Solutions by industry · Restaurants, cafés and catering

A WhatsApp bot for restaurants and catering

A WhatsApp bot for a restaurant answers the daily repeats 24/7 — hours, menu, kashrut, vegan and gluten-free, parking, delivery areas — from the information and menu you uploaded, and collects event and catering enquiries for your team. Ariko does not manage tables or take orders or payment: it points to your own link for those.

Updated: 27 October 2026

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What diners write — and what the bot does with it

"Are you open Saturday night? When does the kitchen close?": Opening hours, kitchen hours, special days and holidays — whatever is in your business settings, the bot answers. When hours change for a holiday, you update them once.
"Any vegan dishes? What is gluten-free?": Upload your menu as a PDF or Word file, or approve the bot to read the menu page on your website, and it answers from it — prices included, if they are on the menu.
"I'd like to book an event for 40 people": The bot asks what you put in the rules — date, number of guests, budget, kashrut — and the enquiry is saved on the leads board for your team. If you hold a tasting or a planning call, the bot can book it in Google Calendar.
"A table for four tonight at eight?": Ariko does not manage this: its calendar booking is one appointment per slot, not seats. If you have a reservation system, put its link in the restaurant's information and the bot sends it; if not, it passes the request to your team.
"Are there nuts in this dish? I'm allergic": An allergy question is not one for a bot that guesses. You write a rule that sends every allergen question to a member of your team, and check in the test chat that it does.

What it looks like in a chat

An illustration: a fictional restaurant, not a real customer. Its menu marks vegan dishes, and it has a table-booking link.

Hi, do you have vegan options? And can I book a table for Friday lunch?

Hi! Yes — three vegan mains, marked on the menu, and a dessert. Tables are booked here: the reservations link. On Friday we're open from twelve to four.

Great. Do you also do catering for a bar mitzvah?

We do! Roughly how many guests, and on what date? I'll pass it to the events team and they'll get back to you with a quote.

Worth knowing first

Not a reservation system. Ariko does not manage tables, take delivery orders or collect payment. It answers, points to your links and collects enquiries.
It answers only from what is written. A dish that is not on the menu you uploaded, the bot will not invent. When the menu changes, upload the new one.
On your website too. On paid plans the same bot also answers in the restaurant's website chat. A chatbot for your website.
Hebrew and English. Ariko answers in Hebrew or English, and can be set to reply in the language the customer wrote in — useful for a restaurant with tourists.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a WhatsApp bot for a restaurant cost?

You build the bot and talk to it in the test chat on the Free plan, $0 — No WhatsApp connection. WhatsApp and website chat open on paid plans: Start $99 a month (1,000 messages, up to 2 users), Plus $149, Pro $199 and Max $399. Prices exclude VAT and are charged in shekels, and Meta's message charges are included. Full details on pricing.

Can the bot take table reservations?

Not directly. Ariko's calendar books one appointment per slot, so it does not suit managing tables. If you have a reservation system, the bot sends its link; if not, it passes the request to your team.

How does the bot know what is on the menu?

From what you give it: what you write in the business settings, files you upload (PDF, Excel, CSV, Word or text, up to 20MB), and pages and products from your website — none of which is used until you approve it. It does not guess what is not there.

What happens when a diner wants to talk to someone?

When a customer asks for a person, the bot stops answering in that chat and you get a notification. When the bot does not know something, it says a member of the team can answer and offers to pass it on; when the customer agrees, the question reaches you. And you can take over any chat from the inbox at any moment and hand it back when you are done.

Can I keep the restaurant's WhatsApp number?

Yes, if the number is on the WhatsApp Business app. On a paid plan you connect it from the dashboard — log in with the Facebook account that manages the business and scan a QR code — and the app on your phone keeps working as before.

Does the bot understand voice messages?

Yes. Ariko understands voice messages and images, and when someone sends several messages in a row it waits a few seconds and answers them together.

Try it on your restaurant

Upload your menu and ask the bot what a diner would ask. Free, no credit card.

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