9:41
Your order is readynow
Pick it up at the Main St counter.
Order ahead and pickup alerts
Customers order and pay through your existing ordering system, then get a push the moment their food is ready.
Push campaigns and automations →Turn your restaurant website into a mobile app
Build a restaurant app without writing code
Give your regulars their own way to order: order ahead, rewards, table bookings and push for tonight's specials, in native iOS and Android apps built from the website and ordering system you already use.
Why restaurants stall before launching an app
Most restaurants already know their regulars would order direct. The problem is building the app.
Your menu, online ordering, table booking and loyalty usually come from different providers, all stitched into your website. A native build means re-integrating each one, and branded app platforms often lock you into their own ordering system. So regulars keep ordering through delivery marketplaces, and you keep paying commission on customers who already know you.
The guide below covers the whole path. If your website already takes orders on a phone, the app is the short part, because Twinr builds it from the site you already run.
Why an app
Your regulars, one tap from ordering
Regulars order on habit. An app puts that habit on their home screen, where your name sits next to the delivery apps instead of inside them.
Your name, not a marketplace
Customers order from you directly, without scrolling past a dozen other restaurants on the way in.
Fill the quiet hours
A push for a lunch special or happy hour lands on the lock screen of people nearby who already like your food.
Rewards they actually use
Digital stamp cards and points that live in the app, so regulars come back for the free dessert.
Orders you keep more of
Direct orders through your own ordering system, instead of paying marketplace commission on your regulars.
9:41
3Your restaurant
57% Off-premises restaurant customers who used a mobile app to order in the past six months
Source: National Restaurant Association
70% Limited-service diners who say they'd use a smartphone app to place an order
Source: National Restaurant Association
35% Off-premises customers who would most prefer to order through a mobile app
Source: NRA Off-Premises Trends 2025
Step by step
How to build a restaurant app without code
Five steps from first call to a live app. We do the work; you bring the assets and sign off where it matters.
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Kickoff
A short onboarding call to agree how ordering, rewards and bookings should work in the app, and for which locations. You share access to your website and your Apple and Google developer accounts.
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Build and integrate
We build the app on your live website, with your tab bar and navigation rules. Your online ordering, table booking and loyalty providers carry across as they are, and you get a working preview on your own phone early.
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Customize and test
Design and navigation tuned to your brand, with push notifications and analytics set up in Twinr. We test the menu, ordering and payment on real iOS and Android devices, then you give the final sign-off.
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Launch
Submitted to the App Store and Google Play under your own developer accounts. We handle both store reviews, then help you promote the app with table cards, receipts and in-store QR codes.
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Engage, analyse and repeat
Send lunch specials, happy hour reminders and order-ready alerts by push. Track repeat orders and push revenue in Twinr analytics, then keep improving. Menu changes on your site reach the app instantly.
Features to jobs
What a restaurant app needs, and which Twinr feature covers it
Lunch specialnow
2-for-1 bowls until 3pm today.
Happy hour2h ago
Half-price drinks from 5pm.
Specials that fill quiet hours
Lunch deals, happy hour and new dishes sent by push to people who already order from you, timed to your slow shifts.
Segments and scheduled sends →Ember rewards7 of 10 stamps
RewardFree dessert at 10
Rewards and stamp cards
App screens for points, stamp cards and member offers, built in a drag-and-drop canvas on top of your loyalty provider.
Native screens and app-only pages →Book a tableFriday · Main St
7:30 pm/ 4 guests
Confirm bookingTable bookings in two taps
Your booking provider runs inside the app, so regulars can reserve a table without hunting for a link.
Native capabilities in every build →Offline. Showing saved menu.
Menus on a bad connection
Offline browsing keeps the menu readable when signal drops, and shows your brand instead of a browser error.
How the native shell works →App analyticsExample data
Sessions18.2k
Retention34%
Orders2.1k
Knowing what the app is worth
Sessions, retention, order events and push-attributed revenue tracked natively, so direct orders are measured on their own.
What Twinr analytics measures →Push notifications
One push can fill a slow Tuesday
Nobody opens a lunch-special email at noon. Push lands on the lock screen when it matters and opens straight to the menu, and with Twinr it's included on every plan.
