Someone taps this at 6pm on a Thursday
They are deciding where to go tonight, usually on a phone, usually walking. They want to know three things: are you open, can they get a table, and is there something they want to drink.
A page that makes them wait — a PDF that downloads, a website built for a laptop, an address they have to copy into a map app themselves — loses to the bar two streets away whose page answered in four seconds.
The order that works
- Book a table — first, always, even if you mostly take walk-ins.
- Tonight’s list — the glasses, on the page. Not a PDF.
- Where we are — an address that opens in a map with one tap.
- When we are open — written out, including the days you are closed.
- What is coming up — tastings, a producer visiting, a supper.
Why not a PDF
A PDF menu was designed for paper. On a phone it downloads instead of opening, arrives zoomed into the top-left corner, and cannot be changed without a designer.
A list on the page can be changed in a minute from behind the bar, which is the only way a by-the-glass list stays true.
Keep it current or take it down
An events section listing a tasting from four months ago does more harm than no events section. The same is true of a by-the-glass list that is two weeks stale.
Whatever you cannot keep current, take off the page. A shorter page that is true beats a longer one that is not.
Questions people ask
What should a wine bar put in its Instagram link?
A way to book a table first, then tonight’s list by the glass written on the page, the address that opens in a map, the opening hours including the days you are closed, and what is coming up. Everything someone deciding where to go tonight needs, in the order they need it.
Should a wine bar use a PDF menu on Instagram?
It is better not to. On a phone a PDF downloads instead of opening, arrives zoomed into a corner, and cannot be changed without a designer. A list written on the page can be changed in a minute from behind the bar, which is the only way a by-the-glass list stays true.
Last checked 20 September 2026.