AI receptionist for restaurants and cafes: bookings and menu

Guests write, nobody answers

Restaurants get the most messages exactly when they are busiest: after seven in the evening, on weekends, before holidays. That is when waiters are rushing around the floor, the host is on the phone and the kitchen is buried in orders. A message in Instagram Direct asking "Do you have a table for four tonight at eight?" sits unread for half an hour. The guest does not wait. They message a few other places and go wherever answered first. Late-night messages suffer the same fate: by the time someone replies in the morning, it is too late. The problem is not your menu or your prices. It is response time, and that is the gap an AI receptionist closes.

The same questions every single day

Most guests ask the same things: what time do you close, where exactly are you, is there a kids' menu, which areas do you deliver to, what is the minimum order, which nights have live music. Answering does not take an experienced employee, but every answer takes time. The Cavab AI receptionist handles these questions for you in WhatsApp, Instagram Direct, Telegram and Facebook Messenger. It answers only from the data you gave it: menu, prices, opening hours, delivery terms. A guest who writes in Azerbaijani gets an answer in Azerbaijani, one who writes in Russian gets Russian, and visitors from abroad get a reply in their own language too.

Table requests: the AI collects, you confirm

When a guest wants a table, the AI receptionist asks for everything you need: name, phone number, date, time, number of guests and any wishes, such as a birthday or a seat on the terrace. Then it sends you a tidy request in Telegram. One important point: the AI has no access to a booking system or your real seating plan. So it never confirms the booking on its own and never tells the guest the table is theirs. It tells them the request has been received and the restaurant will confirm shortly. You look at the floor and confirm with one message. The guest is never left hanging, and you never accidentally give away a table that is already taken.

Menu photos, voice notes and pictures from guests

In a restaurant, a photo sells better than a description. You upload pictures of dishes, menu pages, the dining room and the terrace to the library, and the AI receptionist shows the right one as the conversation goes. If someone asks whether the hall would work for a birthday party of twenty, it sends interior photos. The AI also understands images guests send, for example a screenshot of a dish from your post with the question "how much is this?". If the dish is on your menu, it gives the price. It understands voice messages as well, which helps guests who are driving and cannot type.

An example conversation

Here is what an evening chat might look like. Guest: "Hi, could we get a table for six on Saturday at 7:30? And do you have a kids' menu?" — AI receptionist: "Hello! Yes, we have a kids' menu, for example a chicken cutlet with mashed potatoes for 9 ₼. To request the table, please send your name and phone number and I will pass it to our host, who will check the room and confirm." — Guest: "Leyla, 050 000 00 00. The terrace would be great." — AI receptionist: "Thank you, Leyla! Your request is passed on: Saturday, 7:30 pm, six guests, terrace preferred. You will get a confirmation shortly." The price here is only an example; the AI always quotes your menu.

Where your staff still matter

An AI receptionist does not replace your floor staff or kitchen, and it should not try. When a question is not covered by your data, it does not make up an answer. Say a guest asks about allergens in a dish and you have not listed them: the AI tells the guest it will check and sends the question to you in Telegram. You reply by text or voice, the AI turns that into a clear answer in the guest's language and can remember it for next time. Complaints, banquets with a custom menu and unusual requests stay with you. You can take over any chat at any moment and hand it back to the AI with one button. Prices and discounts are checked separately before every reply goes out.

How to get started

You do not need a programmer; everything is set up from your phone. First fill in your data: menu and prices, opening hours, address, delivery terms and booking rules. Then upload photos of dishes, menu pages and the dining room to the library. Use the test chat to write as a guest: ask for a table, ask for a discount, ask something that is not in your data, and see how the answers look. When you are happy, connect a channel: WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram or Messenger. The first 7 days are free, with 50 dialogs and no card required. A dialog is one customer during one day, so however many times a guest writes that day, it counts once.

AI host for restaurants and cafes

Try the demo, no sign-up