diff --git a/apps/api/src/modules/food-items/controllers/food-item.controller.ts b/apps/api/src/modules/food-items/controllers/food-item.controller.ts
index 18af715..8225844 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/modules/food-items/controllers/food-item.controller.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/modules/food-items/controllers/food-item.controller.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 import type { NextFunction, Request, Response } from 'express';
 import { AppError } from '../../../shared/errors/app-error.js';
+import { paginate } from '../../../shared/query/paginate.js';
 import type { AuthenticatedRequest } from '../../../shared/types/express.js';
+import { FoodItemModel } from '../repositories/food-item.model.js';
 import { foodItemService } from '../services/food-item.service.js';
 import { createFoodItemSchema, updateFoodItemSchema } from '../validators/food-item.validators.js';
 
@@ -21,9 +23,13 @@ export const foodItemController = {
       const restaurantId = req.params['restaurantId']!;
       const includeUnavailable = req.query['includeUnavailable'] === 'true';
       const page = Math.max(1, Number(req.query['page']) || 1);
-      const limit = Math.min(50, Math.max(1, Number(req.query['limit']) || 20));
-      const { docs, total } = await foodItemService.list(restaurantId, includeUnavailable, page, limit);
-      res.status(200).json({ data: docs, meta: { page, limit, total } });
+      const limit = Math.min(100, Math.max(1, Number(req.query['limit']) || 20));
+
+      const filter: Record<string, unknown> = { restaurantId };
+      if (!includeUnavailable) filter['isAvailable'] = true;
+
+      const result = await paginate(FoodItemModel, filter, { page, limit });
+      res.status(200).json(result);
     } catch (error) {
       next(error);
     }
diff --git a/apps/api/src/modules/food-items/tests/food-item.test.ts b/apps/api/src/modules/food-items/tests/food-item.test.ts
index 5bf9264..98dc6fa 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/modules/food-items/tests/food-item.test.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/modules/food-items/tests/food-item.test.ts
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ describe('GET /api/restaurants/:restaurantId/food-items', () => {
 
     expect(res.status).toBe(200);
     expect(res.body.data).toHaveLength(1);
-    expect(res.body.meta.total).toBe(2);
+    expect(res.body.pagination.total).toBe(2);
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/apps/api/src/modules/restaurants/controllers/restaurant.controller.ts b/apps/api/src/modules/restaurants/controllers/restaurant.controller.ts
index fe4e2ea..79ff7eb 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/modules/restaurants/controllers/restaurant.controller.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/modules/restaurants/controllers/restaurant.controller.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 import type { NextFunction, Request, Response } from 'express';
 import { AppError } from '../../../shared/errors/app-error.js';
+import { applyGeoFilter } from '../../../shared/query/geo-filter.js';
+import { paginate } from '../../../shared/query/paginate.js';
+import { applyTextSearch } from '../../../shared/query/text-search.js';
 import type { AuthenticatedRequest } from '../../../shared/types/express.js';
+import { RestaurantModel } from '../repositories/restaurant.model.js';
 import { restaurantService } from '../services/restaurant.service.js';
 import { createRestaurantSchema, updateRestaurantSchema } from '../validators/restaurant.validators.js';
 
