An AI receptionist for restaurants. The phone, answered.
The Front Desk™ by The Fifth Floor is an AI phone receptionist built for restaurants. It answers every call during service and after close, with your real hours, menu and policies, books what it can and hands the rest to your team. From $1,999.
Friday, 7:40pm. The host stand has a line, the phone is ringing, and it's someone asking if you have parking. The next call is a party of twelve wanting a Saturday. Nobody picks up. They book somewhere else.
Every restaurant owner knows the calls they're missing. Few can staff for them. That's the job of The Front Desk.
What it answers
Hours, location, parking, dress code, kids, dogs, accessibility
Menu questions, allergies and dietary needs
Reservations, changes and cancellations, through your booking system
Private dining and large party inquiries, with date, headcount and budget captured for a person to follow up
Gift cards, events and holiday hours
What it doesn't do
It doesn't pretend. Anything it can't handle well (a complaint, a VIP, a buyout negotiation) goes to a person, with a summary of the call. Built by people who have run restaurants, so it knows the difference.
Why restaurants use an AI receptionist
Fewer missed bookings. Calls during peak service and after close stop going to voicemail.
A calmer host stand. Your team looks up at the guest in front of them, not down at the phone.
Private dining gets captured. The highest-value calls get logged every time, not scribbled on a pad.
Consistent answers. Same correct hours and policies, every call, every shift.
Built for your restaurant, not a call center
Off-the-shelf AI phone tools are built for dentists and plumbers. We set up The Front Desk around your room: your menu, your voice, your reservation platform, your rules for big parties. Then we monitor it and update it as the menu and the season change.
Pair it with The Concierge™ to answer the same questions on your website, and a website that actually sells the room.
Questions owners ask
What is an AI receptionist for a restaurant?
An AI voice system that answers your restaurant's phone. It handles the repetitive calls (hours, location, parking, menu, dietary questions, reservations, private dining inquiries) and hands anything else to a person.
Will it sound like a robot?
It answers in a natural voice, in your restaurant's tone, with your real hours, menu and policies. Guests can always ask for a person.
Can it take reservations?
Yes. It books what it can through your reservation system and captures details for anything that needs a human, like large parties and buyouts.
How much does it cost?
The Front Desk™ starts from $1,999 to build, then from $299 a month for hosting, monitoring and updates. Final price is agreed on a call.
Does it replace my host?
No. It takes the calls your host can't pick up during service, and the ones that come in after close. Your team gets their attention back for the guests in the room.
How long does setup take?
Usually days, depending on your reservation system and how much your policies need writing down first. We agree the timeline on our call.
Keep reading
See The Front Desk™, or everything we build on the restaurants page.
Every project starts with a read. Tell us what’s going on and we’ll tell you where to start.