firsthand how the right font choices can completely change a site. So, in this article, we’ll explain which fonts work best and what mistakes to avoid. You’ll also learn how to pick the right font sizes, keep your typography consistent, and create a better guest experience overall.

Let’s get into it!

What Is Web Typography in Hospitality?

Web typography in hospitality refers to how fonts, sizes, and spacing work together on bar and restaurant websites. That includes everything from the font type you use for your menu to the body text on your About page.

So why does this affect your business? Well, first impressions on a website happen fast, and your typography shapes that impression before the visitor reads a single line. Your fonts immediately suggest if your venue is casual or high-end, modern or traditional, family-friendly or experience-focused. 

Conversely, when typography is off, it shows instantly. Menus become hard to scan, headings blend into body text, and the whole site feels thrown together. We have seen venues lose bookings simply because their typography made the website look outdated or difficult to navigate.

Here’s a typography guide by HubSpot that explains this general concept in more detail. 

How the Right Font Reflects Your Brand’s Identity

The right font visually communicates your venue’s personality and atmosphere. It might feel like a lot is at stake, but this section will break it down clearly.

Serif vs Sans-Serif: What Each Says About Your Venue

As we’ve explained before, serif fonts tend to feel traditional and refined, while sans serif fonts create a modern and minimal impression.

So, for example, a heritage pub might use Libre Baskerville to feel timeless and established. That will pair nicely with warm interiors, classic dishes, and brands that want to project trust and tradition.

A rooftop cocktail bar, on the other hand, could use Josefin Sans for a clean, contemporary look. It gives menus, navigation, and calls to action a crisp and accessible feel, which can improve user experience on mobile devices.

If the font matches your venue’s style, the website feels more cohesive, which strengthens your brand and guides guests toward the experience they can expect.

Matching Fonts to Your Overall Brand

Your font choices should align with your interior design, logo, and overall brand identity. When everything feels connected, visitors get a sense of consistency. And that builds trust before they’ve even looked at your menu.

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Best Google Fonts for Restaurant Website Fonts

Google Fonts are free, load fast, and give you hundreds of quality font options without slowing down your site. For bars and restaurants, this is a big win. You get access to professional typography without paying for expensive custom font licences.

Here are some of the best Google Fonts for hospitality websites:

Font	Best For	Vibe
Playfair Display	Fine dining, upscale bars	Elegant, sophisticated
Libre Baskerville	Heritage pubs, classic bistros	Traditional, timeless
Josefin Sans	Modern cafes, brunch spots	Clean, contemporary
Open Sans	Casual eateries, family restaurants	Friendly, versatile

Playfair Display is a serif font with high contrast and elegant curves. It works beautifully for fine dining venues that want a refined feel. Libre Baskerville offers a similar traditional vibe, which makes it a solid choice for heritage pubs that want to feel established.

Font Sizes and Consistent Typography: Making Your Site Easy to Read

Did you know, poor typography contributes to a 40% higher bounce rate on websites? That’s a lot of potential guests walking away before they even see your menu.

So what can you do about it? Here are a few simple changes you can make to your fonts to keep your site easy to read:

• Start with your body text. It should sit between 16px and 18px so visitors can read comfortably without zooming in.
• From there, build a clear visual hierarchy with larger headings and smaller subheadings. This guides the eye and helps guests find what they need. 
• Finally, stick to two or three fonts maximum for consistent typography.

Once you nail your font sizes and hierarchy, the rest of your web design feels more polished. And that keeps visitors engaged longer.

Modern Web Typography Mistakes Bars and Restaurants Should Avoid

Avoiding a few font mistakes will keep your site looking professional and your visitors engaged longer. Fortunately, most of these issues are easy to spot and fix once you know what to look for.

The most common mistakes include: 

• Using Too Many Fonts: This creates visual clutter and makes your site look thrown together. Stick to two or three fonts for a cleaner look.
• Low Contrast Between Text and Background: Based on our experience building restaurant websites, this is one of the most common issues we see. Light grey text on a white background might look sleek, but it’s hard to read on mobile devices.
• Not Testing on Mobile: There’s another factor worth noting here. According to Restroworks, over 60% of restaurant searches come from mobile devices. So if your fonts don’t scale properly, most visitors get a poor experience.

Simply fix these three issues, and your site will already feel more polished and more user-friendly than most restaurant websites online today.

Better Typography, Better Guest Experience

Now that you know what works and what to avoid, here’s how to put it all together.

Good typography builds trust and makes your website feel as polished as your venue. When your fonts are easy to read and consistent across every page, guests perceive your brand as professional and put-together. That impression starts before they even walk through the door.

Small tweaks can also go a long way. Start by auditing your current fonts and testing them on both desktop and mobile. From there, adjust your font sizes, check your contrast, and trim any unnecessary font styles.

Your website is often the first place guests experience your brand. Make sure your typography reflects the quality they’ll find when they visit.