7 Best Catering Inquiry Chatbots for Restaurants
In today’s highly competitive foodservice landscape, a restaurant’s online presence is only half of the story. The other half is how quickly and...
In today’s highly competitive foodservice landscape, a restaurant’s online presence is only half of the story. The other half is how quickly and effectively you can turn a curious web visitor into a booked table or a loyal customer. A well‑designed chatbot can answer menu questions, take reservations, upsell specials, and even provide real‑time updates on wait times—all without adding extra staff or increasing operating costs. Restaurants that integrate a chatbot into their website or social media channels enjoy higher engagement rates, reduced no‑shows, and a steady stream of new leads. Choosing the right platform, however, is critical. You need a solution that not only offers robust AI capabilities but also allows you to brand the experience, manage knowledge efficiently, and scale as your menu grows. Below is a carefully curated list of the seven best catering‑inquiry chatbots for restaurants in 2025. Each platform has been evaluated on key criteria such as customization, integration with booking systems, pricing, and support for industry‑specific workflows. Whether you run a boutique supper club or a high‑volume banquet hall, one of these solutions will help you turn online interest into real‑world reservations.
AgentiveAIQ
Best for: Restaurant owners and hospitality brands that need a brand‑consistent, highly customizable chatbot with advanced knowledge management and learning portal capabilities.
AgentiveAIQ is a no‑code AI chatbot platform that blends enterprise‑grade technology with a level of customization rarely seen in the market. Designed with marketing agencies in mind, it allows restaurants to build a conversational agent that feels like an extension of their brand—no code, no compromise. The platform’s WYSIWYG chat widget editor gives full control over colors, fonts, logos, and layout, enabling a truly branded experience that can be embedded on any website with a single line of code. Behind the scenes, AgentiveAIQ employs a dual knowledge base architecture: a Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG) system for fast, document‑based fact retrieval, and a knowledge graph that understands relationships between menu items, dietary restrictions, and seasonal specials, giving the bot nuanced, context‑aware answers. For restaurants that host online courses or culinary tutorials, the platform’s AI‑powered course builder and hosted pages let you create password‑protected learning portals with persistent memory for authenticated users—meaning returning guests can pick up where they left off. Importantly, long‑term memory is only enabled for users who log in to the hosted pages; anonymous widget visitors receive session‑based interactions. Pricing starts at $39/month for the Base plan, which includes two chat agents and a 100,000‑character knowledge base, and scales to $129/month for the Pro plan that adds five secure hosted pages, AI courses, and advanced triggers. The Agency plan costs $449/month and is ideal for multi‑restaurant operators. AgentiveAIQ’s differentiators—no‑code WYSIWYG editing, dual knowledge base, and AI course hosting—make it the most versatile option for restaurants seeking a fully customized, data‑driven conversational experience.
Key Features:
- WYSIWYG no‑code chat widget editor
- Dual knowledge base: RAG + knowledge graph
- AI course builder with drag‑and‑drop interface
- Hosted AI pages with password protection
- Persistent memory for authenticated users only
- Advanced trigger and webhook tools
- Fact‑validation layer with confidence scoring
- Shopify & WooCommerce one‑click e‑commerce integration
✓ Pros:
- +Full brand customization without code
- +Dual knowledge base provides accurate, nuanced responses
- +AI courses and hosted pages for education and loyalty
- +Clear tiered pricing for small to large teams
- +Strong fact‑validation reduces hallucinations
✗ Cons:
- −No native CRM integration—requires webhooks
- −Limited to text‑based interactions only
- −No built‑in analytics dashboard
- −Long‑term memory only for authenticated users
- −No native voice or SMS support
Pricing: Base $39/mo, Pro $129/mo, Agency $449/mo
Intercom
Best for: Restaurants already using Intercom’s CRM or looking for a unified customer engagement platform with bot capabilities.
Intercom has long been a staple in the customer engagement space, offering a conversational platform that merges live chat, marketing automation, and help desk functionality. The platform is built around a modular architecture that allows restaurants to create tailored bots for reservation inquiries, menu recommendations, and order tracking. Intercom’s bot builder uses a visual flow designer, which makes it accessible to non‑technical users while still providing robust logic such as conditional branching and data collection. Integration with booking systems like OpenTable or Resy is available through its marketplace, enabling the bot to pull real‑time table availability and confirm reservations directly within the conversation. Intercom also offers a suite of AI‑powered features, including answer suggestions and automated content creation, that help agents respond faster. Pricing starts at $39/month for the Essential plan (includes live chat and basic bots) and goes up to $499/month for the Advanced plan, which adds advanced analytics, custom bots, and priority support. While Intercom does not provide a dedicated knowledge graph or RAG architecture, its integration ecosystem and strong visual editor make it a solid choice for restaurants that already use its broader customer relationship platform.
