AI receptionist
AI receptionist for restaurants, pubs, and cafes
Takes table bookings during service, answers the questions staff are asked all day, and passes allergy and large-party calls to a person.
- Fixed build price
- Prototype in days
- You own it
The phone rings hardest when nobody can answer it: in the middle of Friday service, when every member of staff is carrying plates. A ringing phone at the pass is a booking walking to the place down the road.
An AI receptionist answers those calls, takes the booking into your reservation system, and answers the routine questions about opening times, parking, dogs, and the set menu. Your team stays on the floor, and the calls that need a person still reach one.
Calls it handles
What the agent does on the phone
Table bookings during service
Checks real availability and books, changes, or cancels tables in your reservation system where it offers an API, then confirms by text.
The questions asked all day
Opening hours, kitchen times, parking, accessibility, dogs, children's menus, and corkage, answered consistently from information you approve.
Allergies passed to a person
The AI never confirms a dish is safe for an allergy. It notes the allergy on the booking and arranges for a member of staff to call back, or transfers the call.
Large parties and private hire
Takes the date, numbers, and budget for group bookings and events, and passes them to your manager as a qualified enquiry rather than a missed call.
Waitlist and cancellations
Offers a waitlist when you are full and can contact waiting guests when a table frees up.
Takeaway questions
Points callers to your ordering link by text, answers delivery area questions, and handles simple order status calls if your system allows.
In detail
Doing it properly
Allergies are never the AI's call
Allergen information is a legal and safety responsibility for the business, and it depends on what is in the kitchen today. An AI receptionist must not reassure a caller that a dish is safe. We design the conversation so any mention of an allergy or intolerance is recorded on the booking and handed to a member of staff, and we test that case specifically before launch.
Working with your booking system
Most restaurants already take bookings through an online reservation system. Where that system offers an API, the agent books real tables with the same rules your website uses: covers, table turn times, and service periods. Where it does not, the agent takes the request and texts or emails it to the team to confirm.
One number, several sites
Groups with several venues can route calls by location, keep each site's hours and menus separate, and still give callers one consistent experience.
FAQ
Restaurants and hospitality questions
Can an AI receptionist take table bookings?
Yes. If your reservation system offers an API, it books real tables using your covers and service rules. If not, it takes the full request and sends it to your team to confirm.
What happens when a caller asks about allergies?
The AI never confirms a dish is safe. It records the allergy on the booking and arranges for staff to call back, or transfers the call to a person.
Will it answer during busy service?
Yes. It answers every call immediately, however many come in at once, so staff do not have to leave the floor.
Is it worth it for a small cafe?
Often a ready-made AI receptionist subscription at tens of pounds a month is enough for a small cafe, and we will say so. A custom build pays off for busier restaurants, groups, and venues with private hire.
Next step
Stop missing calls
Tell us how many calls you get, when you miss them, and which systems you use. You get a written plan, a fixed build price, and an estimated monthly running cost before anything is built.
Usually within one working day