AI Front Office for Restaurants. The AI receptionist for restaurants that answers every call.
Zanus AI is an AI receptionist for restaurants that answers the phone on the first ring through lunch, dinner and after close, books tables into one reservation book, answers menu and allergen questions only from what you publish, and passes complaints, buyouts and severe allergies to the manager on duty.
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7 days free · per company, never per seat · nothing to install
Easy setup
Answers & books
Sells
You talk. Lisa sets it up.
You“During service, ring the host stand first; if nobody picks up, the AI answers.”
Lisa“Reservations department: the host stand rings first during service, and the AI answers whenever nobody picks up. Apply?”
Any setting, in any module · applied only on your yes
Start with the one thing you need. Add more anytime by asking Lisa.
The whole Front Office › · All industries ›
Who reaches you
Who the AI answers for Restaurants
- Guests booking a table for two tonight or a birthday for twelve
- Callers asking about hours, parking, the patio and the dress code
- Office managers ordering a catering lunch for Thursday's meeting
- Planners asking about the private room for a rehearsal dinner
- Guests with an allergy question about a dish on the menu
- Suppliers, delivery drivers and job seekers ringing the main line
The whole front of house
What an AI receptionist for restaurants does on every shift
One number with a whole AI call center behind it: departments for reservations, events and the office, answering from what your restaurant has written down.
Answers on the first ring
Lunch rush, Friday turn or two in the morning: the AI picks up every call 24/7 in the caller's language, with no hold queue, no wait times and no menu of options to sit through.
Books the table
With AI Booking, the AI offers only the free times for the party size, holds the place while the guest confirms by text and writes the reservation into your book.
Answers questions from your pages
Common questions about hours, parking, the patio, corkage, menu items and allergen notes are answered from what you approved; a question with no written answer goes to a person, never a guess.
Hands over to the right person
A complaint, a buyout or a severe allergy rings the manager on duty in the dining room, who hears who is calling and why before the call connects.
Covers the website and the inbox
The same knowledge lets the chat on your site and the events mailbox answer questions too, so a guest hears the same patio policy every time, on every channel.
Writes every call down
Each call is saved with its transcript and summary, a manager can follow a live call in real time, missed calls wait on their own list, and the morning briefing tells you what came in after close.
A day of service
A virtual receptionist for restaurants, from lunch to last call
Eleven-thirty, before lunch
Call volume climbs with questions about the specials and parking while the kitchen preps; every caller is answered from your pages and nobody leaves the line.
Seven-fifteen on a Friday
During peak hours three calls ring together while the host seats a walk-in, and the AI handles every call at once instead of letting two ring out.
The party of fourteen
A birthday group above your party-size limit lands as a request for your manager, with the date, the headcount, the occasion and any special requests already taken.
The allergy question
A guest asks whether the pesto has pine nuts; the AI quotes your published allergen note, and a severe allergy is put through to the manager.
Eleven at night
A caller asks about Sunday brunch after the doors close; the table is booked and the confirmation text leaves before the guest hangs up.
The Monday you are closed
Callers hear the closure message you wrote for that day, messages land with the callback number read back, and bookings for the rest of the week keep coming in.
Real screens
Inside the AI receptionist for restaurants
Real Zanus AI screens with demo data on them, each framed on what a restaurant uses it for.
Weigh the options
A host on the phone, an answering service or an AI host for restaurants
The same calls, handled by each choice a restaurant weighs today.
| What the call needs | A host answering between seatings | A message-taking answering service | Zanus AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| A table request at 7:30 on a Friday | Answered when the host is free, or not at all | A message for the morning | Booked on the call:: only free times for that party size, confirmed by text |
| Three calls at once | Two ring out | Callers placed on hold | All picked up together:: no hold queue and no busy signal in the rush |
| An allergen question | Depends on who picks up | Rarely in front of the agent | Your published note:: a severe allergy goes to the manager on duty |
| A party above your limit | Booked if the host forgets the rule | Written down for later | A request for your manager:: date, headcount and occasion already collected |
| What is left after the call | Nothing written | A short note by e-mail | The whole call:: transcript and summary on the guest's record for the next shift |
Where people decide
What the AI receptionist hands to your managers
Complaints and refunds
A guest unhappy with last night's dinner is heard to the end and passed to the manager; comps, refunds and credits stay the manager's decision.
Severe allergies and illness
A caller describing a reaction or a severe allergy reaches the manager or the chef, and the AI says only what your allergen notes say.
Buyouts and custom menus
Private-room buyouts, tasting menus for a group and anything off your published menu go to the events manager with the details collected.