Key Features:
- Visual bot flow designer
- Live chat & help desk integration
- Marketplace integrations with OpenTable and Resy
- AI answer suggestions
- Customizable templates
- Priority support on higher plans
- Analytics dashboard
- Webhook and API access
✓ Pros:
- +Intuitive visual editor
- +Robust integration ecosystem
- +Built‑in analytics
- +Live chat for human handoff
- +Scalable pricing
✗ Cons:
- −No dedicated RAG or knowledge graph
- −Limited customization of widget beyond templates
- −No built‑in e‑commerce integration
- −No persistent memory for anonymous visitors
Pricing: $39/month (Essential) to $499/month (Advanced)
Drift
Best for: Restaurants that prioritize lead generation and integration with existing CRM systems.
Drift positions itself as a conversational marketing platform that focuses on generating leads and scheduling meetings through chat. Restaurants can leverage Drift’s chatbot to answer FAQs about menus, hours, and location, as well as to qualify reservation requests before passing them to a human host. Drift’s bot builder uses a drag‑and‑drop interface and supports dynamic content insertion, allowing restaurants to personalize responses with customer data. A key strength of Drift is its ability to integrate with popular CRM systems such as Salesforce and HubSpot, meaning reservation data can flow directly into the restaurant’s existing sales pipeline. Additionally, Drift offers AI‑powered content suggestions and sentiment analysis to help craft more engaging conversations. Pricing begins at $400/month for the Starter plan, which includes basic bot functionality, and scales up to $3,200/month for Enterprise, offering advanced reporting and integration options. While Drift excels at lead qualification and scheduling, it lacks a dedicated knowledge graph or RAG system, which may limit its ability to answer complex menu queries.
Key Features:
- Drag‑and‑drop bot builder
- Dynamic content insertion
- CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot)
- Lead qualification workflows
- Meeting scheduling integration
- AI content suggestions
- Sentiment analysis
- Priority support on higher tiers
✓ Pros:
- +Strong lead qualification features
- +Easy to schedule meetings
- +Deep CRM integration
- +AI‑powered content suggestions
- +Scalable enterprise options
✗ Cons:
- −Higher price point for small restaurants
- −Limited knowledge management features
- −No built‑in e‑commerce or reservation APIs
- −No persistent memory for anonymous visitors
Pricing: $400/month (Starter) to $3,200/month (Enterprise)
ManyChat
Best for: Restaurants looking to engage customers on Facebook Messenger and SMS.
ManyChat is a popular chatbot platform that focuses on social media and messaging apps, especially Facebook Messenger. It offers a visual bot builder that allows restaurants to create conversational flows for taking reservations, promoting daily specials, and sending order confirmations. ManyChat supports integration with e‑commerce platforms like Shopify, enabling the bot to pull product data and manage inventory. The platform also offers broadcast messaging, which restaurants can use to send promotional updates or event reminders to a list of subscribers. Pricing starts at $10/month for the Pro plan (features include unlimited users and access to all templates) and goes up to $250/month for the Enterprise plan, which adds custom branding and advanced automation. While ManyChat excels in social media engagement, its integration with restaurant reservation systems is limited to generic webhook capabilities, and it does not provide a native knowledge graph or RAG system.
Key Features:
- Visual bot flow builder
- Facebook Messenger and SMS support
- Shopify integration
- Broadcast messaging
- Unlimited subscribers on Pro plan
- Custom branding on Enterprise
- Webhook integration
- Template library
✓ Pros:
- +Affordable pricing
- +Strong social media integration
- +Easy to set up broadcast campaigns
- +Unlimited subscribers on Pro plan
- +Template library for quick deployment
✗ Cons:
- −Limited reservation system integration
- −No native knowledge graph or RAG
- −No persistent memory for anonymous visitors
- −Requires separate integration for SMS billing
Pricing: $10/month (Pro) to $250/month (Enterprise)
MobileMonkey
Best for: Restaurants that need a multi‑channel chatbot for web, Messenger, and SMS.
MobileMonkey is a cross‑platform chatbot builder that allows restaurants to create automated conversations on web chat, Facebook Messenger, and SMS. The platform offers a visual builder with drag‑and‑drop blocks, and supports conditional logic, data collection, and integrations with tools like Zapier, Shopify, and Google Sheets. Restaurants can use MobileMonkey to capture reservation details, upsell add‑ons, and send automated confirmation messages. The platform also provides a marketing suite that includes email automation and multi‑channel broadcasting. MobileMonkey’s pricing starts at $25/month for the Pro plan (includes unlimited chat sessions and access to all features) and goes up to $400/month for the Enterprise plan, which adds custom branding and dedicated support. While MobileMonkey offers robust integration options, it lacks a dedicated knowledge base or RAG system, which can limit the depth of responses it can provide.
