In planning an upcoming trip, I have been frustrated by the number of restaurants that only have their websites on Facebook. Don't these people understand that not everyone has a Facebook account and that many people avoid Facebook because it is a privacy-invading company to be avoided at all costs? Even if I were to find a way to make a reservation, they would want my contact information which would end up in the clutches of Facebook and lord knows what data brokers. It's amazing how many don't understand the dangers of allowing big tech companies to invade your privacy and track your movements. I know that many people dismiss such concerns with "I have nothing to hide." That is naive in the extreme. And I know that complete privacy is impossible, but you can limit the leakage.

Well, no one really cares
You could try a telephone?

Which country are you looking at?

I'm not on Facebook either, but I do use sites/apps like OpenTable, the Fork, etc. Other than them remembering previous reservations made on the sites, I don't feel like I'm being "tracked" or my privacy invaded, but maybe I'm naive. Sometimes I just use them to identify restaurants nearby that have good reviews.

FWIW, needing to provide contact information for restaurant reservations is pretty ubiquitous these days.

I'm not on FB -- and have no problem finding menus of restaurants that are. And there are lots booking sites -- OpenTable, etc. Places that are exclusively FB based are relatively few -- but in any case not really an issue.

I think "these people" probably don't care to expend resources on more than a Facebook/Instagram etc account. Many small restaurants don't take reservations and are not on Open Table..In the United States I use Yelp and Google Maps for research if I have not been somewhere ever (or for a while). That's how I found Kagura in El Segundo as we were looking for a dinner option prior to a LAX dropoff.

Jean, have you been there? Not bad, very cute and a wider menu than the other Kaguras.

I care. I hate it, and just don't bother with restaurants that only have an FB page.
It's cheap for them but annoying for their potential customers. I am not going to plough through a dozen other sites hoping to find when they are open or what their menu is, or even what their phone number is.
A web address doesn't cost much and making a website nowadays is pretty simple, but the assumption is the whole world is on FB so why spend money on a website.
And before someone says you can still see their FB page without being on FB no you often can't. A massive pop-up appears which results in me killing the page - I can't even use the back button on the browser as FB blocks that too.

If you don't like the fact that some restaurants only have a Facebook or Instagram presence, then don't book with them. It really is that simple. I doubt they will care one iota whether or not you frequent their establishments. Their business, their decision as to how they attract customers.

Since social media is "free," it does not surprise me to see so many restaurants on these platforms. I do not do any additional searching like what others mentioned, but find that simply using Google to be a resources for some of these small establishments. Like with anything, you do have to read through and take much of the gripes with a grain of salt. I also find that a lot of people will post photos of the menu, too.

Granted, I tend to stumble upon where I eat when I travel and tend to not plan ahead like so many here, but not a "foodie." More often than not, my experience is a good one but only some exceptions where it was not.

Exactly...

I hope I'm not offending anyone, but the whole internet works on advertising and tracking interest. FB maybe pretty good at it, but roughly, that is how it all works. I know, I've grown google analystics for a number of websites. We all do it. Why should one social media site be any worse than any other.

If you don't like it, just walk down a street and go into a restaurant like us common folk ;-)

Who needs Facebook?
Who needs TripAdvisor?
Who needs google ?

The best meal I have ever had in 54 years of travel and 60 odd countries was in Tuscany.

The restaurant was just outside Pienza with a view from The English Patient - it had 6 tables and was run by a Japanese couple who had sold a chain of restaurants in Japan.

They grew everything on site, the lamb, the vegetables, the Chianti, the lot.

The restaurant had no phone number , no menu, no internet profile - just a couple with tens of millions of dollars in the bank and just loved cooking for a few people.

In fact , post Covid there’s too many scruffs out there who haven’t got a clue. Locked up for two years and spending money like it’s water. They should still be locked up.

There’s now a indirect relationship between a restaurants social media profile / reviews and the actual quality.

That is what I just said isn't it? I understand they make a commercial decision to use FB or whatever exclusively. It's cheap, which may or may not reflect on the establishment.
I just don't bother with them, and I am not alone in that.

Sometimes it is useful to look up a restaurant, to see the opening times, the menu, the price point before you stroll in. Hard to do if their only presence is social media, and nowadays in many cases you actually can't just stroll in. They expect you to make a reservation, and will often expect a deposit on that reservation. Yes I understand why they do that and it is a sad reflection of our society that they need to do it.

Latest trend is restaurants that either don't accept solo diners or charge them a surcharge, especially in over touristed areas.

Lovely. As if people who travel solo don't already pay more (single supplement fees) that those who travel as 2+ don't have to pay. Trust me, if this is something I could change, I would. It's wonderful to have yet another thing to worry about when us solos travel. Yay.

One, and probably the most important advantage to an esstablishment that chooses FB as its only social media site iis that makes it difficult for someone with a profile name "carfree1" to post an unjustified negative or vindictive review.

Wow, this is a terrible practice! Sure hope it doesn't catch on!

I doubt they will care one iota whether or not you frequent their establishments.

I would think in this day and age after Covid they'd like to get every customer they can. I only wish that restaurants who use a Facebook page as its contact could post its menu. Seems logical to me.

Good point.

There’s a lovely small alpine farm/restaurant on a nearby alp that offers live Swiss music every second Wednesday in the summer months. They advertise in the local newspaper or through word of mouth.

I wanted to take some friends up to this local place but couldn’t find the music dates anywhere online. I could have called to find out but instead I put out an enquiry on my WhatsApp status and got four answers.

As it turned out, they did have music (with dancing!) and we had a lovely time.

I’d say about half if the restaurants i hope to visit in Italy next month have only FB pages and agree that I would much prefer a dedicated web page for ease of booking a table.

So NOT TRUE that FB-only restaurants are rare.

The more upscale the more chance of having their own website. I get the reason for this. Often I ask my hotels to book for me and in rare ocasiones I have to phone Italy. For the upcoming trip to Southern Italy very few had their own web pages and I doubt if any have even heard of OpenTable or Resy. In NYC Tock is gaining ground. Do not like that!!

oh the joys of travel and how it opens our minds.

in Spain I found quite a few restaurants take reservations only by phone. Not by e-mail. There I ask my hotel to book for me except in restaurants that require many months advance booking. Then I phone them.