Restaurant containment measures and perceived service quality: implications for future pandemics

Purpose This study aims to identify the impact of restaurant pandemic mitigation measures on perceived service quality. Design/methodology/approach A total of 15,251 reviews were collected from 300 TripAdvisor Lisbon restaurant Web pages between March 2020 and December 2021, when Covid-19 contingency measures were in place. Grounded on the online reviews, a word frequency matrix was created and used as input on partial least squares–structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results suggest that precaution measures, such as the Vaccination Certificate, negative tests and restaurant layout configuration, positively influenced perceived service quality and consumer satisfaction, moderated by consumers’ beliefs. Originality/value This study provides relevant information for restaurant managers, which will help them implement strategies to guarantee service quality, consumer satisfaction and revisit intentions in future pandemic scenarios.