The phone rang during the dinner rush. Nobody picked up.
Reservations, takeout orders and "are you open?" calls arrive exactly when the host is seating a table and the line is three tickets deep. An AI receptionist employee for restaurants answers every call, books the table or takes the order the way you set it up, and answers hours and menu questions in your words. Your staff stays with the guests in front of them.
Pretend you were just in an accident.
The rush is when the phone rings most
Most restaurant calls land in the same few hours every day: lunch and dinner. That is when the host is seating a four-top, the bartender is slammed, and the kitchen is calling tickets. Someone has to choose between the guest at the stand and the one on the phone, and the phone usually loses.
A caller who gets ringing does not leave a voicemail. They call the place down the street, or they book through an app that charges you for the cover. The call itself was simple: a table for six at 7:30, or a large pepperoni for pickup.
Ava picks up on the first ring, every time, including two calls at once. Your team keeps its attention on the dining room.
Sources: The Harris Poll for Hostie (2025), via Hospitality Technology. Maple restaurant call data report (2025). Revmo State of Calls Report (2026).
Reservations and the waitlist, booked on the call
Ava asks what your host would ask: party size, date and time, name, phone number, and any notes you want, like a high chair, an allergy or a birthday. It books the table in your reservation system where supported, or sends the request to your team to confirm, and the guest gets a text confirmation.
Full on Saturday? It offers the times you do have, or adds the caller to the waitlist with your rules. Large parties and private events follow your rules too: it collects the details and passes them to the manager instead of promising a room.
Changes and cancellations are handled the same way, so the book stays accurate without a staff member on hold.
See it on your own numberParty size
6Date and time
Saturday 7:30pm, fully bookedNotes
One guest has a nut allergyOutside your rules
Party of 14Takeout and catering orders, taken the way you take them
For takeout, Ava reads from the menu you give it, takes the order item by item, confirms modifiers and repeats it back before hanging up. It can send the order to your POS or online ordering system where supported, or to a tablet, text or email your kitchen already watches. It quotes the pickup time you set, not a guess.
Catering and large orders are different. Ava collects the date, headcount, menu interest and budget, then books a call with your catering lead or passes the details along. It never confirms a catering price you have not approved.
The voice is one of our AI voice agents: voice AI for restaurants, working as a restaurant phone answering service with your menu, your modifiers and your pickup times.
Items
2 large pizzas, 1 CaesarPickup
6:40pm, your quoted timeCatering inquiry
Office lunch for 40Hours, menu and "do you have parking?" answered in your words
A large share of restaurant calls are questions with the same answers every day: hours, location, parking, whether you take walk-ins, gluten-free options, the happy hour menu. Ava answers from the information you approve, in English or Spanish, and sends a link by text when that is easier.
When the answer changes, like holiday hours or a sold-out special, you update it once and every call after that gets the new answer. Anything it is not sure about, especially allergy questions beyond what you have written, goes to a person instead of a guess.
After close, the phone still answers
Calls do not stop when the kitchen closes. People plan tomorrow's dinner at 11pm and book Friday's birthday on Sunday morning. After hours, Ava takes reservation requests, answers hours and menu questions, and logs anything else with a transcript, so the morning starts with a clear list instead of a full voicemail box.
You choose the coverage: after hours only, overflow during the rush, or every call.
The rest of the restaurant, once the phone is handled
Most restaurants start with the phone. These are what they ask for next. We build AI solutions. Then we run them for you. Keeping it running is managed AI services.
Follow-up that brings guests back
Confirmation and reminder texts you approve, and a follow-up for catering inquiries that went quiet. That is lead follow-up automation.
From the call into your systems
Guest names, phone numbers and order details move into the tools you already use, where supported, without someone retyping them.
One setup for several locations
Each location keeps its own hours, menu and rules, on one number or many.
What restaurant owners ask before handing over the phone
If yours is not here, ask it on the walkthrough. You will get a straight answer, including when the answer is that we are not the right fit.
Can an AI receptionist employee answer calls for my restaurant during the rush and after hours?
Yes. Every call, overflow during lunch and dinner, or after close only, your choice. It can handle several calls at once, so no one hears a busy signal.
Can it take reservations and manage the waitlist?
Yes. It collects party size, time and notes, offers the times you have open, and books the table in your reservation system where supported or sends the request to your team. Guests get a text confirmation.
Can it take takeout and catering orders?
Yes. It takes takeout orders from your menu and reads them back. Orders can go to your POS or ordering system where supported, or to a tablet, text or email. Catering inquiries go to your catering lead.
What does it say about allergies and menu questions?
It answers from the information you approve. If a guest asks something you have not covered, especially about allergies, it passes the question to a person instead of guessing.
How fast can it be answering our phones?
72 hours from kickoff. You approve every word of the script and the menu before it takes a call. English and Spanish included.
AI receptionist employees by industry
This is one AI receptionist employee build, tuned to each trade. The AI receptionist employee for real estate and AI receptionist employee for insurance pages show how it changes for other businesses.
Tell us what your phone is doing
How many calls a day, who picks up during the rush, and what happens to the calls that come in after you close. That is enough for us to tell you whether this is worth doing.
If it is, you get a flat number on the call. If it is not, you will hear that instead of a proposal.
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- San Diego, CA