The AI receptionist for restaurants that picks up during the dinner rush
An AI receptionist for restaurants answers every call in your restaurant’s name, even at 7:30 on a Friday when the host stand is slammed. It answers questions about hours, parking, the menu and dietary options, sends reservation callers to your booking link or staff, and captures catering and private dining inquiries so your manager can call back.
- 14-day free trial
- Keep your number
- Cancel any time
How a call goes
Trattoria Belmonte
- Receptionist: Thanks for calling Trattoria Belmonte, this is the virtual assistant. How can I help?
- Caller: Hi, are you open Sunday night? And do you do private parties?
- Receptionist: We’re open Sunday from 4 to 9pm. For private parties we have a back room that seats up to 30. What date and how many guests are you thinking?
- Caller: Saturday the 14th, about 25 people, for my parents’ anniversary.
- Receptionist: Lovely. Can I get your name and the best number for our events manager to reach you?
- Caller: Dana Russo, 201-555-0148.
- Receptionist: Thanks, Dana. I’ve passed that along and our events manager will call you tomorrow with menu options and pricing. Anything else I can help with?
What the owner’s summary would include
- Inquiry:
- Private party, anniversary dinner
- Date and size:
- Sat the 14th, about 25 guests
- Caller:
- Dana Russo, 201-555-0148
- Next step:
- Events manager to call back with menus
Where restaurants lose calls today
The phone rings hardest when nobody can answer
Calls peak between 5 and 8pm, exactly when your host is seating a four-top and servers are running food. A ringing phone at the stand pulls someone off the floor or goes to voicemail, and neither helps the guests in front of you.
The same five questions, all night long
Are you open on Monday? Do you have parking? Is there a gluten-free menu? Can I bring my own wine? Your staff answer these dozens of times a week while tickets stack up in the kitchen window.
Catering and party inquiries get lost
A caller asking about a 40-person rehearsal dinner is worth more than a full night of walk-ins. When that call lands mid-service, the details end up on a napkin, or the caller gives up and books the place down the street.
Calls Vocenya answers for restaurants
Every one gets a real answer, the details written down, and a summary sent to you the moment it ends.
- Hours and holiday closures
- Reservation and wait time questions
- Menu, allergy and dietary questions
- Parking, BYOB and dress code
- Catering and large-order inquiries
- Private dining and party bookings
- Takeout order details for staff to confirm
What you see after every call
The real Vocenya portal, shown with a made-up plumbing business. Your restaurant gets the same: the summary, the outcome, the caller’s details and the full transcript.
How does an AI receptionist for restaurants handle the dinner rush?
It answers every call on the first ring, however many come in at once, so your host never has to choose between the phone and the guests at the stand. Callers get your hours, directions, parking, BYOB policy and menu answers straight from your website and notes. Anyone who wants a table is pointed to your online booking link or handed to a staff member if you prefer. You get a summary of anything that needs a person, like a catering request or a complaint, the moment the call ends.
Can it take reservations and phone orders?
It works alongside the way you already take reservations. For tables, it can point the caller to the booking link on your website or warm-transfer to the host stand when a staff member is free. It does not take payments or place orders into your POS. For takeout, you can have it capture the caller’s name, number and what they’d like, then send that to your staff to confirm the order and the pickup time. That keeps your kitchen in control of what gets made and when.
What happens with catering and private dining inquiries?
These are the calls most worth protecting. The receptionist asks the questions your manager would ask first: the date, the headcount, the occasion, whether it’s on-site or off-site, and any dietary needs. It captures the caller’s name and number and sends your events or catering lead a summary right away. If you run Growth or Pro, it can also warm-transfer a hot inquiry to the manager’s phone during slower hours, with the summary already in front of them.
Will guests know they’re talking to an AI?
Yes, if they ask, and upfront if you choose. The assistant identifies as a virtual assistant and never pretends to be a member of your staff. Most guests just want a quick, clear answer about hours, parking or whether you take walk-ins, and it gives them that in seconds. For regulars or anyone who asks for a person, it can transfer the call to the host stand or a manager.
A person when it matters
Tricky calls go to a trained GH agent who sees what the AI heard, or straight to your phone.
Booked, not just logged
Offers real times from your calendar and confirms them with the caller.
Answers in 89 languages
Studio voices switch to the caller's language, and you get the summary in English. The Value plan answers in English and Spanish.
Calls new leads back
Reminder calls can confirm large-party and private dining bookings the day before, so a no-show doesn’t leave a 20-top empty on a Saturday.
Serving restaurants in New Jersey and New York City
Whether you run a BYOB in Montclair, a shore spot in Asbury Park that triples its covers in July, or a neighborhood place in Astoria, the phone gets busiest right when the dining room does. Shore summers and Manhattan holiday party season bring more calls than one host can cover.
See how it works in New Jersey and New York City.
Questions from restaurants
Can the AI receptionist tell callers our specials?
Yes. Add the specials or a seasonal menu to your notes and the receptionist will answer from them. You can update those notes as often as you like, so if the fish changes on Thursday, you edit one line and callers hear the new answer on the next call. It only says what you’ve given it.
Does it work with OpenTable or Resy?
It doesn’t connect directly to reservation platforms. Instead, it tells callers where to find your booking link so they can pick a time themselves, or it transfers the call to your host stand. Many restaurants find that pointing callers to the link solves most reservation calls without anyone on staff picking up the phone.
Can it handle calls in Spanish?
Yes. Every plan answers in English and Spanish, and Studio voices answer in 89 languages. It can answer a Spanish-speaking caller in Spanish and still send you the summary in English, which helps in neighborhoods from Union City to Jackson Heights where plenty of your guests would rather speak Spanish on the phone.
What if a guest calls to complain?
The receptionist listens, captures what happened, the date of the visit and the guest’s contact details, and tells them a manager will follow up. You get the summary right away by email or app notification, so the owner or GM can call back personally while the guest still feels heard.
How fast can I set it up for my restaurant?
Enter your website and Vocenya builds a first version of your receptionist in about 20 seconds using your hours, menu and location. You review it, add details like your BYOB policy, corkage or parking, and then turn it on. Every plan includes a 14-day free trial with no contract.
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Hear your restaurant receptionist answer, right now.
Put in your website. Vocenya builds your receptionist from it and calls your phone so you can hear it. 14-day free trial, keep your number, cancel any time.
Hear it yourself
Call (732) 633-0055Our AI receptionist picks up. Ask it anything, or have it answer as your business.