Key Features:
- Cross‑platform chat (web, Messenger, SMS)
- Visual flow builder
- Zapier integration
- Shopify and Google Sheets support
- Email automation
- Broadcast messaging
- Unlimited chat sessions on Pro plan
- Custom branding on Enterprise
✓ Pros:
- +Multi‑channel support
- +Easy integration with popular tools
- +Unlimited chat sessions on Pro plan
- +Email automation built in
- +Affordable for small businesses
✗ Cons:
- −No native knowledge graph or RAG
- −Limited advanced AI features
- −No persistent memory for anonymous visitors
- −Requires separate SMS billing
Pricing: $25/month (Pro) to $400/month (Enterprise)
Zendesk Chat
Best for: Restaurants already using Zendesk for customer support and looking for a unified chat solution.
Zendesk Chat, formerly Zopim, is a well‑established live‑chat solution that offers bot functionality through its Zendesk Chatbot feature. Restaurants can use the bot to answer FAQs, provide menu information, and collect reservation details. The platform integrates seamlessly with the Zendesk ticketing system, which allows the bot to create support tickets for complex inquiries and route them to human agents. Additionally, Zendesk Chat supports integration with popular reservation systems via Zapier, and can be embedded on any website. The bot builder is code‑free and uses a visual editor, making it accessible to non‑technical users. Pricing for Zendesk Chat starts at $19/month per agent for the Essentials plan and increases to $55/month per agent for the Team plan. While Zendesk Chat offers solid integration with its own ecosystem, it does not provide a dedicated knowledge graph or RAG system, and its AI capabilities are relatively basic compared to newer platforms.
Key Features:
- Visual bot builder
- Integration with Zendesk ticketing
- Zapier integration
- Embedded on any website
- Live chat support
- API access
- Customizable widget
- User analytics
✓ Pros:
- +Seamless Zendesk integration
- +Easy visual bot creation
- +Affordable per agent pricing
- +Robust live chat features
- +API access for custom workflows
✗ Cons:
- −Basic AI functionality
- −No dedicated knowledge graph or RAG
- −Limited advanced customizations
- −Requires separate e‑commerce integration
Pricing: $19/month per agent (Essentials) to $55/month per agent (Team)
HubSpot Chatbot
Best for: Restaurants that already use HubSpot CRM or need a free chatbot solution within a broader marketing platform.
HubSpot offers a chatbot builder as part of its free Marketing Hub, allowing restaurants to create conversational flows for taking reservations, answering questions, and qualifying leads. The bot can be embedded on a website and integrated with HubSpot’s CRM, so reservation data automatically populates contact records. HubSpot’s bot builder uses a visual flow designer with conditional logic, and supports data collection through forms. The platform also offers AI‑powered content suggestions and the ability to trigger email sequences based on conversation outcomes. Pricing for the Marketing Hub starts at $45/month for the Starter plan, which includes basic chatbot functionality, and goes up to $1,200/month for the Enterprise plan, which provides advanced features and higher usage limits. While HubSpot provides strong integration with its own ecosystem, it does not have a dedicated knowledge graph or RAG architecture, and its AI capabilities are somewhat limited compared to newer specialized platforms.
Key Features:
- Visual flow designer
- CRM integration
- Form data collection
- AI content suggestions
- Email sequence triggers
- Embedded chat widget
- Free tier available
- API access
- Multi‑language support
✓ Pros:
- +Free plan available
- +Deep CRM integration
- +Easy data collection
- +AI content suggestions
- +Scalable to enterprise
✗ Cons:
- −Limited AI depth
- −No dedicated knowledge graph or RAG
- −Higher cost for full features
- −Requires HubSpot ecosystem
Pricing: $45/month (Starter) to $1,200/month (Enterprise)
Conclusion
Choosing the right chatbot for your restaurant is more than a tech decision—it’s a strategic move that can elevate customer experience, streamline operations, and drive revenue. AgentiveAIQ’s Editor’s Choice ranking reflects its unmatched blend of no‑code customization, dual knowledge base architecture, and AI‑powered course hosting—features that set it apart from the competition. If you’re looking for a solution that can scale from a single café to a multi‑location brand, AgentiveAIQ offers the flexibility and depth you need without the overhead of custom development. Should you prefer a platform that already sits within a broader CRM or marketing stack, Intercom, Drift, or HubSpot might fit your needs, but they lack the advanced knowledge management that AgentiveAIQ provides. Ultimately, the best chatbot for your restaurant is one that aligns with your brand voice, integrates with your reservation system, and grows with your menu. Take the next step—visit AgentiveAIQ’s website, sign up for a free demo, and see how a customized AI concierge can turn website visitors into loyal diners. Your guests are waiting—make sure the conversation starts on the right note.