STRUCTURED DATA · SEO GLOSSARY
FoodEstablishment Schema
The schema.org type for food service businesses — a subtype of LocalBusiness that includes the Restaurant, Bakery, BarOrPub, CafeOrCoffeeShop, FastFoodRestaurant, and IceCreamShop subtypes — with properties specific to food service including servesCuisine, hasMenu, acceptsReservations, and openingHoursSpecification.
Definition
FoodEstablishment is a schema.org type in the LocalBusiness hierarchy specifically for businesses that serve food: restaurants, cafes, bakeries, bars, fast food chains, and similar venues. The type hierarchy: `Thing → Organization → LocalBusiness → FoodEstablishment → Restaurant` (or `Bakery`, `BarOrPub`, `CafeOrCoffeeShop`, `FastFoodRestaurant`). Using the most specific applicable subtype increases relevance signal precision. FoodEstablishment-specific properties beyond standard LocalBusiness: **`servesCuisine`** — array of cuisine types served ("Italian", "Thai", "Vegan"). Google uses this to match cuisine-specific search queries. **`hasMenu`** — URL to the menu page (HTML preferred over PDF — Googlebot extracts menu items from HTML for the knowledge panel). **`acceptsReservations`** — boolean or URL to the booking system. Appears in the knowledge panel as a "Reserve a table" feature. **`starRating`** — overall dining rating as a Rating object (distinct from aggregateRating, which aggregates user reviews). **`menu`** — alias for hasMenu (deprecated; use hasMenu). The aggregateRating property (from Thing) is also critical for FoodEstablishment: the rating displayed in knowledge panels and sometimes in organic results. Implementation requirement: the JSON-LD must be server-rendered in the initial HTML response — not JavaScript-injected — to be reliably parsed for rich results. Most generic restaurant CMS platforms (Squarespace restaurant templates, BentoBox, Toast POS websites) either omit servesCuisine or fail to populate all required properties.
Why it matters for SEO
FoodEstablishment schema is the primary structured data signal that connects a restaurant\'s website to Google\'s knowledge panel, which is the primary visual surface for restaurant discovery in Search and Maps. A well-implemented Restaurant schema with correct servesCuisine, hasMenu, openingHoursSpecification, and aggregateRating unlocks: star rating display in organic results, "Reserve a table" button in the knowledge panel, menu preview items in the knowledge panel, and correct hours display. Each missing property reduces the knowledge panel completeness and rich result eligibility.
How DeepSEOAnalysis checks this
DeepSEOAnalysis validates FoodEstablishment/Restaurant JSON-LD at the property level: presence of servesCuisine (array), hasMenu (URL), acceptsReservations, openingHoursSpecification (correct format for opens/closes — 24-hour required), geo (GeoCoordinates with latitude and longitude), and aggregateRating (ratingValue, reviewCount, bestRating). Server-rendering is verified — the schema must be in the initial HTML, not injected by JavaScript.
Useful tools and resources
GLOSSARY
Related terms
technical
Restaurant SEO
Local SEO practice applied specifically to food service businesses — optimising Google Business Profile, Restaurant schema, cuisine-type and location keyword targeting, review acquisition velocity, and mobile performance to rank in the local pack and organic results for dining-intent queries.
Read definition →structured data
LocalBusiness Schema
LocalBusiness schema is a Schema.org structured data type that describes a local business — name, address, phone, hours, geo coordinates, and more — enabling rich Knowledge Panel and Local Pack displays in Google Search. It is the foundation of structured data for local SEO.
Read definition →structured data
openingHoursSpecification (Schema Property)
The schema.org property on LocalBusiness (and subtypes including Restaurant) that specifies when a business is open — required for accurate hours display in the Google knowledge panel, local pack listings, and "open now" filtering. Uses OpeningHoursSpecification objects with dayOfWeek, opens, and closes in 24-hour format.
Read definition →structured data
servesCuisine (Schema Property)
The schema.org property on FoodEstablishment and Restaurant types that specifies the cuisine type(s) served — enabling Google to match the restaurant to cuisine-specific search queries. Accepts a string or array of strings ("Italian", "Thai", "Vegan"). Missing this property reduces relevance for cuisine-modified restaurant queries.
Read definition →structured data
Star Rating SEO
The use of aggregateRating JSON-LD (schema.org) to display star ratings in Google organic search results — the yellow star snippets that appear beneath page titles. Available for LocalBusiness, Product, Recipe, and Movie pages; requires a minimum review count threshold and must accurately reflect user-generated reviews displayed on the page.
Read definition →See how your site scores on FoodEstablishment Schema.
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