Free Chatbot for Restaurant Website — Menu, Hours & Table Booking FAQs

Why restaurant websites lose customers after 9 PM

Someone opens your restaurant site at 10:30 PM. They want to know:

• Are you open now?
• Do you deliver to this locality?
• Is thali still available?
• What is the price of paneer butter masala?

If the only answer is a static menu PDF and a phone that nobody picks up, the customer orders from your competitor.

A free chatbot for restaurant website fixes this. With ApnaAI, your site answers these questions automatically — day and night.

What restaurant chatbots should answer

Keep the bot focused on high-repeat questions:

1. Opening and closing time (weekdays vs weekends)
2. Dine-in, takeaway, and delivery options
3. Delivery radius / Zomato / Swiggy / own delivery notes
4. Popular dishes and today's specials
5. Price range and veg / non-veg options
6. Parking, seating capacity, party booking process
7. Location + Google Maps pin
8. Payment methods (UPI, cards, cash)
9. Hygiene / FSSAI note if you want trust signals
10. How to book a table (call / WhatsApp)

Setup ApnaAI for your restaurant (5 minutes)

1. Go to https://apnaai.online and login
2. Enter restaurant name + support email
3. Paste the knowledge base template below
4. Copy the embed script
5. Paste before </body> on your WordPress, HTML, or restaurant site builder
6. Test from a phone in incognito mode

Full general steps: How to add a free AI chatbot to your website.

Restaurant knowledge base template (copy-paste)

Restaurant name:
Type: (veg cafe / multi-cuisine / bakery / cloud kitchen)
City / locality:
Full address:
Google Maps link:
Phone / WhatsApp for orders:
Phone for table booking:

Hours:
Mon–Fri:
Sat–Sun:
Kitchen last order time:

Services: dine-in / takeaway / delivery (yes/no for each)
Delivery areas:
Minimum order for delivery:
Approx delivery time:
Own delivery or Swiggy/Zomato only:

Signature dishes + prices:
1)
2)
3)

Sample full menu categories:
Starters:
Mains:
Breads / rice:
Desserts:
Beverages:

Avg cost for two:
Party / banquet booking rules:
Parking available?:
Alcohol served?:
Special notes (Jain options, anniversary cake, outdoor seating):

FAQs:
Q: Do you take advance booking?
A:
Q: Is home delivery available after 11 PM?
A:
Q: Do you have Jain / vegan options?
A:

Example conversation your visitors should get

Visitor: "Are you open now? I want two butter chicken and naan."

Bot: Shares hours, confirms dine-in/delivery, shows butter chicken price if you listed it, and shares WhatsApp number to place the order.

That single answer can save a lost dinner ticket.

WordPress restaurant sites and QR menus

Many cafes use WordPress plus a QR menu. Add ApnaAI site-wide so the chatbot appears on home, menu, and contact pages. On table QR pages, the bot can still answer hours and allergy notes while the printable menu handles dish photos.

Tips that improve restaurant answers

• List exact closing time — "closes 11 PM" is better than "open late"
• Separate festive menu when it differs
• Mention if Sunday brunch is pre-booking only
• Write prices with ₹ and GST inclusion note if needed
• Update monsoon delivery delays in one line during rains

Where this helps the most in India

• Family restaurants in Tier-2 cities with a brochure website
• Bakeries taking WhatsApp cake orders
• Cloud kitchens with a landing page
• Hotel restaurants needing banquet enquiries handled overnight
• Cafes near colleges where students ask hours endlessly

Menu engineering for the chatbot (practical tips)

You do not need to paste your full 80-item menu if that overwhelms the bot. Start with:

1. Top 15 sellers with prices
2. Combo meals / thali options
3. Today's special (update daily if needed)
4. Allergy / Jain / eggless notes that matter to your audience

For large menus, also write: "Full menu is on the Menu page. Chat for timing, delivery, and popular dishes."

Peak-hour playbook

During Friday dinner rush, phones miss calls. Your website chatbot should clearly say:

• Current kitchen load note if delayed ("Delivery may take 50–60 mins tonight")
• Whether dine-in waiting time is long
• WhatsApp number for quick order confirmation

Update that one line from your phone when you are slammed — then remove it after rush.

Multi-outlet chains

If you have two branches, label answers:

Branch Koregaon Park — open till 12 AM, delivery 3 km
Branch Baner — open till 11 PM, no delivery after 10:30

Ask customers which branch when needed. Wrong branch hours frustrate guests quickly.

Festival and monsoon updates

Indian restaurants change service during Navratri, Diwali, Ramzan, and heavy rains. Put a dated note at the top of the knowledge base during those weeks, then delete it after. Old festival lines create wrong answers later.

Pair the bot with Google Business Profile

In your Google Business description or posts, mention: "Ask menu & timings on our website chat." That routes Profile browsers into a channel you control — your site with ApnaAI.

CTA — put a free restaurant chatbot live today

Customers already compare 3–4 restaurants before ordering. Your site should talk back.

Get a free chatbot for your restaurant website at ApnaAI — start free, paste your menu notes, embed the script, and let the bot handle the night shift.

Training kitchen staff to trust the bot

Tell your captains and cashiers: the website bot is not replacing tips or hospitality — it only answers repeat info so phones are free for complex orders. When a guest says "your website said delivery takes 40 minutes," honour that answer or update the knowledge base immediately. Consistency builds five-star reviews.

Cloud kitchen special case

If you have no dine-in hall, make that the first line in the knowledge base. Many users still ask for table booking. A clear "delivery and takeaway only" answer saves awkward conversations.

Also list packaging notes (microwave-safe, party bulk trays) because cloud-kitchen customers buy for offices and parties.

Combos and festival thalis

Publish limited-time thali contents and end dates. Delete after the festival. Screenshot your knowledge base weekly so you remember what was live during complaints.

Analytics without a fancy dashboard

Ask your team every Sunday: "What did WhatsApp ask that the website bot could have answered?" Add those lines. In four weeks you will have a living FAQ better than most restaurant sites in your city.