Restaurant phone scripts for orders, reservations and questions

A good restaurant phone script is short. Answer with the restaurant's name and your own, ask one question, and read back anything the kitchen or the host will act on. Below are example scripts for six common calls (the greeting, a takeout order, a reservation, an hours question, a complaint and a transfer) and a drill to practise them.

These are examples we wrote for this guide. Change the words to suit your restaurant and keep the order of the steps. Print the table, tape it next to the host-stand phone, and add your own answers in the blanks.

Which scripts does the phone need?

Each call type has one line to open with, one thing to read back, and a point where staff should hand the call to a manager.

Call	Opening line (example)	Read back	Hand to a manager when
Greeting	"Thanks for calling Rosa's on Main, this is Sam. How can I help?"	Nothing yet	The caller asks for one by name
Takeout order	"Sure. What can I get started for you?"	Every item, choice and change, then the pickup time	The caller mentions a food allergy
Reservation	"Happy to help. How many people, and for which day?"	Date, time, party size, name and phone number	The party is larger than your booking limit
Hours or menu question	"We're open until 10 tonight, and the kitchen takes orders until 9:30."	Only what the caller asked	The question needs the kitchen to answer
Complaint	"I'm sorry that happened. Can I get the name on the order?"	The problem, in the guest's words	The guest asks for a refund or a remedy you cannot approve
Transfer	"I'll put you through to Dana, our catering manager."	Who the caller is about to reach and why	The transfer fails twice

What should staff say when they answer?

Name the restaurant, then yourself, then ask one question: "Thanks for calling Rosa's on Main, this is Sam. How can I help?" If you run more than one store, say which one. A guest who called the wrong location finds out before ordering.

When the line is busy, ask before you put anyone on hold, and wait for the answer: "Thanks for calling Rosa's. Can you hold for one moment?" When you come back, start with "Thanks for holding" so the guest knows a person is there.

How should staff take a takeout order by phone?

Enter the order into the POS as the guest speaks. Writing it on paper first and typing it later adds a second chance to get it wrong.

1. Start the order: "What can I get started for you?"
2. Ask each required choice as the item comes up: "Do you want the burger medium or well done?"
3. Repeat each change once: "No onions, got it."
4. Ask once for anything else: "Anything else for you?" Then wait.
5. Read back the whole order: "I have one large pepperoni, half with mushrooms, and a Caesar salad with dressing on the side."
6. Get a name and number: "Can I get a name and the best number in case we have a question?" Read the number back digit by digit.
7. Give a clock time: "That will be ready at 6:40." Take the time from the kitchen's current quote. A clock time is harder to mishear than "about 20 minutes."
8. Close: "Thanks, Maria. See you at 6:40."

If the guest mentions an allergy, say: "Let me get our manager so we can check that dish with the kitchen." Do not promise that a dish is safe. The FDA's 2026 Food Code lists milk, egg, fish (including crustacean shellfish), tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans and sesame as major food allergens, and lists describing them, and the symptoms they can cause, among the questions an inspector may ask the person in charge.

If you take cards over the phone, type them straight into the POS or payment screen and keep them off tickets and notes. Guidance from the PCI Security Standards Council (March 2011) says the card's three- or four-digit security code cannot be kept after the payment is authorized, and that includes call recordings.

What should a reservation call sound like?

Ask for party size and date first, since those decide whether you have a table. Then work through the rest.

1. "How many people, and for which day?"
2. "What time would you like?" If that time is taken, offer the two nearest open times: "I have 7:00 or 8:15. Which works better?"
3. "Can I get a name and a phone number for the booking?"
4. "Is there anything we should know, like a high chair, a birthday or an allergy?"
5. Read it back: "That's a table for four on Friday the 9th at 7:00, under Patel."
6. State your policy in the same words each time: "We hold tables for [15] minutes. If your plans change, just call us."

When the night is full, offer the nearest open time or your waitlist, and write down the guest's number before you hang up. If you plan to let software take bookings, our reservation setup guide covers the tests to run first.

How should staff answer hours and menu questions?

Answer the question, then make one offer: "We're open until 10 tonight. Would you like to place an order?" Keep a card by the phone with the answers staff get asked for most, so everyone gives the same one:

• Hours for each day, and when the kitchen stops taking orders
• Holiday hours and closures for the next month
• Parking and the entrance for pickup
• Delivery area and any minimum order
• Dishes that suit common diets, and who to ask about allergies
• Large-party and private-event rules

Update the card whenever your hours change. Our holiday hours checklist lists the other places to change them.

What do you say when a guest calls to complain?

Let the guest finish before you speak. Then apologize once, get the facts, and name the next step.

1. "I'm sorry that happened. Can I get the name on the order and the time you picked it up?"
2. Restate the problem: "So the fries were missing from the order."
3. Offer only what your policy lets you offer: "I can have a fresh order of fries ready for you in ten minutes."
4. If the guest wants more than that: "I'd like our manager, Dana, to sort this out. Can she call you back at this number by 7:30?"

Do not promise a refund until the manager has approved it. Our handoff checklist sets out what to write down for the manager and who owns the callback.

How do you transfer a call without losing the guest?

Tell the guest who they will reach and why: "I'll put you through to Dana, our catering manager. If we get cut off, you can reach her at [number]." If nobody picks up, come back to the guest and take a message with a callback time.

Where a transfer lands depends on how your phones ring. Our restaurant phone system guide explains ring groups and outage forwarding.

How do you practise the scripts?

Run this drill with two people before a shift. It takes about 15 minutes. Sit back to back so the person taking the call cannot read the caller's face.

1. Write eight call cards: a takeout order with two changes, a guest who changes one item after the readback, a reservation for a night that is full, an allergy question, an hours question on a holiday, a missing-item complaint, a caller who asks for the manager, and a second call that rings while the first is still going.
2. The caller reads a card. The other person answers with the script and enters the order or booking in the POS or reservation book.
3. After each call, check the ticket or booking against the card.
4. Score four things: the name and number were read back, every change made it onto the ticket, the pickup time was a clock time, and nothing was promised that policy does not allow.
5. Swap seats and run the other four cards.
6. Talk through the misses for two minutes. Change the script only when the same step trips up both people.

New hires can run the drill each week for their first month. Everyone else can run it when the menu or policies change.

Can an AI phone agent follow the same script?

Yes, and the drill cards make a good test for one. Maple Voice answers hours and FAQ questions and transfers calls, for $150 a month billed monthly or $85 a month billed annually. Pro, at $350 a month billed monthly or $220 a month billed annually, adds phone orders into the POS, reservations, payment over the phone and order confirmation texts. Call it with the same eight cards, compare each ticket with the card, and agree which calls go to staff. The product page lists the tests to run before you connect your live number.

Published by Maple. This AI-assisted guide combines the FDA Food Code's allergen provisions and PCI Security Standards Council guidance with original example scripts and a practice drill. The scripts are our own examples. The guide does not quote any restaurant's script or report a Maple test.