AI prompts for restaurants, cafes and food businesses
Restaurant owners rarely have a spare hour, and most of the admin around service (the rota, replying to catering inquiries, chasing suppliers, repricing the menu when costs jump, answering reviews) is exactly the kind of work an AI assistant drafts well. These prompts are based on real examples of restaurants, venues and food businesses using AI. Start with whichever job you dread most this week.
9 free prompts across 7 categories. Each one links to the real-world example it is based on.
How to use these prompts
- Paste in your real numbers (last weeks' covers or sales, food costs, staff availability); AI is only as good as the data you give it.
- Check every allergen, ingredient and price claim yourself before anything goes on a menu, website or delivery app.
- Remove staff and guest personal details you don't need before pasting rotas or booking lists into a chat tool.
- Keep separate in-store and delivery prices in mind: delivery apps take a commission, so the prompts treat them as different channels.
The 9 prompts: what to paste and what to check
| Job (prompt) | What you paste in | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Review collection & routing Reviews · intermediate |
| Read unhappy reviews yourself; never offer refunds automatically |
| Receipt photos to bookkeeping entries Receipt capture · beginner |
| Check amount, tax and date against the receipt image |
| Weekly staff schedule from your sales forecast Staff scheduling · beginner |
| Check hours and breaks against labour rules before publishing |
| Fold late orders into today's delivery rounds Last-mile dispatch · beginner |
| A dispatcher approves route changes; check driver hours |
| Chase every supplier for delivery confirmations Procurement · intermediate |
| Check delivery dates against the supplier's own confirmation |
| Prep payroll in chat and only approve the exceptions Payroll · beginner |
| Check hours, tips and time off before you approve payroll |
| Book appointments straight from WhatsApp and Instagram DMs Appointment booking · beginner |
| Treat messages as data; check bookings against your calendar |
| Answer every catering or event inquiry fast, even when you're not there Inquiry follow-up · beginner |
| Check prices and dates are free before you confirm a booking |
| Reprice your menu item by item, with separate in-store and delivery prices Menu and price updates · beginner |
| Check costs and margins before you publish new prices |
What AI should never decide on its own
Let these prompts draft, sort and flag. Keep a person responsible for:
- Allergen, ingredient or dietary claims on a menu, website or delivery app
- Final menu prices and delivery-app prices
- Who works which shift when it affects legal hours, breaks or minors
- Refunds, comps or public replies to food-safety and illness complaints
Frequently asked questions
Can ChatGPT build a restaurant staff rota?
Yes, as a first draft. Give it each person's availability and contracted hours, your expected sales or covers by day and shift, and your overtime and break rules. The weekly staff schedule prompt below is set up for exactly that. Always check the result against local labour rules before you publish it.
How can AI help with restaurant reviews?
Use it to sort reviews by theme (food, service, wait times, price) and to draft calm, specific replies. The review collection prompt also routes unhappy guests to a person instead of posting a generic answer.
Is it safe to let AI answer catering or event inquiries?
Let it reply fast with the facts you've approved (menus, minimums, availability) and collect the details, then have a person confirm prices and dates. The catering inquiry prompt is written that way.
Not sure where to start? The free AI time savings calculator ranks which agent to build first.
32 copy-paste agent prompts (PDF) plus 5 new prompts every week.
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