@@ -19,9 +23,26 @@ export const restaurantController = {
   async list(req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction): Promise<void> {
     try {
       const page = Math.max(1, Number(req.query['page']) || 1);
-      const limit = Math.min(50, Math.max(1, Number(req.query['limit']) || 20));
-      const { docs, total } = await restaurantService.list(page, limit);
-      res.status(200).json({ data: docs, meta: { page, limit, total } });
+      const limit = Math.min(100, Math.max(1, Number(req.query['limit']) || 20));
+
+      let filter: Record<string, unknown> = { isActive: true };
+
+      const cuisine = req.query['cuisine'] as string | undefined;
+      if (cuisine) {
+        const tags = cuisine.split(',').map((t) => t.trim()).filter(Boolean);
+        if (tags.length) filter['cuisineTags'] = { $in: tags };
+      }
+
+      const { filter: searchFilter, scoreSort } = applyTextSearch(filter, req.query['q'] as string | undefined);
+      filter = searchFilter;
+
+      const lat = req.query['lat'] ? Number(req.query['lat']) : undefined;
+      const lng = req.query['lng'] ? Number(req.query['lng']) : undefined;
+      const radius = req.query['radius'] ? Number(req.query['radius']) : undefined;
+      filter = applyGeoFilter(filter, { lat, lng, radius });
+
+      const result = await paginate(RestaurantModel, filter, { page, limit }, { scoreSort });
+      res.status(200).json(result);
     } catch (error) {
       next(error);
     }
diff --git a/apps/api/src/modules/restaurants/repositories/restaurant.model.ts b/apps/api/src/modules/restaurants/repositories/restaurant.model.ts
index 5f38247..a0c4aea 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/modules/restaurants/repositories/restaurant.model.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/modules/restaurants/repositories/restaurant.model.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,10 @@ const addressSchema = new Schema(
     city: { type: String, required: true, trim: true },
     country: { type: String, required: true, trim: true },
     coordinates: { type: coordinatesSchema },
+    location: {
+      type: { type: String, enum: ['Point'] },
+      coordinates: { type: [Number] },
+    },
   },
   { _id: false },
 );
@@ -32,6 +36,32 @@ const restaurantSchema = new Schema(
   { timestamps: true },
 );
 
+restaurantSchema.index({ name: 'text', description: 'text' });
+restaurantSchema.index({ 'address.location': '2dsphere' });
+
+restaurantSchema.pre('save', function () {
+  if (this.address?.coordinates?.lat != null && this.address?.coordinates?.lng != null) {
+    this.address.location = {
+      type: 'Point',
+      coordinates: [this.address.coordinates.lng, this.address.coordinates.lat],
+    };
+  } else if (this.address) {
+    this.address.location = undefined;
+  }
+});
+
+restaurantSchema.pre('findOneAndUpdate', function () {
+  const update = this.getUpdate() as Record<string, unknown> | null;
+  if (!update) return;
+  const coords = (update.$set as Record<string, unknown> | undefined)?.['address.coordinates'] ??
+    (update as Record<string, unknown>)['address.coordinates'] ??
+    (update.$set as Record<string, { coordinates?: { lat: number; lng: number } }> | undefined)?.address?.coordinates;
+  if (coords && typeof coords === 'object' && 'lat' in coords && 'lng' in coords) {
+    const c = coords as { lat: number; lng: number };
+    this.set('address.location', { type: 'Point', coordinates: [c.lng, c.lat] });
+  }
+});
+
 export type RestaurantAttributes = InferSchemaType<typeof restaurantSchema>;
 export type RestaurantDocument = HydratedDocument<RestaurantAttributes>;
 
diff --git a/apps/api/src/modules/restaurants/tests/restaurant.test.ts b/apps/api/src/modules/restaurants/tests/restaurant.test.ts
index 6a8f64e..68ba36d 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/modules/restaurants/tests/restaurant.test.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/modules/restaurants/tests/restaurant.test.ts
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ describe('GET /api/restaurants', () => {
 
     expect(res.status).toBe(200);
     expect(res.body.data).toHaveLength(1);
-    expect(res.body.meta.total).toBe(1);
+    expect(res.body.pagination.total).toBe(1);
   });
 
   it('excludes soft-deleted restaurants', async () => {
@@ -127,8 +127,8 @@ describe('GET /api/restaurants', () => {
 
     expect(res.status).toBe(200);
     expect(res.body.data).toHaveLength(1);
-    expect(res.body.meta.total).toBe(2);
-    expect(res.body.meta.limit).toBe(1);
+    expect(res.body.pagination.total).toBe(2);
+    expect(res.body.pagination.limit).toBe(1);
   });
 
