Best card machine for Restaurants

The best card machine for a UK restaurant in 2026 is Dojo Go, on the strength of same-next-day weekend settlement, peak-hour throughput, table-side split-bill and tip handling. Typical UK restaurant card volume is £35 to £85 average transaction with around 55% contactless. Same-next-day settlement (including Saturday and Sunday) is the working-capital lever that justifies the 12-month Dojo contract for any venue trading Friday to Sunday peaks.

Our pick

Dojo Go

Acquirer: Dojo

Dojo dominates UK hospitality for table-side flow, split-bill and tip handling. Same-next-day settlement helps cashflow. Pricing competitive at £15k+ monthly volume.

Read the full Dojo Go review →

Why this trade matters

Cashflow shape: Evening + weekend peaks. December and summer tourist surges. Card flow strong.
Average transaction: £35 to £85
Contactless share: ~55% of transactions

Watch outs

Tip-handling rules vary by acquirer; confirm before signing.
Split-bill UX varies.
Some acquirers cap contactless tips at £100 transaction limit.

Alternatives

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How Dojo Go stacks up

Restaurants by location

Locations we cover for Restaurants.

Sign through us, get all of this

Take your trade. We do the rest.

Named UK account team for the life of the agreement. Acquirer pays our commission on completed introductions, so it costs you nothing on top.

24/7 dedicated support
Direct line to a named UK account manager, not a generic acquirer helpline. When your terminal goes down on a Saturday night you call us.
Quarterly rate reviews
As your card volume grows your rate should drop. We renegotiate against the 80+ UK acquirer panel every quarter, so you never overpay because you forgot to ask.
Chargeback and dispute help
UK chargebacks cost £15 to £35 per case and 60-80% are friendly fraud you can win with the right evidence. We draft the response and escalate where the acquirer drags its feet.
Switching support when you outgrow
If a better acquirer fit emerges as you grow we manage the cutover. No exit-fee surprises, no dual-running gap. Same account team across acquirers.

How we work, end to end →

Related on our sister sites

Need finance for your Restaurants business?

Card flow is the security on which most Restaurants businesses borrow. See our sister site BestBusinessLoans by sector for editorial reviews of UK lenders that fund Restaurants.

Oliver Mackman

Director, MerchantHQ

Oliver leads MerchantHQ's terminal testing and acquirer comparison. With a background in UK commercial finance and merchant payments, he oversees terminal reviews, switching guidance and high-risk vertical mapping.

Last reviewed: 26 April 2026

Best card machine for Restaurants

Dojo Go

Why this trade matters

Watch outs

Alternatives

How Dojo Go stacks up

Restaurants by location

Need finance for your Restaurants business?

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