AI phone assistant for restaurants
Takes reservations, answers menu and allergen questions and handles group bookings. Even in the middle of service, when nobody on your team can pick up.
From €149 a month excl. VAT · Keep your own number · Live within an hour · Cancel any month
Hear it for yourself: call our AI receptionist on +31 970 102 257 34
“Heyloha really helped us focus where it matters: on the event itself. Our AI colleague Sterre answered the practical questions flawlessly, even when visitors made plans at 10 PM. That saves us a lot of time and keeps guests happy.”
Common challenges for restaurants
- Phone rings during service
- In the middle of a busy dinner service the phone rings. Your team has no time to answer and every missed call is a lost reservation.
- Repetitive menu questions
- Callers ask daily about allergen information, the weekly menu and vegetarian options. This costs your team valuable time.
- Group bookings are time-consuming
- Arranging large groups by phone with special requests, menu choices and timing takes multiple calls.
How Heyloha solves this
- Reservations by phone
- The assistant takes bookings and puts them in your inbox or, through an integration, in your booking system. With an Outlook calendar it checks availability straight away.
- Menu and allergen info
- The assistant answers questions about the menu, allergens and dietary needs based on your menu and allergen chart.
- Handle group bookings
- The voice agent collects all requirements for large groups, from menu choices to seating, and sends an overview to your team.
Key features
Bookings 24/7
Guests book by phone, even after closing time.
Multilingual
Serve international guests in their own language.
Calendar or booking system
Booked straight into an Outlook calendar. We connect your booking system on request.
Call transcripts
Every call is available as a transcript in your dashboard.
How an AI phone assistant works in your restaurant
Updated 17 September 2026
Why the phone is the most expensive moment of service
The phone rings exactly when it is busy: just before service, during the first courses, at six on a Friday. Whoever answers is not on the floor. Whoever does not answer loses a booking, because a guest who gets no reply usually calls the next restaurant.
An AI phone assistant removes that trade-off. It takes every call, even three at once, and your team stays with the guests already at the table.
What the assistant handles for you
Reservations: date, time, party size, name and phone number, plus the details that matter on the floor, such as a high chair, a birthday or a dietary need.
Questions: opening hours, parking, directions, this week's menu, vegetarian and vegan options, a terrace or a private room. Answers come from your own website and documents, so the assistant says what is true for you rather than what a general model assumes.
Changes and cancellations: the guest says what changes, the assistant records it and your team sees it straight away in the inbox.
Group bookings: the assistant collects numbers, date, menu wishes and budget and sends your team one complete overview, so a single call back is enough.
Reservations in the system you already use
If you plan in a Microsoft Outlook calendar, the assistant checks free times during the call and books straight into it through the calendar integration.
If you use a reservation system, every booking travels through Zapier, Make or n8n, or a webhook, to any system that connects to them. For most other systems, such as Formitable, Zenchef or Guestplan, we build a direct integration on request. See all integrations.
Allergens: what the assistant does and does not do
The assistant answers allergen questions from what you provide, such as your allergen chart. The more complete that chart, the better the answer.
A serious allergy needs a person in the loop. Set the assistant to record those questions and pass them to your team rather than close them itself, so the kitchen stays responsible for what goes on the plate.
Only when it is busy, or always
Many restaurants let the assistant take every call. If you want to keep answering yourself when it is quiet, ask your phone provider to forward your number to the assistant when there is no answer or the line is busy. After closing it takes everything, so that evening's bookings are waiting the next morning.
Every call is transcribed and can be read back in your dashboard. Calls are not recorded, only transcribed, and the data is stored on servers in the EU.
International guests in their own language
The assistant recognises the caller's language and answers in it straight away, in more than 50 languages, with a choice of ten voices. A German tourist wanting a table tonight does not need to switch to English, and your team does not need to speak languages to win that booking.
What it delivers in practice
Across hospitality and events we see the same pattern: a handful of questions keep coming back and eat the team's time. Mojo Concerts used Heyloha around the De Grote Schijn festival and gained 32 hours, with 70% fewer repeat questions. Read more in the customer stories.
The biggest effect is usually not during the day, but in the hours when nobody answers now: during service and after closing.
What it costs and how to start
Heyloha starts at €149 a month. One credit equals one call minute or one chat conversation, and phone, chat, WhatsApp and email sit in the same plan. One phone number is included and you can cancel monthly. See the pricing page for the plans.
A worked example for busy venues: if you get around 20 calls of a minute and a half every evening, that's roughly 900 call minutes a month. Heyloha 1,000 covers that, at €339 a month excl. VAT.
Want to hear it first? Call our demo line on +31 970 102 257 34. Or try it free for 14 days in your own restaurant.
24/7
every call answered, even at night
50+
languages supported
1 hour
to go live
Frequently asked questions about AI phone assistants for restaurants
Can an AI phone assistant take reservations?
Yes. It asks for date, time, party size, name and phone number, plus wishes such as a high chair or dietary need. With an Outlook calendar it checks free times directly; otherwise it passes the booking to your team or your reservation system.
Does it work with my reservation system?
Through Zapier, Make, n8n and webhooks a booking reaches any system that connects to them. For most other systems, such as Formitable, Zenchef or Guestplan, we build a direct integration on request. Discuss yours in a demo.
Can the assistant answer only when it is busy?
Yes. Ask your phone provider to forward your number to the assistant when there is no answer or the line is busy. You answer yourself when it is quiet, and the assistant catches the calls you would miss during service and after closing.
Can the assistant change or cancel a booking?
The assistant takes changes and cancellations and records them so your team sees them straight away. With an Outlook calendar or a direct integration it updates the booking itself; otherwise your team processes the change from the inbox.
Can the assistant give allergen information?
Yes, based on the allergen chart you provide. For serious allergies we recommend passing the question to your team, so the kitchen makes the final call on what the guest can safely eat.
Does a guest know they are talking to AI?
Yes, and since 2 August 2026 it is required. The EU AI Act obliges you to make clear, at the latest at first contact, that the caller is speaking to artificial intelligence. Heyloha's default greeting therefore introduces the assistant as your restaurant's digital assistant.
What does the assistant sound like?
Natural and in real time, with a choice of ten voices. Hear it yourself: call our demo line on +31 970 102 257 34 and ask a question, exactly as a guest would.
What if a guest wants to speak to a person?
The assistant transfers the call to a colleague. With a warm transfer, it first tells your colleague who is calling and what it's about. If nobody answers, it records the request so your team can call back.
What does an AI phone assistant cost for a restaurant?
Heyloha starts at €149 a month, where one credit equals one call minute or one chat conversation. One phone number is included, every channel sits in the same plan and you can cancel monthly. You try it free for 14 days first.
Does it work for several restaurants?
Yes. One assistant can serve several locations. Heyloha 250 includes one phone number and Heyloha 500 and up include two; each extra number costs €9 a month excl. VAT. We'll go through how to set up extra numbers or locations in a demo.