See how Twinr push works → Email SMS App push
Cost per send Per contact Per message Included
Where it lands Inbox, often promotions Messages app Lock screen
Filtered by Spam and tabs Carriers Only the user
Opens into Browser Browser The exact app page
Store policy
App Store and Play Store rules that apply to restaurant apps
The rules that decide whether a restaurant app is approved, and what each one means for ordering and payment.
Food orders are exempt from in-app purchase
Meals and drinks are physical goods consumed outside the app, so your existing ordering system and payment provider are allowed and Apple takes no commission.
What Twinr covers: the app renders your live ordering flow as it is, with no revenue share on Twinr's side.
A menu alone is not enough
Apple guideline 4.2 says an app that does not go beyond a repackaged website may not be accepted, and a static menu is the classic case for restaurants.
What Twinr covers: native navigation, push, rewards screens and location features, which is what review looks for.
Alcohol affects the age rating
If you sell or promote alcohol in the app, answer the age-rating questions accordingly: Apple guideline 2.3.6 requires an honest rating that meets local requirements, and the rating affects where the app is shown.
What Twinr covers: we set the rating with you during submission. Local delivery laws stay with your ordering provider.
Account deletion and data disclosure
If customers can create an account for ordering or rewards, both stores require an in-app way to delete it, plus accurate privacy labels.
What Twinr covers: the native account screen and permission prompts. The deletion route itself lives with your ordering or loyalty provider.
Build options
Ways to get a restaurant app, compared
Included Partial or extra cost Not available
| Capability | Your site + Twinr | Branded restaurant app platform | Agency or in-house build | Progressive web app |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | From $25/mo | $200–$1,200/mo, often with revenue share | $30k–$150k per platform | Hosting only |
| Time to first release | Days | Weeks | 3–6 months | Immediate |
| Ordering systems to run | One, your existing provider | Two, web and app | Two, web and app | One |
| In the app stores | iOS and Android | |||
| Push notifications on iOS | Built in, unlimited | Built to order | Limited | |
| Keep your ordering and booking providers | Yes, as they are | Often their own | Re-integrate |
After launch
You run the kitchen. Twinr runs the app.
Your team keeps working exactly as it does today. The app-specific work sits with us.
Your team
Keeps running the restaurant
- Update the menu, prices and specials in the systems you already use
- Every change on the site shows up in the app automatically
- No second menu, no new ordering system, no app release cycle
- Send push campaigns from the Twinr dashboard when you want to
Twinr
Keeps the app running
- The native iOS and Android builds
- Store submission under your own developer accounts
- OS updates, SDK changes and store policy changes
- Push delivery, analytics and support when you need it
01 How do I turn my restaurant website into an app?
Twinr builds native iOS and Android apps from your live website rather than rebuilding it. Your menu, online ordering, booking and rewards keep working as they do today, and Twinr adds native navigation, push notifications and analytics on top.
02 Will my online ordering system work in the app?
Yes. If customers can order on your website today, the app renders that same ordering flow, whether it's your POS provider's ordering page or a dedicated online ordering tool.
03 Do I pay commission on orders through the app?
Twinr charges no commission or per-order fee. Orders go through your own ordering system at its normal rates, and Apple takes nothing on food orders.
04 Can customers book a table in the app?
Yes. Your booking provider runs inside the app as it does on your site, and you can add a native tab or button so booking is always one tap away.
05 Can I run a rewards programme in the app?
Yes. Your loyalty provider carries over, and you can build app-only reward screens and stamp cards with Twinr native screens.
06 Does it work for multiple locations?
Yes. One app can cover several locations, with a location picker and push campaigns targeted by location, as long as your website supports them.
07 Will menu changes show up in the app?
Yes. Menu items, prices and specials update in the app as soon as you change them on your site, with no new build and no app store review.
08 What should I send push notifications about?
Order-ready alerts, lunch specials, happy hour and new dishes. Time them to your quiet shifts and target them by location to fill tables without discounting everyone.
09 Who owns the app and the store listings?
You do. The apps are published under your own Apple Developer and Google Play Console accounts, so the listings, reviews and customers belong to you.
10 How much does a restaurant app cost?
A custom native build typically costs tens of thousands of dollars per platform. Twinr plans are published and start at $25 per month, with no commission and no per-order fee.
Build a restaurant app without writing code
14-day free trial, no credit card. See your own website running as a native app in about a minute.