Press, sales reps and applicants
Media calls, suppliers' reps and job seekers are routed by your rules to the right person's messages, so nobody pulls the manager off the floor mid-service.
2 minutes
Set up your AI receptionist for restaurants in 2 minutes
Forward the line
Forward the restaurant's number to your Front Office and the AI answers from the next call, with no porting and no new phone system.
Let Lisa read your site
Lisa reads your menu pages, hours, location and policies, then asks who takes events, complaints and suppliers, and what your party-size limit is.
Pick the restaurant preset
In AI Booking the restaurant preset brings party sizes, tables counted in seats, turn times and the waitlist, all changed by talking.
Hear it, then decide
Call your own number, book a test table, and read the report of every call it answered when the 7-day trial ends.
Questions & answers
Frequently asked questions about an AI receptionist for restaurants
What is an AI receptionist for restaurants?
It is software that answers a restaurant's phone calls like a trained host at the front desk, at any hour. Zanus AI greets the caller, answers hours, parking and menu questions from what you published, books the table with AI Booking, takes messages and puts the manager on duty through when a call needs a person, writing every call onto the guest's record.
Can an AI answer restaurant calls during the dinner rush?
Yes, and the rush is where it pays back. Every line is picked up on the first ring with no hold queue, even when several guests call while the host is walking a table to the patio. You can ring the host stand first and let the AI pick up whenever nobody answers.
What is the best AI answering service for restaurants?
Judge each one on what it finishes during the call: a table booked into your own book by party size, answers taken only from your menu and policies, allergy and complaint calls routed to a person by your rules, every call written down, and one price for the restaurant. Zanus AI does each of these, and the trial runs on your own line.
How much does an AI receptionist cost for a restaurant?
Zanus AI is priced per company, never per seat, so the owner, the hosts and the events manager share one subscription. You choose the modules your restaurant needs and add others later; the plans are on the pricing page, and 7 days on your own line need no credit card. A corner coffee shop runs it as an AI receptionist for cafes on the same terms.
Can the AI take reservations for large parties and private events?
Yes, within your rules. Tables up to your limit book straight into the reservation book; a larger party can be a service you approve first, so the guest hears the time is requested while your manager confirms or declines. Private-room and buyout calls go to the events manager with the date and headcount taken.
What does the AI tell a guest who asks about allergens?
Only what your restaurant has written: the allergen notes on your menu pages and the kitchen statement you approved. With no written answer it says so instead of guessing, and a rule you set puts any caller with a severe allergy through to the manager or the chef.
What happens to takeout and pickup calls?
Takeout callers hear your menu, prices and pickup hours as you wrote them, and the AI explains how your restaurant takes orders, in your words. A caller who wants to order with a person is put through to whoever you name, announced with what they want before the call connects.
Will guests know they are talking to an AI?
Yes, whenever they ask. The AI phone agent never claims to be a person, and any guest who would rather talk to the host or the manager can ask for one at any moment; your rules decide who picks up and when.
Can one AI receptionist cover several restaurant locations?
Yes, it works as an AI receptionist for restaurant groups: each location keeps its own address, timezone, hours and services in AI Booking, and the AI asks which location the guest means before it books. Each location can also have its own phone department with its own people and hours, and the morning briefing tells you what came in overnight.
Can we keep our restaurant's phone number?
Yes. Forward the number printed on your menus and your website to your Front Office and the AI takes over phone answering from the next call, with no porting. If you later want the restaurant's number moved in, the port is handled with your carrier, or you can take a new local number.
Does it work with our reservation book and POS?
It stands at the front of house beside them. AI Booking keeps its own reservation book that the AI books into, and a work calendar you connect keeps its busy times out; checks, payments and kitchen tickets stay in the systems your restaurant already runs.
How long does it take to set up an AI receptionist for a restaurant?
2 minutes for the line: forward your number and the AI answers from that call on. Lisa then reads your menu pages and policies and asks a few questions by talking, such as your party-size limit, who takes events and what guests hear about allergies.
What does the free trial include?
The whole Front Office runs free on your restaurant's own line and website for 7 days, with no credit card. The confirmation calls AI Auto-Call places to tonight's parties start with your first paid plan, from your AI Phone number.
Award-winning AI
Winner at CES 2026, ISE 2026 and TMCnet Enterprise AI Product of the Year.
REAL AI - the whole Front Office is AI, not old software with an AI button.
Awards & trade shows ›
Give Lisa your website.
She sets up your business in 2 minutes.
Other software makes you learn it. Zanus AI learns your business.
Try it free on your own business — no credit card, per company, never per seat.
Ready to buy? See plans & pricing ›
Or call +1 (954) 736-3939 — the AI answers.