Proximity still matters, and that is normal
Google heavily weights how close a restaurant is to the person searching. A venue that dominates its own street can fade for diners on the far side of town without anything being "wrong" with the listing. That is proximity at work, not a fault in your setup.
You cannot change geography, but you can strengthen everything else so you win more often among the people who are already nearby, and so you appear further out when prominence and engagement support it.
Photos: freshness beats a one-off shoot
Diners choose with their eyes. Profiles that keep uploading clear, well-lit dish and interior photos tend to earn more taps, calls and direction requests than ones still showing a set from years ago. Engagement feeds ranking, so stale imagery quietly costs covers.
A simple monthly habit (new plates, seasonal dishes, the room as it looks now) usually outperforms a single expensive shoot that never gets updated. Real food from your kitchen beats stock images every time.
Reviews: velocity, replies and what people write
Rating, volume and recency all matter. A strong average with no recent reviews looks less alive than a solid score that keeps moving. Replies matter too: a calm, specific response to a rough review often reassures the next diner more than silence does.
Ask at the right moment (after a good table, with the bill, or after a booking) and keep it genuine. Incentives that buy or fake reviews break Google's rules and are never worth the risk.
Completeness: menu, attributes, hours and booking
Every finished field widens the searches you can appear for. Menu uploaded and current, price range set, dietary attributes ticked, outdoor seating or dog-friendly marked when true, booking link live: these are eligibility signals as much as convenience for the diner.
Hours hygiene is revenue. A wrong "closed" label on a bank holiday or late sitting removes you from "open now" filters for the evening that would have filled seats. Treat holiday hours as a weekly check, not an afterthought.
What "prominence" means for a restaurant
Beyond the profile itself, Google looks for evidence that the business is known: consistent details across directories, mentions in local food lists or press, and a website that matches the same name, address and phone as the listing.
Restaurants can earn local mentions more easily than many trades. Asking to be included in genuine "best of" round-ups, and keeping NAP details identical everywhere, supports prominence without inventing claims you cannot back.
Where to start if the map pack feels stuck
Fix the basics in order: accurate hours and categories, menu and attributes filled in, a fresh photo set, then a reliable review ask. Measure actions (calls, direction requests, booking clicks) rather than vanity views alone.
If you would rather not guess which gap is costing covers, Azizi Technologies offers a free ranking audit that checks your profile against nearby rivals and shows what to fix first, in plain English.