How TheFork helps family-run Brighton and Hove restaurant Buon Appetito attract new customers from near and far

For those looking for a taste of Italy in the charming seaside town of Hove, Buon Appetito has been on hand to serve delicious classic dishes and top-notch wines since 2006. To help more locals and tourists discover the restaurant's authentic flavours and familial ambience, they partnered with TheFork at the end of 2023.

Eugenio Saulle, owner of Buon Appetito, is a big believer in the power of food to bring people together, which is a core ethos of his restaurant.

“We’re a family-run business in beautiful Hove and we work with a lot of passion,” he says. “We want to bring that into the customer experience — it’s like a big family! People can leave everything else outside and come in here to enjoy our great food and service.”

As an Italian restaurant, Buon Appetito is known for serving up delectable pizza and pasta dishes, as well as also spotlighting Hove’s local produce, such as its fresh fish.

Hove’s Buon Appetito has always been a big hit with locals. It is a stone’s throw from the beach and just a short train ride away from London, meaning it’s well placed to take advantage of the millions of tourists and revellers that flock to the South Coast every year.

Eugenio wanted an effective way of attracting more new customers — particularly those visiting Sussex from London — in quieter periods:

"Getting more customers through the door is particularly important in the winter when we have fewer tourists and people are spending less money in general.”

To do this, he signed Buon Appetito up to the restaurant management platform TheFork.

I’ve already recommended TheFork to other restaurants in Brighton and Hove! Another owner I know has signed up and thanked me for the recommendation because it is working so well. — Eugenio Saulle, owner of Buon Appetito

Getting started with TheFork

“A few years ago, before using TheFork, I was using another reservation management tool and had a bad experience,” Eugenio explains. “Bookings didn’t update quickly enough, so diners would come in thinking we had a table when we didn’t, which would lead to disappointment.”

TheFork is a must-have platform for restaurants in Eugenio’s native Italy, and he’d noticed its popularity in London, so he decided to get in touch with the local team to join the restaurant management platform and set up a page for Buon Appetito.

Despite having only been partnered with TheFork for just over three months, Eugenio says he’s already seen a notable increase in the number of customers dining with Buon Appetito.

By gaining access to a whole new community of diners through TheFork, Buon Appetito are welcoming more tourists visiting Brighton and Hove alongside their established base of regular diners.

“I’m very happy because we see a broader variety of customers coming through TheFork when compared to our other marketing channels.”

Using TheFork is a great way to attract visitors from London who come down to the seaside at the weekend — it really connects the two cities. — Eugenio Saulle, owner of Buon Appetito

Making the most of TheFork’s platform

With the help of one of TheFork’s dedicated account managers, Eugenio quickly felt comfortable using the platform and taking advantage of the restaurant management tools available.

“The team at TheFork are very professional,” he says. “They dedicate time for us to organise promotions, and they bring the right kind of clientele into the restaurant.

“Our account manager gives us great customer service and is so easy to work with, and they give really good advice for marketing and making the most of TheFork.”

One particularly useful piece of guidance that Eugenio has taken on board was to sign Buon Appetito up to TheFork’s Yums loyalty programme, where customers can earn points for dining out and convert them into discounts on future bookings.

We feature our main menu on TheFork, but we also display a specials board in the restaurant which customers can still earn Yums on — we like to reward loyal customers by giving them something new. — Eugenio Saulle, owner of Buon Appetito

As for the day-to-day use of the platform, Eugenio says it’s a breeze: “I have TheFork Manager on my mobile phone and a tablet in the restaurant, so it’s very easy. I should have started using TheFork earlier, but it’s better late than never!”

Through advertising Buon Appetito on TheFork and getting involved with promotions such as the Yums loyalty programme, the Hove restaurant has opened a new revenue stream by attracting more tourists, while also rewarding regular local diners for their loyalty. When the busy summer months roll around, Buon Appetito will be set to take full advantage of the surge in visitors to Brighton and Hove searching for brilliant food in a friendly atmosphere through TheFork.

Buon Appetito may only be at the start of their journey using TheFork, but they’re already welcoming plenty of new customers into their extended foodie family. If you’d like to learn how your restaurant can do the same, get in touch.