A restaurant’s phone rings most during service, which is when nobody can pick up. Most of those calls ask the same few things. A chatbot for restaurants does one job: answers those questions from your real menu and hours, then sends the guest to your reservation page or your catering manager.
Feedbot is the tool we make. It fits independent restaurants, small groups, cafes and caterers that want answers and leads. It is not an ordering system, a POS or a reservation book. For in-chat ordering, keep your ordering tool and let the bot link to it.
What do restaurant guests ask?
| Guest question | What the bot does | Knowledge source |
|---|---|---|
| “Are you open on Sunday? What time does the kitchen close?” | Gives hours and last seating, notes holiday changes | Business profile |
| “Do you take reservations?” | Explains the policy and shows a Book a table button | Business profile |
| “Can we get a table for 14 on Saturday?” | Collects party size, date, contact and hands off to the manager | Handoff |
| “Do you have gluten-free options?” | Lists dishes marked gluten-free, adds the kitchen disclaimer | Menu |
| “Does the pad thai have peanuts?” | Says whether peanuts are a listed ingredient, tells the guest to confirm with the server | Menu with allergens |
| “Is there parking?” | Gives the lot, street parking, validation | Business profile |
| “Are kids welcome? Do you have high chairs?” | Answers from your policies | FAQ |
| “Do you do catering for 60 people?” | Asks for date, headcount, budget, location and creates a lead | Catering menu |
| “Can I bring my own wine? What’s corkage?” | Quotes the corkage fee and limits | FAQ |
| “Do you have a private room?” | Describes capacity and minimum spend, collects event details | Private dining page |
| “Is the patio dog-friendly?” | Answers from your policy | FAQ |
| “My delivery order was wrong” | Apologizes, takes the order number and contact, creates a ticket | Handoff |
Hours, address, phone and parking belong in the business profile in Bot → Behavior, which the bot reads on every reply. Put holiday hours there too, and update them before each holiday.
How to write your menu for the bot
The bot answers from text it can search. A menu that only exists as a photo or a designed PDF with text in images can’t be read. Give it a plain version:
- One section per menu category with a heading (“Starters”, “Pasta”).
- One line per dish: name, short description, price, and the major allergens it contains as ingredients, for example “Pad thai, rice noodles, tamarind, egg, peanuts. $17. Contains: peanuts, egg, soy, fish.”
- A dietary key: what you mean by “V”, “VG” and “GF” and whether GF dishes are made in a shared kitchen.
- Separate sections for brunch, kids, drinks and catering, so the bot doesn’t mix them up.
Add it as text or upload a PDF, DOCX or Markdown file (files start on Starter) in knowledge base settings. When the menu changes, replace the source. If you import your website, click Refresh website after updates, because pages aren’t re-crawled automatically.
Allergens: what the bot may and may not say
This is the part to get right. In the US, the FDA lists nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame (added on January 1, 2023). The federal labeling law covers packaged food, not most dishes plated to order, which means your menu data is only as good as the kitchen’s recipes and practices. Some states add their own rules. Massachusetts, for example, requires the notice “Before placing your order, please inform your server if a person in your party has a food allergy” on menus. In the EU and UK, the law requires allergen information for 14 allergens on non-prepacked food as well.
Add these custom instructions in Bot → Behavior:
- “Only say a dish contains an allergen if the menu lists it. Never say a dish is safe or allergen-free.”
- “End every allergy answer with: Please tell your server about any allergy before ordering. Our kitchen handles all major allergens and we can’t rule out cross-contact.”
- “If a guest mentions a severe allergy or anaphylaxis, offer to connect them with a manager.”
With handoff on, that last case reaches your manager in Telegram, and the reply reaches the guest in chat or by email.
How to qualify catering and large-party leads
Catering and private events are where chat pays for itself. Set the bot to ask, one or two questions at a time:
| Field | Why you need it |
|---|---|
| Event date and time | Check kitchen and staff capacity |
| Headcount | Pricing and menu choice |
| Service type: drop-off, buffet, staffed, private room | Determines the quote |
| Location (for off-site) | Delivery radius and fees |
| Budget per person | Avoids quoting a menu they can’t afford |
| Dietary needs across the group | Plan the menu early |
| Name, email, phone | Follow-up |
Feedbot scores each conversation for buying intent. A guest with a score of 50 or more who left an email or phone shows up in Leads, and hot leads (70+) trigger an alert even if your notification filters are strict. Export leads as CSV or send them to Zapier, Make or your own system with the lead.created webhook on Pro and Business.
What not to automate
- Allergy clearance. The bot repeats menu data and always defers to staff. It never says “safe”.
- Booking confirmations. The bot doesn’t see your reservation book, so it must not say “you’re booked”. It links to the booking tool or hands off.
- Refunds and comps. A wrong delivery order becomes a ticket; the bot doesn’t promise a refund.
- Payments. Don’t take card numbers in chat. Deposits for events go through your payment link or POS.
Sample conversation
Guest: Hi, do you do catering? Office lunch for about 40 people next Thursday.
Bot: We do. For 40 people we offer drop-off trays or a staffed buffet. Is this at your office, and roughly what budget per person do you have in mind?
Guest: Drop-off, downtown, around $20 a head. Two people are vegan and one is allergic to tree nuts.
Bot: That fits our Lunch Tray menu at $18 per person, with vegan trays available. For the tree nut allergy, our catering manager will confirm ingredients and packing directly. What’s your name and best email or phone?
Guest: Dana, [email protected]
Bot: Thanks, Dana. I’ve passed this to Marco, our catering manager. You’ll hear back by email today.
Metrics to watch
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Book a table button clicks | How often chat leads to a reservation attempt |
| Catering leads per month and lead score | Whether chat brings real event revenue |
| Allergy handoffs | How often guests need a person; whether menu data is complete |
| Unanswered questions in the weekly report | Gaps such as missing holiday hours or a patio policy |
| Chats from the QR code vs. the website | Which channel guests use (use a separate bot for the QR link to compare) |
Set up in 3 steps
- Create the bot. Sign up, paste hours, address and parking into the business profile, and add your plain-text menu and FAQ. The free plan covers text and FAQ; pricing lists the rest.
- Add it to your site. Paste the script tag through your site builder’s custom-code setting (there’s no Wix app or plugin; you paste the code) or see install. For tables and takeout bags, copy the chat link and make a QR code.
- Connect the manager. In Settings → Notifications, connect Telegram, Slack or email so catering leads and allergy handoffs reach a person during service.
Hotel with a restaurant on site? See the chatbot for hotels. For other local businesses, read chatbot for small business.