Choose your booking type
Suggested reservation type: Appointments. Tables are the resource, there is no practitioner step, and a turnover buffer separates seatings — an appointment diary with deposits for tasting menus.
Set it under Settings → Configuration → Reservation type: tick Appointments and leave the other boxes off. The choice is saved for the selected location.
Create your services
Start with these:
- Dinner table (2) — 90 minutes, price 0
- Tasting menu — 120 minutes, price 2800
Both are appointment services; the Dinner table is free to book and the Tasting menu is priced. The close buffer resets the table between seatings. Tables themselves are equipment items.
An appointment service is a class with Open for appointments switched on, edited at /admin/appointments/classes/:classId. In its Settings pill start from: default duration 90 minutes, Time frame 30 min, Buffer time - Open 0 min, Buffer time - Close 15 min, and Working Hours matching your opening hours. Connect staff to the service at /admin/appointments/connect and set each person's hours at /admin/appointments/instructors/:customerId.
Set the booking flow
Under /admin/appointments/settings → Booking flow, order the steps Date:
- Date: Enabled + Required
- Classes: disabled — the customer never sees this step
- Instructors: disabled — the customer never sees this step
Only the Date step is shown: the guest picks a date and time and the table is held. Classes and Instructors are both disabled, so there is no menu to study or server to choose while booking.
Passes and payment
No passes: dinner is paid at the table. Take a deposit at booking on the Tasting menu through Payment Methods, since a no-show on a set menu wastes prepared food. Passes live at /admin/passes if you add one later.
Cancellation window: under Settings → Reservation allow customer cancellation with a cutoff of 24 hours before the start (the field takes minutes, so enter 1440).
Customers and features
Dependents: Dependents stay off — the party size is captured on the booking, not as family members.
Custom features to switch on at /admin/custom-features (each uses a feature point):
- Appointment Booking — books tables by time slot.
- Client Intake Forms — asks for allergies and the occasion when booking.
- Automated Reminders & Notifications — confirms the table the morning of the booking.
- Payment Methods & Receipts — takes the tasting-menu deposit.
- Equipment — caps bookings at the number of tables.
Worked examples for this business: Equipment for a Restaurant (Equipment → Items) and Appointment add-ons for a Restaurant (Appointments → Addons).
Do it with the assistant
The admin AI assistant reads this playbook and can set the business type, create services and classes, passes, link instructors, set working hours, buffers and the time frame, and enable features — every change is shown for approval before it is saved. Try:
- “Create a Tasting menu service, 120 minutes, 2800, time frame 30, close buffer 15.”
- “Disable the Classes and Instructors steps so guests only pick a time.”
- “Set customer cancellation to 24 hours before the booking.”
