Restaurant phone lines, VoIP and hardware: what to buy

A restaurant phone system has three jobs: take a second call without a busy signal, ring where someone can answer (the host stand, the counter or the office), and keep working when the internet or power drops. A cloud VoIP service handles the first two for a monthly fee per user. A traditional line still makes sense where the internet is weak, or as a backup.

This guide covers the line, the handsets and the backup plan. If you want software to answer calls for you, start with our shortlist of AI phone answering services. The two go together: an answering service still needs a staffed line to transfer callers to.

Should a restaurant use a landline or VoIP?

A traditional line runs over the phone company's network. A VoIP line runs over your internet connection, and you manage users, ring order and forwarding in the provider's web portal. The main difference is what stops calls and who can fix it.

Question	Traditional line	Cloud VoIP
Needs your internet?	No	Yes, for every call
Ringing several phones	Depends on the carrier's features	Set a ring group or queue in the portal
What stops calls	Line faults and, once batteries run down, power cuts	Internet outages and power cuts
How you pay	Per line, from the carrier	Per user per month, plus taxes and fees

Both kinds have a fallback. On AT&T Phone for Business, Safe Call Forwarding sends calls to another number during a network outage, or during a power outage once battery backup runs out.

How many lines and numbers does a restaurant need?

Count the most calls that arrive at the same moment on your busiest night. A number is what guests dial; a line (a call path on VoIP) carries one conversation. Ask each provider how many calls the main number takes at once and what the next caller hears.

Then decide where calls ring. Ooma's ring group guide describes three patterns: simultaneous (every phone rings), sequential (one at a time, in the order you set) and hybrid (up to five subgroups, each ringing together before the call moves on). It also explains that a hunt group, which rings analog phones through an adapter until it finds an open line, works differently.

For a restaurant, sequential ringing suits a host who answers first with a manager as backup. Simultaneous ringing suits a counter where whoever is free picks up. Give catering or a second store its own number only when staff need to tell the calls apart (see our multi-location routing guide).

What do VoIP plans cost?

VoIP providers charge per user per month, and the printed price depends on billing term and team size. Three examples from the providers' own pricing pages:

• Ooma Office: Essentials $19.95, Pro $24.95 and Pro Plus $29.95 per user per month, with no contract, on Ooma's plans page. Pro Plus adds call queuing.
• Nextiva: Core is $15 per user per month billed annually, or $23 billed monthly, on Nextiva's pricing page. The annual price needs a paid term of 12 months or longer.
• RingCentral RingEX: Core is $20 and Advanced $25 per user per month, paid annually, for 1 to 5 users, on RingCentral's pricing page. It lists taxes and fees that may apply on top, including an E911 service fee, and offers phone rental only with a multi-year contract.

A worked example with labeled assumptions: a restaurant puts one user on the host-stand phone, one in the office and one on a cordless handset by the pass. At Ooma Pro's printed $24.95 per user, three users cost $74.85 a month before taxes, fees and handsets. It is not a quote, and the three providers' plans include different features.

Ask every provider whether a shared host-stand handset counts as a user, since each one adds to the bill.

Which handsets and headsets work in a restaurant?

Put a handset where the calls get answered and choose the type by how far that person moves.

• Desk phone in the office: for the manager who takes supplier, catering and staff calls.
• Cordless handset at the host stand or counter: so the host can walk to the door or seat a party mid-call. Check the range from the base to the far corner of the dining room before buying several.
• Headset at the host stand: keeps both hands free for the reservation book or the POS. Try it in a full, loud room.
• Mobile app for the owner: answers business calls on a cell phone when nobody is on site. Ooma lists its mobile app on the Essentials plan.

How much internet does VoIP need?

RingCentral's bandwidth planning guide budgets 0.1 Mbps for each voice endpoint, enough to cover signaling and every codec it may use. Its formula multiplies the number of phones, plus room to grow, by the share in use at once. Four phones all in use come to 0.4 Mbps.

That is small, but the POS, ordering tablets and guest Wi-Fi share the same connection. Ask the installer to keep phones off the guest Wi-Fi network or to give voice traffic priority. Run the provider's network test during the dinner rush, when the connection is busiest.

What happens when the internet or power goes out?

Pick a fallback before you buy.

• Forward on outage: in Ooma Office, an admin can tick "When all devices are offline, send calls to Forwarding number," per Ooma's instructions. The owner's cell is a common choice.
• Backup internet: with Ooma Connect set up as an LTE backup, Ooma says calls in progress drop unless Continuous Voice is on, and new calls can start within about 30 seconds.
• Battery power: put the modem, router, network switch and phone base stations on a battery backup (UPS). If desk phones draw power from the switch, the switch needs the battery too.

Can staff dial 911 from every phone?

The FCC rule for multi-line telephone systems (47 CFR 9.16) says a system must let a user call 911 directly from any phone, with no 9 or other prefix. Where the system can do it without new hardware or software, it must also send a notice to a central location, or to a person, where someone is likely to see or hear it. It also requires the caller's dispatchable location to reach 911.

Ask the installer to show you direct dialing, where the notice goes (the host stand or office) and the address and room saved for each phone.

Can you keep your restaurant's number?

Ask before you sign. Ooma lists free number transfer among its Office calling features. Keep the old service running until the new provider confirms the number has moved; our guide to switching providers covers who controls the account, forwarding versus porting and the order of steps. If you only need calls to go elsewhere for a while, forwarding is quicker; use the call forwarding checklist.

Which setup fits your restaurant?

Restaurant type	Lines and routing	Handsets	Outage plan	Start here if
Counter service, one store	One number, two call paths, simultaneous ring	Cordless at the counter	Forward to the owner's cell	Most calls are quick takeout orders or hours questions
Full service with a host stand	One number, sequential ring from host to manager, three or more call paths	Headset or cordless at the stand, desk phone in the office	Outage forwarding plus a UPS on network gear	Reservation and wait-time calls pile up at the stand
Pizza or delivery-heavy	A call queue so callers wait instead of hearing busy	Headsets for order takers	Backup internet	Several people call to order at once at peak
Bar or late-night	An after-hours rule to voicemail or an answering service	Cordless behind the bar	Forward to the manager on duty	Calls keep coming after the kitchen closes
Weak or rural internet	A traditional line first, VoIP later or as a second line	Cordless base on the carrier line	Carrier outage forwarding	Your connection drops during service
Several locations	One number per store, one portal for all	Same models at every store	Each store's own forward number	Guests must reach the right store first

What should you check before you buy?

1. Tally the most calls at once on one busy night, from your carrier's call log or a paper count at the stand.
2. Write where each call should ring first and where it goes if nobody answers.
3. Mark every phone location and pick a handset type. Walk the dining room with a borrowed cordless to check range.
4. Get a written quote with the per-user price, billing term, taxes and fees, handset prices and what counts as a user.
5. Run the provider's network test at dinner and ask how voice traffic gets priority.
6. Choose the outage fallback and test it by unplugging the router.
7. Confirm 911 direct dialing, where the notice goes and the location saved for each phone.
8. Agree how the number moves or forwards, and keep the old service until the number works on the new one.
9. If you will add an answering service, set up the staffed ring group it will transfer to.

On that last point: Maple Voice answers calls and includes automated call transfer at $150 a month billed monthly or $85 a month billed annually, and Pro adds phone ordering into supported POS systems. See Maple's plans and test the transfer to your new ring group before going live.

Published by Maple. This AI-assisted guide combines phone providers' published prices and help pages and the FCC's multi-line 911 rule with an original decision table, cost example and checklist. It does not report a hands-on test of any phone service or rank providers.