Restaurants & cloud kitchens
WhatsApp for restaurants and cloud kitchens.
Your regulars would order from you directly if it were easy. Share your menu on WhatsApp, take the order and payment in the chat, confirm table bookings, and tell regulars about today's specials.
What does Baat do for restaurants and cloud kitchens?
For restaurants and cloud kitchens, Baat is a direct ordering and reservations channel on WhatsApp. Customers browse your menu, order and pay inside the chat, cash-on-delivery orders get a confirmation, table bookings get reminders, specials reach regulars who opted in, and a feedback request follows every order.
Most restaurants depend on aggregator apps for delivery orders, and the aggregator owns the customer. The restaurant cannot message the people who order from it every week. Phone orders get misheard at peak hours. Table bookings are taken on paper and forgotten, so a Saturday table sits empty while walk-ins are turned away. When a regular has a bad meal, the restaurant hears about it in a public review, not in time to fix it.
How do restaurants and cloud kitchens use WhatsApp?
Each of these runs on Baat today. Open one to see how it works.
Guide
Share your menu and take orders in the chat
Send your menu as a catalogue, a document or images. Customers browse, order and pay inside WhatsApp, and the order reaches your counter in writing instead of over a noisy phone line.
Use case
Confirm cash-on-delivery orders
A COD order gets a confirmation message before the kitchen starts cooking. An order nobody confirms is one you do not cook and send out for nothing.
Use case
Confirm table bookings and cut no-shows
Confirm the booking with the time and party size, then remind the guest on the day. A guest who cannot come replies to cancel, and the table goes to someone else.
Use case
Announce specials to regulars
Send the weekend special, a festival menu or a new dish as a broadcast to customers who opted in. Orders come back in the same thread.
Use case
Ask for feedback after every order
Send a short feedback request after delivery or the meal. A complaint reaches the manager privately, while there is still time to make it right.
Example conversation
A direct order, start to finish.
A regular orders dinner on WhatsApp, chooses how to pay, and gets a confirmation. No aggregator sits between you and the customer.
- Shared Inbox: Counter staff and managers share one number at peak hours, and every order is in writing, assigned to one person.
- Broadcasts: Specials and festival menus go to regulars who opted in, segmented by area or by what they usually order.
- Journey Builder: Menu replies, COD confirmations and feedback requests run on their own after every order.
Aditya Kulkarni Online
- Hi, can I get 2 paneer butter masala, 4 butter naan and 1 jeera rice delivered? 8:02 PM
- Hi Aditya, sure. Delivery to Kothrud in about 40 minutes. Would you like to pay here in the chat, or cash on delivery? 8:03 PM
- I'll pay here. 8:04 PM
- Payment received, thank you. Your order is in the kitchen. We will message you when it leaves. 8:06 PM
An example. The people in it are made up.
Automation
Orders flow without a phone call.
A journey starts when a customer writes "menu". It sends the menu, takes the order, and asks how they want to pay. Cash-on-delivery orders get a confirmation before the kitchen starts.
- Customer writes "menu" on WhatsApp
- Send today's menu
- Customer places the order
- Ask how they would like to pay
Paid in chat?
YesSend to the kitchen
NoConfirm the COD order first
Why should a restaurant take orders on WhatsApp?
Because it puts you back in touch with your own customers. Orders through an aggregator bring revenue, but the platform keeps the relationship. A customer who orders from you on WhatsApp is a customer you can thank, tell about tomorrow’s special, and ask how the meal was.
WhatsApp also fixes the phone order. At peak hours a call is hard to hear and easy to get wrong. A written order in a chat is clear. The customer can see exactly what they asked for, and so can your kitchen.
How does a direct order work?
The customer writes to your number. You reply with the menu, as a catalogue, a document or a few images. The customer orders and either pays in the chat or chooses cash on delivery. A cash-on-delivery order gets a confirmation before the kitchen starts. When the order leaves, the customer gets a message. Afterwards, a short feedback request asks how it was.
Saved replies help at peak hours. Staff can insert a saved answer for delivery areas, timings or today’s specials with a short slash command, instead of typing the same thing all evening.
How do table bookings work?
Guests message to book. Staff confirm the time and party size from the shared inbox. A reminder goes out on the day. A guest who cannot come can cancel by replying, which frees the table for a walk-in or a waiting list.
Can we announce specials on WhatsApp?
Yes, to customers who agreed to receive them. A weekend special or a festival menu sent as a broadcast reaches your regulars directly. Keep the list to people who opted in, and keep the messages relevant. A customer who gets too many offers will block you, and blocks can limit what your number can send.
What do WhatsApp's rules mean for restaurants and cloud kitchens?
- Meta's policies do not allow alcohol to be sold or promoted through WhatsApp commerce content, and India is not one of the countries where WhatsApp's alcohol exception applies. Keep drinks with alcohol off your WhatsApp menu and broadcasts.
- Meta's Commerce Policies do not allow food or drinks that make health or medical claims. Describe a dish by its ingredients and taste, not as a cure or a health treatment.
- Message only customers who agreed to receive WhatsApp messages from you. Order updates are expected. Specials and offers need their opt-in.
Checked against Meta's own policy pages on 21 October 2026: WhatsApp Business Policy, Meta Commerce Policies: Alcohol, Meta Commerce Policies: Medical and healthcare products. Meta changes these rules from time to time, so read the current version before you start.
Questions restaurants and cloud kitchens ask about WhatsApp
Can customers order food directly on WhatsApp?
Yes. Customers can browse your menu as a catalogue, a document or images, and place the order in the chat. Your counter receives it in writing and confirms it from the shared inbox.
Can customers pay inside WhatsApp?
Yes. Customers in India can pay inside the chat, or you can offer cash on delivery. Book a demo to see how payment is set up for your restaurant.
Can we put drinks with alcohol on our WhatsApp menu?
No. Meta's policies do not allow alcohol to be sold or promoted through WhatsApp commerce content, and WhatsApp's alcohol exception does not apply in India.
Can we take table bookings on WhatsApp?
Yes. Guests message to book, staff confirm in the shared inbox, and a reminder goes out on the day. A guest who cannot make it replies to cancel, so the table can be given to someone else.
Can we message customers who ordered through an aggregator?
Only customers who gave you their number and agreed to receive WhatsApp messages from you. Ask for that opt-in on your own orders, at the table and on your packaging, not by copying numbers from another platform.
Read next
Article
What counts as opt-in on WhatsApp
Meta requires opt-in before you message anyone on WhatsApp. Here is what a valid opt-in must say, where you can collect it, and what it costs you to get this wrong.
Guide
Creating Your First Broadcast
Build and send your first WhatsApp broadcast: pick an audience, choose a template, and check it before it goes out.
Guide
Canned Responses
Create reusable reply shortcuts, insert them with a slash in the composer, and personalise them with contact tokens.
Page
Plans and pricing
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