A restaurant website can have a straightforward job: give people an official place to land when they search for the restaurant and give publications a website to link to.
That was the goal for Glom Thai and Kinda Izakaya, two restaurants in Berkeley. Neither needed an active marketing platform. They needed menus, photos, hours and directions presented clearly, with links to the reservation and ordering services they already use.
We built both sites on the same foundation, with a few deliberate differences that give each restaurant its own personality.
One foundation, two restaurant identities
Structurally, the websites are clones. We adapted Glom’s foundation for Kinda, keeping the same four pages, layout and build process while changing the content, colors, typography and menu presentation.
Both use static HTML and CSS generated by a lightweight Python script from templates and JSON content. GitHub stores the source, and changes automatically trigger a build and deployment to Cloudflare Pages.
There’s no database, application server or CMS. Visitors receive ready-made HTML, photos are optimized as WebP files and fonts are hosted locally. Even the navigation works without JavaScript.
Both websites share
- Home, Menu, Press and Contact pages
- Responsive layouts for phones, tablets and desktops
- Meaningful headings, descriptive image text and keyboard navigation
- Page titles, descriptions and structured restaurant data
- Links to existing services instead of embedded widgets
- No forms, tracking scripts or cookies
Accessibility was part of the design and development from the start. Keeping the technology simple gave us room to focus on those details.
We deliberately left out forms, newsletter signups, analytics and advertising pixels. Each would introduce responsibilities around processing submissions, collecting data, managing consent or maintaining another service. Those workflows don’t serve the restaurants’ current goals.
The footer makes that choice clear: “No tracking or cookies.”
For these restaurants right now, a dependable home for information and press links provides the value they need. Sharing a small foundation keeps both websites straightforward to update without turning them into larger projects than their purpose requires.
Glom Thai
Berkeley · Thai restaurant
Glom’s website uses warm cream backgrounds, burgundy accents and dark brown text, complemented by restaurant and food photography. Newsreader brings a relaxed, editorial feel to the headings, paired with Instrument Sans for body text and navigation. The menu is primarily text, so alongside the printed menu previews and downloadable PDF, we created an accessible HTML text version that visitors can read directly on the page, including with a screen reader. Hours, directions and reservation links keep the practical details within easy reach.
Visit Glom Thai (opens in a new tab)
Kinda Izakaya
Berkeley · Japanese izakaya
Kinda takes the same layout in a different direction: dark backgrounds, white text, red accents and slate-blue highlights, alongside restaurant and food photography. Bold Bricolage Grotesque headings and DM Sans body text give it an energetic feel that suits the restaurant’s atmosphere. Its printed menu has a distinctive design that we wanted to showcase, so the website presents the pages as images, with a downloadable PDF. The much longer menu doesn’t currently have an equivalent HTML text version. A clear “Need help reading the menu?” notice includes a phone link and invites visitors to call for assistance. It provides a human fallback, although it doesn’t replace the independent access offered by a text menu. Hours, directions, reservation and ordering links complete the essentials.
Visit Kinda Izakaya (opens in a new tab)
Need a simple website for your restaurant?
Whether you’re opening a new restaurant or refreshing an existing website, we can help you create a welcoming place for guests to find your menu, get the details and plan a visit. We’ll handle the design, development and hosting, with a setup that fits what your business actually needs.
Tell us about your restaurant and we’ll work out the right approach together. Start a conversation!