Pre-orders and table booking for restaurants, cafés and takeaways
Pre-orders let customers order now for a later time, such as tomorrow's lunch, a Saturday birthday cake or Friday's takeaway. They pick a slot at checkout, even while you're closed, and the order waits in your Prebookings list until it's time to cook. Table booking lets guests reserve a table and pre-order dishes you choose with it. Both run in the phone's browser, with no app to download.
Table booking and pre-orders, including dishes pre-ordered with a booking, start on Lite. On Free, customers order for as soon as possible. Lite and Pro have a 7-day free trial: a card is needed to start, and nothing is charged until it ends.
What you get
- Order now, get it laterCustomers choose a date and time slot at checkout. You decide how far ahead they can order and how much notice you need.
- Pre-orders while you're closedYour menu keeps its Add buttons when you're shut, so a customer can order at 10pm for 8am. Every slot offered falls inside your opening hours.
- Fixed or rolling slotsSet times such as lunch 12:00–14:00 and dinner 17:00–21:00, or slots counted from now, such as ready in 30 minutes.
- Notice for dishes that need itLimit pre-orders to chosen dishes and the days they're made. A celebration cake can need a day's notice; a sandwich needs none.
- A Prepare now listPre-orders sit in their own Prebookings tab, with the ones due within the hour at the top, so the kitchen knows what to start next.
- Table bookingGuests choose Dine-in and book a table for a date and time. You set the days, slots and notice, can ask how many people are coming, and choose which dishes they can pre-order. You get an alert one hour before each booked slot, and again when it starts.
How it works
- 1Switch on PrebookingTurn it on in Prebooking settings and choose fixed time ranges or rolling slots.
- 2Set the rulesHow far ahead customers can book, how much notice you need, and which dishes need it.
- 3Prepare on timePre-orders collect in the Prebookings tab and show when to start each one. They still ring on the partner app when they arrive, and kitchen tickets show the pre-order time.
In the dashboard:SettingsOrderingPrebooking settings
Who uses pre-orders.
| Business | What they pre-sell |
|---|---|
| Cafés and sandwich shops | Morning coffee and office lunches, ready at a set time. See click and collect |
| Bakeries and cake makers | Celebration cakes, Christmas orders, Saturday bread. See Menuthere for bakeries |
| Takeaways | Friday night orders placed at lunchtime, before the rush. See takeaway ordering system |
| Pubs | Sunday roast with a table booking, Christmas party menus. See pub ordering system |
| Caterers and meal prep | Weekly orders by a cut-off day. See Menuthere for caterers |
An example
Christmas Eve at a bakery.
A bakery takes 80 Christmas pre-orders for collection on 24 December, each needing two days' notice. Before, the orders came on paper and by phone, with names missed and cakes double-booked.
With pre-orders, customers pick a 15-minute slot and pay online by card (Lite, through your own Stripe account). The Prebookings list shows what to bake each day, and on the 24th bags go out in slot order. Menuthere takes 0% commission on all 80 orders; card fees go to Stripe (1.5% + 20p per standard UK card). An illustration, not a real bakery's figures.
Good to know
What it doesn't do (yet).
No booking deposits or no-show fees. To cut no-shows, take card payment up front for pre-ordered food (on Lite and above you can switch off cash for an order type), or send the guest a payment link. Or compare dedicated tools in our guide to choosing a restaurant booking system.
No table plan or waitlist. It's slot-based booking built into your menu, not a full reservation system.
Which plans include it
Table booking and pre-orders, including dishes pre-ordered with a booking, start on Lite. On Free, customers order for as soon as possible. Lite and Pro have a 7-day free trial: a card is needed to start, and nothing is charged until it ends.
Set it up, step by step
Each guide shows exactly where to click in your dashboard.
Questions owners ask
Works well with
Start taking orders on your own website.
Your menu, QR codes and ordering website are free, with 0% commission on every plan. Lite and Pro come with a 7-day free trial.