AI receptionist for restaurants

At 7:30 on a Saturday nobody can get to the phone. It answers, takes the table request, notes the birthday and leaves the floor alone.

Or book a demo

A table for four on Saturday, and a birthday. Listen to it take the request mid-service.

The calls a restaurant gets in the middle of service

An AI receptionist for a restaurant answers the phone during service, answers questions about hours, the menu, allergens, parking and private dining from what you told it, takes reservation and large-party requests and passes catering and events to the manager. With Allo it costs one $32 seat a month, so the host stays with the guests in front of them.

Tables and large parties

It takes the party size, the time and the occasion, and books it or passes it to the host to confirm, depending on how you work.

Hours, menu, allergies

Gluten-free options, holiday hours, corkage, parking: answered from your instructions, and it says it will check rather than guess on an allergy.

Catering and private events

The highest-value call of the week goes to the manager with the date, headcount and budget written down, not on a sticky note by the till.

What to tell your AI receptionist, for a restaurant

What your host answers fifty times a week, written once.

Answers: Every call, 24/7, or only the ones your team misses
Books into: Google Calendar, Outlook, Cal.com or Calendly
Hands off to: The manager for catering, events and complaints
After each call: Recording, transcript and summary in Allo
Costs: One Business seat, $32/mo billed yearly, no per-minute fees

Bella

AI receptionist · Cima

Answering calls 24/7

Greeting

Thanks for calling Cima. How can I help?

What it knows

Dinner Tuesday to Sunday, 6 to 10. Closed Mondays. Brunch Sunday 11 to 3.
Gluten-free pasta on request. The kitchen handles nuts, so we can't guarantee nut-free.
Corkage is $25 a bottle. Street parking only.
Private room seats up to 18.

Books when

Parties up to 6: take name, number, time and occasion, and pass it to the host to confirm.
7 or more, or the private room: take the details and hand it to the manager.

Hands off when

Catering, an event or a complaint: transfer to the manager, or take a message during service.

Never

Never promise a dish is free of an allergen. Say the kitchen will confirm.
Never confirm a table yourself on Friday or Saturday nights.

An example, with a fictional business. Yours is written in plain words, in a few minutes.

Four more real calls, for restaurants

Real recordings with a fictional business: answering from its instructions, booking, recognising a caller and handing off to a person.

On the call · Answers

Copperleaf Kitchen

A question answered from what the business told it, nothing invented.

TranscriptCopperleaf Kitchen

What else it does for a restaurant

Around the receptionist, the AI features a busy restaurant uses most.

Missed call · 9:02 PM

Sorry we missed you! Reply here and we'll call you right back.Sent automatically

Texts back missed calls

Every missed call gets a text with your booking link.

Incoming call

Weekdays 9–6?

Yes · Now

Sales team

AI receptionist

Routes catering

Event calls ring the manager, not the host stand.

Call summary

NeedNew kitchen, 12 cabinets

Next step

Send the quote Friday

Every request written down

Party size, time and occasion in one summary.

Sarah KimSMS

Can you send me the estimate?Here you go. We can start Monday.

PDF

estimate.pdf148 KB

Text guests from your number

Confirm a table by text, from the restaurant's line.

AI receptionist for restaurants: questions

Something else? Read how the AI receptionist works or book a demo.

Yes. It takes the party size, date, time, name and number and either books it in your calendar or passes it to your host to confirm, depending on the rules you give it. Many restaurants let it confirm weekday tables and send weekend and large-party requests to a person.

It answers from what you wrote (which dishes can be made gluten-free, whether the kitchen handles nuts) and you can tell it never to promise a dish is allergen-free. When it doesn't know, it says the kitchen will confirm.

It does not book directly into OpenTable or Resy. It books into Google Calendar, Outlook, Cal.com or Calendly, or takes the request and passes it to your host, who books it in your reservation system.

The AI receptionist takes one Business seat: $32 a month billed yearly, or $45 month to month. That is the whole bill for it, with no per-minute meter, so a busy week costs the same as a quiet one. Every plan starts with a 3-day free trial. A human answering service typically charges $1,000 or more a month. Compare AI receptionists.

Yes. You can port your number to Allo and keep it, or keep it where it is and forward calls to your Allo line, for example only when nobody picks up or after hours. Callers dial the number they already know.

Minutes. You write its instructions in plain words, point it at your website so it learns your services and hours, connect your calendar and choose who it hands calls to. You can also set it up from Claude or ChatGPT with the Allo MCP, just by asking.