# inhand for restaurants, bars and private dining

**Private dining enquiry software.** Fill the private room without leaving the floor. Enquiries drafted while you serve. Minimum spends and deposits from your records.

- **Who it’s for:** Restaurants and bars with private dining rooms, buy-outs and events, where enquiries and calls arrive during service.
- **What it does:** Drafts private dining replies with your minimum spend, sends deposit links through Stripe and collects pre-orders and allergens.
- **Where it stops:** Everyday table bookings stay in your reservations system. inhand handles private dining and events.
- **What it costs:** Drafting and the system are free. Agents are a paid upgrade, licensed per venue.

## Private dining enquiries don’t wait for service to end.

Illustrative example: three private dining enquiries arriving at the start of service, each with a draft that includes the minimum spend.

| Before | With inhand |
|---|---|
| Phone ringing through service | Forwarded calls answered as your restaurant |
| Back-and-forth for one table | One reply: room, minimum spend, deposit |
| No deposit, then a no-show | A deposit link that secures the date |
| Allergies lost in a thread | Allergens collected and sent to the chef |

## What changes for your private dining room

- **Replies with the minimum spend.** From your own records, never guessed.
- **Calls answered during service.** As your restaurant, and it says it’s an AI assistant.
- **Deposits that secure the room.** Stripe links with your restaurant as the merchant.
- **Allergies handled with care.** A change alert to the chef. Names never paired with dietary needs on menu cards.

## Example

Illustrative example: a private dining draft quoting the minimum spend from the restaurant’s records and offering a deposit link.

> The Library Room is free next Thursday and seats 14. The Thursday minimum spend is [from your rate card], and a deposit secures the room. Shall I send you a link to pay it and hold the date?

## Where inhand stops

Does: Private dining rooms, Buy-outs, Events and parties.

Does not: Everyday table bookings, Your reservations system.

## Relevant features

- [AI inbox](https://useinhand.com/features/ai-inbox): A draft in your own Gmail or Outlook thread for every enquiry.
- [Phone agents](https://useinhand.com/features/phone-agents): Answered as your venue, day or night, and it says it’s an AI.
- [Payments](https://useinhand.com/features/payments): Payment links through Stripe, with your venue as the merchant.
- [Pre-orders and guests](https://useinhand.com/features/pre-orders-and-guests): Menu choices and allergens collected by the cut-off.
- [Client portal](https://useinhand.com/features/client-portal): One place for clients to review, sign, pay and send final details.
- [Mobile app](https://useinhand.com/features/mobile-app): Approve, edit and send from your phone between events.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does inhand replace our reservations system?

No. Everyday table bookings stay in your reservations system. inhand handles private dining and events, and the phone agent can text a caller your table booking link.

### Can inhand quote our minimum spend?

Yes, from the minimum spends you accepted in inhand. If one is not confirmed, the draft leaves a placeholder rather than guessing.

### How does inhand handle allergies?

Allergens are treated as a safety matter: changes alert the chef, and guest menu cards never pair a guest’s name with a dietary need.

### Can it answer the phone during service?

Yes. A phone agent answers forwarded calls as your restaurant, says in its first sentence that it is an AI assistant and the call is recorded, and can hand over to a person with a whispered summary.

### Can private dining guests pre-order?

Yes. Guests choose from the menu in your client portal before a close date you set.

### Does the phone agent take card details?

Never. Card details are entered only on Stripe’s pages, and a call where a card number is read out keeps no recording.

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Canonical page: https://useinhand.com/venues/restaurants-and-private-dining
Last updated: 2026-10-11