   it('returns empty array when no restaurants match', async () => {
diff --git a/apps/api/src/shared/query/geo-filter.ts b/apps/api/src/shared/query/geo-filter.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3cd3956
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/api/src/shared/query/geo-filter.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import type { FilterQuery } from 'mongoose';
+
+const DEFAULT_RADIUS = 10_000;
+const MAX_RADIUS = 50_000;
+
+interface GeoParams {
+  lat?: number;
+  lng?: number;
+  radius?: number;
+}
+
+export function applyGeoFilter<T>(filter: FilterQuery<T>, params: GeoParams): FilterQuery<T> {
+  if (params.lat == null || params.lng == null) return filter;
+
+  const radius = Math.min(Math.max(params.radius ?? DEFAULT_RADIUS, 1), MAX_RADIUS);
+
+  return {
+    ...filter,
+    'address.location': {
+      $near: {
+        $geometry: { type: 'Point', coordinates: [params.lng, params.lat] },
+        $maxDistance: radius,
+      },
+    },
+  };
+}
diff --git a/apps/api/src/shared/query/paginate.ts b/apps/api/src/shared/query/paginate.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bacee73
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/api/src/shared/query/paginate.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+import type { FilterQuery, Model, SortOrder } from 'mongoose';
+import type { PaginatedResponse, PaginationParams } from './query.types.js';
+
+interface PaginateOptions {
+  sort?: Record<string, SortOrder>;
+  scoreSort?: boolean;
+}
+
+export async function paginate<T>(
+  model: Model<T>,
+  filter: FilterQuery<T>,
+  params: PaginationParams,
+  options: PaginateOptions = {},
+): Promise<PaginatedResponse<T>> {
+  const { page, limit } = params;
+  const skip = (page - 1) * limit;
+
+  let sort: Record<string, SortOrder | { $meta: string }> = options.sort ?? { createdAt: -1 };
+  if (options.scoreSort) {
+    sort = { score: { $meta: 'textScore' }, ...sort };
+  }
+
+  const [docs, total] = await Promise.all([
+    model.find(filter, options.scoreSort ? { score: { $meta: 'textScore' } } : undefined)
+      .sort(sort as Record<string, SortOrder>)
+      .skip(skip)
+      .limit(limit)
+      .lean(),
+    model.countDocuments(filter),
+  ]);
+
+  const totalPages = Math.ceil(total / limit) || 1;
+
+  return {
+    data: docs as T[],
+    pagination: {
+      page,
+      limit,
+      total,
+      totalPages,
+      hasNextPage: page < totalPages,
+      hasPrevPage: page > 1,
+    },
+  };
+}
diff --git a/apps/api/src/shared/query/query.types.ts b/apps/api/src/shared/query/query.types.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df0b2d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/api/src/shared/query/query.types.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+export interface PaginationParams {
+  page: number;
+  limit: number;
+}
+
+export interface PaginationMeta {
+  page: number;
+  limit: number;
+  total: number;
+  totalPages: number;
+  hasNextPage: boolean;
+  hasPrevPage: boolean;
+}
+
+export interface PaginatedResponse<T> {
+  data: T[];
+  pagination: PaginationMeta;
+}
diff --git a/apps/api/src/shared/query/text-search.ts b/apps/api/src/shared/query/text-search.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d34ddb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/api/src/shared/query/text-search.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+import type { FilterQuery } from 'mongoose';
+
+export function applyTextSearch<T>(filter: FilterQuery<T>, query?: string): { filter: FilterQuery<T>; scoreSort: boolean } {
+  if (!query || !query.trim()) {
+    return { filter, scoreSort: false };
+  }
+  return {
+    filter: { ...filter, $text: { $search: query.trim() } },
+    scoreSort: true,
+  };
+}
diff --git a/packages/shared/src/index.ts b/packages/shared/src/index.ts
index cf8f814..480819f 100644
--- a/packages/shared/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/shared/src/index.ts
@@ -2,3 +2,4 @@ export * from './types/auth.js';
 export * from './validation/auth.js';
 export * from './types/tags.js';
 export * from './validation/tags.js';
+export * from './types/pagination.js';
diff --git a/packages/shared/src/types/pagination.ts b/packages/shared/src/types/pagination.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..65b28d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/shared/src/types/pagination.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+export interface PaginationMeta {
+  page: number;
+  limit: number;
+  total: number;
+  totalPages: number;
+  hasNextPage: boolean;
+  hasPrevPage: boolean;
+}
+
+export interface PaginatedResponse<T> {
+  data: T[];
+  pagination: PaginationMeta;
+}