Restaurant video in Corfu: dishes, people and the room

A good restaurant video in Corfu shows the three things people choose a table for: the food, the people who make it, and the room they will sit in. Filmed in one well-planned session, that is enough material for weeks of social posts, plus new photos for your menu and website.

Below is how I plan restaurant shoots: the kinds of content worth making, when to film, how to approach menu photography, and how often to post without burning out in August.

Four kinds of restaurant video in Corfu worth making

The signature dish

Every restaurant has one or two plates people come back for. Film them slowly and closely: the sauce going on, oil over the fish, the steam when the lid comes off a pot of sofrito or pastitsada. Slow motion and macro lenses make a simple moment feel generous.

Food and drink is some of my favourite work. For Angsana Corfu I made a short film around a kumquat cocktail, built on Corfu's best-known fruit, using gimbal movement, slow motion and hand-held close-ups.

If you want to see how that shoot came together, I wrote about the behind the scenes of that commercial shoot.

The chef and the team

People trust faces. A short clip of the chef at the pass, the grandmother who still makes the pastry, or the owner explaining where the fish comes from says more about your restaurant than any slogan. It only works if the person is comfortable on camera, so I keep it relaxed: a few questions while they work, rather than a formal interview.

The room

Guests want to know where they will sit. Wide shots of the terrace at sunset, the tables set before service, the view over the bay or the lane in Corfu Town outside your door. These shots also help with enquiries for private dinners and group bookings.

Reels

Short vertical clips for Instagram and TikTok: a dish travelling from the pass to the table, twenty seconds of the grill, the bartender's hands. They are planned and framed vertically on the day, not cut out of a horizontal film afterwards.

Before service or during?

Both have a place, and the best shoot days use both.

Before service gives control. The room is empty and clean, the light is predictable, and the chef has time. Dishes are plated for the camera and filmed straight away, while they still look fresh. This is the time for signature dishes, menu photos, the empty room and interviews.

During service gives life: full tables, plates leaving the pass, the noise of a busy kitchen. It also brings limits. Staff are busy, so the crew has to be small and quiet. Ask guests before they appear recognisably on camera, and keep faces out of the frame if you cannot. I avoid bright lights that disturb diners.

A typical day for me looks like this:

1. Early afternoon: dishes and menu photos, one plate at a time as the kitchen sends them.
2. Late afternoon: the chef and the team during prep.
3. Golden hour: the terrace, the view, the drinks.
4. First hour of service: atmosphere, with guests who are happy to be filmed.

Menu photography

Menu photos should match what guests actually receive. If the plate in the photo is bigger or prettier than the one on the table, you will hear about it in the reviews.

• Shoot dishes as served: the real portion, the real plate.
• Keep one style: the same angle and background for the whole menu, so it looks like one set.
• Choose the angle by shape: overhead for flat dishes like salads and mezze, a lower side angle for tall ones like burgers, desserts and cocktails.
• Use soft daylight: near a window or on a shaded terrace, never harsh midday sun.
• Be quick: hot food changes in minutes, so the kitchen plates each dish only when the camera is ready.

The same set works for the printed menu, your website, your Google Business Profile and delivery apps. Photos and video can be shot in the same session.

A posting rhythm you can keep

Consistency matters more than volume. A restaurant that posts steadily all season looks more alive than one that posts ten clips in May and nothing in August.

• In season: something like two or three posts or reels a week, plus stories when something happens, like the morning's fish or a new special.
• Before opening: your dates, a first look at the menu, the team getting ready.
• Out of season: fewer posts, but keep a few, so you stay visible to people planning next summer.

Rotate the subjects: a dish, a person, the room, then a dish again. The point of one planned shoot is that you are not filming in the middle of a busy service. I usually suggest one shoot at the start of the season and a short refresh in mid-summer, when new dishes arrive and the light changes.

Getting started

If your restaurant is part of a hotel, the ideas in my guide to hotel video marketing in Corfu fit alongside these. For everything else, the video production page shows my food, drink and brand work. Send me your menu and tell me where the content will be used, and I will suggest a shoot plan.

Updated: 8 November 2026