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AI receptionist for restaurants
For restaurants where the phone rings hardest while every table is full.
It is 7:15 on a Friday, the host is seating a six-top, and the phone has rung four times. Tactly answers each one, so the person at the stand can look up at the guests in front of them.
- TactlyThanks for calling Hearth and Vine Kitchen. I'm the virtual assistant, and this call may be recorded. How can I help?
- CallerHi, it's Marisol. I'm planning a retirement dinner for about eighteen people next month.
- TactlyCongratulations to them. The back room seats up to twenty-four. What date did you have in mind?
- CallerSaturday the 14th, around seven.
- TactlyI'll pass that to our events manager with your details so they can follow up about menus and pricing.
- Message for the office: Private dinner, 18 guests, Sat 14th, 7:00 pm, Marisol
Can an AI receptionist work for restaurants?
Tactly is an AI receptionist for restaurants. It answers in your restaurant's name, gives hours, directions, parking and menu details from your notes, and handles large-party and private event inquiries by taking a message or booking into your booking calendar if you use one. During service it can transfer a caller to the host stand or kitchen. It does not take food orders or payments, and it emails you a summary of every call.
The problem
Missed calls are missed work.
Most restaurant calls are simple: are you open, do you have parking, can we bring a cake. They still pull a host or server off the floor at the busiest moment, and a phone left ringing tells a caller the room is too busy to care.
The calls that matter most hide in that noise. A company dinner for twenty or a rehearsal party is a big night of sales, and the person planning it often calls once. If nobody picks up, they book the place down the street.
Calls it handles
The calls restaurants get every day.
Are you open tonight?
Hours, holiday closures, kitchen close time and the last seating. Tactly answers from your notes the same way on every call.
Menu and dietary questions
It shares what your notes say about dishes and allergens, then tells anyone with an allergy to confirm with staff when they arrive.
Parties and private events
It takes the date, head count and occasion for your events lead, or books a walkthrough if you keep times on your calendar.
Questions about an order
Tactly cannot see orders. During service it transfers the caller to the kitchen or front of house; after close it takes a message.
Setup tips
What to put in your notes.
Tactly answers only from what you tell it. These are the lines that matter most for restaurants.
- Write your hours by day, including when the kitchen stops taking new tables, and update it before holidays.
- Add your private room capacity and who handles events, then set that person up as a named transfer number.
- Paste allergen notes only as your kitchen states them, and keep the line telling callers to confirm allergies with staff.
Plans for restaurants
Starter
$49/mo
For a solo owner who mostly needs the missed calls covered.
- 100 AI-answered minutes a month
- Then $0.35 a minute
- Every feature included
- Most popular
Pro
$99/mo
For a busy shop that wants nights, weekends and lunch rushes handled.
- 250 AI-answered minutes a month
- Then $0.29 a minute
- Every feature included
Growth
$199/mo
For a team that sends a large share of its calls to the receptionist.
- 600 AI-answered minutes a month
- Then $0.25 a minute
- Every feature included
Specialties
More specific pages for restaurants.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Can Tactly take a takeout order over the phone?
No. It does not take orders or payments. If you have an online ordering page, write where to find it in your notes and Tactly can point callers there.
Does it connect to my reservation system?
No. Tactly is not connected to outside reservation or POS software. It can book into its own booking calendar if you use one, or take a message for your host.
Can it answer only when the host stand is busy?
Yes. Choose the mode where your phone rings first for the number of seconds you pick, and Tactly answers only the calls nobody reaches.
Can it answer callers in Spanish?
Yes. It greets in English, offers Spanish, and switches when the caller does. Your call summaries still arrive in English.
Restaurants, food and drink
Related industries
Stop sending callers to voicemail.
Set up your receptionist, make a free test call from your own phone, and switch it on when it sounds right.