What is a restaurant answering service?
It is the line that answers your guests when nobody at the host stand or the counter can. With Zanus AI it is not a room of people reading a script: one AI picks up the phone, the website chat, the e-mail and the web forms, answers from your approved menu and policies, and books the table. It also quotes private dining, places reminder calls, sells gift cards and keeps a guest record that fills itself.
Can it book tables by party size and keep to our turn times?
Yes. You set each service's hours, whether it counts seats or tables, the turn time and the minimum notice, and the AI offers only the times your room can seat for that party. Bookings from the phone, the chat and the forms land in one book; the restaurant reservation system page shows every detail.
Does it work for a pizza restaurant that lives on phone orders?
Yes, with the counter still in charge of the orders. Set the line to a person first and the counter rings first; when nobody can pick up, the AI answers the questions that slow the line down: the delivery area, the crusts, the dairy-free toppings, the hours. A caller ready to order hears the ordering page you approved or leaves a callback number, and birthday parties go straight into the calendar.
Can it answer the Spanish-speaking callers of our Mexican restaurant?
Yes. Every caller is answered in their own language, so a guest who calls in Spanish is answered in Spanish, from the same menu and the same house rules. The website chat works in 40 languages by text or by voice, a talking avatar can greet visitors on your pages, and a caller can be put through to a colleague who speaks their language.
What happens with large parties and private dining requests?
Above the party size you choose, the AI takes the request instead of booking it: the date, the headcount, the occasion, the menu preference and any dietary needs. Your event manager sees it with the whole conversation, a quote built from your private dining menus waits for her approval, and the follow-ups stop as soon as the planner replies.
How does it answer menu and allergen questions?
From what you wrote down and nothing else: your menus, the ingredients you list and your allergen notes. It quotes them as written, and with a never-say rule in place it never calls a dish safe for an allergy. A severe allergy or an unanswered question is put through to the manager on duty, who hears who is calling and why before picking up.
Can our host stand or counter still answer the phone during service?
Yes. Set the reservations line to a person first and the host stand or the counter rings first; when nobody picks up, the AI answers. Outside service, or for the events line, you can choose AI first or AI only, and change the setting whenever the dining room needs it.
Does it take card payments or deposits?
No. The AI takes no card payments and never takes a card number by voice. When a caller buys a gift card, it sends the payment link and the sale goes through your own payment account, while the bill for a meal stays at your register. Event quotes go out only once your manager has approved them.
Can it help with no-shows?
It confirms before the meal. Reminder calls reach the guests on tonight's book and take their answer: yes confirms the table, no frees it for the next caller, and a request to move lands on the host's list. Confirmations and reminders also go out by e-mail or text, at the hours before the meal that you choose.
Can we keep our restaurant's phone number?
Yes. The number on your menus, your website and your listings stays yours. You forward it the way you would for any answering service, with no porting and nothing to install, and guests keep dialing the number they already know.
Will an AI answering service replace our hosts and counter staff?
No. It takes the calls that pull your people away from the guests in front of them: the repeat questions, the overflow in the rush and the calls after close. Your hosts keep seating, your counter keeps ringing up pickups, and the AI hands a call to a person whenever your rules ask for one.
How much does a restaurant answering service cost?
Zanus AI is priced per company, never per seat, so every host, server and manager works under one subscription, whether you run one dining room, a pizza shop with delivery or several locations. Choose the modules your restaurant needs; the plans are on the pricing page.
What is the difference between the 7-day free trial and the demo?
The free trial builds a sandbox of your own restaurant from your website and runs for 7 days, with no card: a line that answers as you, your site with Lisa on it and a dashboard. The demo needs nothing from you: a ready-made AI front office, sent to your inbox about 2 minutes after you ask.
How long before it starts answering our guests?
About 2 minutes. Forward the line, tell Lisa your services, seating, party-size limit, delivery area, private rooms and house rules, and the AI starts answering. Lisa shows you every change before it goes live, and nothing is applied until you say yes.
