12 Restaurant Booking Confirmation Templates to Copy

The table is booked. Then comes the quiet part: making sure the guest actually walks through the door on Friday night.

Most no-shows do not happen because someone changed their mind. They happen because the guest is not sure the booking went through, cannot find the details again, or has no easy way to say they are running late or need to move it.

Below are twelve restaurant booking confirmation templates you can copy today, for text, email and DMs, plus the three things every confirmation has to carry if you want fewer empty tables.

I am Nomi. I answer when the floor is busy, confirm the booking while the guest is still holding their phone, and write it into your book. You keep the final say on groups, allergies and events.

What every restaurant booking confirmation must include

Strip a confirmation back and there are only three facts that matter. The day and time, exactly as the guest asked for it. The party size, children included. And one clear way to change the booking: a number to call, a link to tap, or a plain sentence that says how.

Everything else is garnish. A confirmation should also carry your venue name and the guest's name, and it should go out within minutes of the booking rather than the next morning. A guest who waits half a day for a reply has usually booked somewhere else by the time you write back.

The 12 templates

Use these as written or trim them to your voice. Replace anything in brackets.

New bookings

1. Standard table confirmation (text). Hi [Name], this is [Restaurant]. Your table for [party size] is confirmed for [day], [date] at [time]. Need to change it? Reply here or call [number]. See you then.

2. Email confirmation with the details in one place. Hi [Name], thanks for booking with [Restaurant]. Party size: [number]. Date: [day], [date]. Time: [time]. We hold the table for 15 minutes past the booking time. To change or cancel, reply to this email or call [number].

3. Short DM confirmation (Instagram or Messenger). Hi [Name], you're in. Table for [party size], [day] at [time] at [Restaurant]. Anything you need, just reply here.

Groups of six or more

4. Group booking confirmation. Hi [Name], your booking for [party size] at [Restaurant] is confirmed for [day], [date] at [time]. For groups of six or more we hold the table for 20 minutes. If your numbers change, tell us by [day before] so we can reset the room.

5. Group booking with a deposit. Hi [Name], your table for [party size] is confirmed for [day], [date] at [time]. For groups of [number] or more we take a deposit of [$amount] per person, and it comes off the final bill. Here is the link: [link].

6. Private event or full buyout. Hi [Name], we have you down for [event] on [date] from [time] to [time] for [number] guests. [Contact name] will call on [day] to confirm the menu and the timings. Everything else is booked and held.

Allergies, access and small guests

7. Allergy note acknowledged. Hi [Name], I have noted the [allergy] for [Name]. The kitchen will prepare [dish] without it, and your server will confirm it at the table. If anything else comes up, reply here and I will pass it on.

8. Accessibility, highchair or stroller. Hi [Name], you asked for a step-free table and space for a stroller. Both are noted for [day] at [time]. If your plans change, reply here and I will move things around.

Holds, changes and waitlists

9. Waitlist or table hold. Hi [Name], I do not have a table at [time] yet, but you are first on my list for [day]. I will text you the moment one opens up. If you would rather take [alternative time], say the word.

10. Change or cancellation acknowledged. Hi [Name], done. Your booking moved from [old time] to [new time] on [day], table for [party size]. Nothing else to do.

Reminders

11. Day-before reminder. Hi [Name], just a reminder: table for [party size] tomorrow, [day] at [time] at [Restaurant]. Allergy on file: [allergy]. Need to change it? Reply here or call [number].

12. Same-day reminder for a late arrival. Hi [Name], we are holding your table for [party size] at [time]. Running late? Reply here and we will do our best to keep it. On a busy night we hold tables for 15 minutes.

How to keep confirmations consistent across text, email and DMs

The wording is the easy part. The hard part is sending the right one, at the right time, on the channel the guest actually used, every night of the week.

Three habits make it manageable. Keep one source of truth for the booking, so the text, the email and the DM never disagree. Keep the same three facts in every message, in the same order. And keep the special cases with a human: a group of fourteen, a nut allergy, a buyout. Those get your eyes before anything goes out.

This is the part I handle. I watch your texts, your email and your DMs, answer the guest in their own words, confirm the details back to them, and write the booking into your book. Groups, allergies and events come to you first. Everything else is confirmed while the guest is still deciding where to eat.

Three rules that cut no-shows

Send within minutes, not hours. Include the day and time, the party size and one way back. And send the day-before reminder every time, without being asked, because the guest who forgot they booked is the guest who does not turn up.

The short version

A confirmation is not paperwork. It is the last thing standing between a full book and a table sitting empty at eight o'clock. Copy the templates, keep the three facts in every one, and send them fast, in the guest's channel and in your voice, every night of the week.