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From AI for Restaurant & Café Owners

150 AI prompts for Restaurant & Café Owners

Every one of the 150 prompt titles in the book, in the book's own eight groups. Twelve are printed in full and marked; use those today. The yellow parts are the blanks you fill in.

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Line illustration: a queue-ticket dispenser with an endless ribbon of blank tickets coiling on the floor

Setup & Voice Prompts 1–15

  1. #1Your permanent profile

    Paste into custom instructions: “I own a [SEATS]-seat [CONCEPT] in [CITY, STATE] called [RESTAURANT NAME]. Average ticket around $[AMOUNT]. Known for [2–3 TRUE THINGS]. Guest-facing writing: warm, plain, brief, 8th-grade level, no purple prose, no exclamation points. Always leave prices as blanks unless I give them. Never write anything that promises a dish is allergen-free or safe for a medical diet — flag those back to me.”

  2. #2The tone calibrator
  3. #3The plain-English filter
  4. #4Shorter, always
  5. #5Three versions
  6. #6The de-cheffing filter
  7. #7Teach it your voice
  8. #8The reverse brief
  9. #9Fix my dictation
  10. #10Email to text
  11. #11The second opinion
  12. #12Explain like a chef
  13. #13The checklist maker
  14. #14Spanish version
  15. #15What did I forget

Menus, Specials & Catering Quotes Prompts 16–40

  1. #16The menu line

    “Write menu descriptions for these dishes: [DISH + KEY INGREDIENTS + METHOD + WHAT MAKES IT OURS, one per line]. Under 20 words each, name the main ingredients and the method, one memorable specific, no ‘succulent’/‘mouthwatering’/‘delectable,’ no sourcing or freshness claims I didn’t state. Prices blank.”

  2. #17The walk-in capture
  3. #18The menu tightening pass
  4. #19The catering quote engine
  5. #20The same-day cover note
  6. #21The daily specials pack
  7. #22The changeover announcement
  8. #23The price-update rewrite
  9. #24The dietary-request reply
  10. #25The “why catering costs that” reply
  11. #26The comparing-caterers checklist
  12. #27The tasting invitation
  13. #28The revised quote note

    “The client changed [COUNT / MENU / SERVICE STYLE]. Write the short note with revised quote #2: what changed, what didn’t, new per-head as $____, and that the original option stays open until [DATE].”

  14. #29The decline-the-event letter
  15. #30The quote-deadline nudge
  16. #31The recurring-lunch proposal
  17. #32The full-service event scope
  18. #33The quote template audit
  19. #34The wedding/rehearsal proposal
  20. #35The holiday party package
  21. #36The food-truck event quote
  22. #37The event-day logistics sheet
  23. #38The catering terms paragraph
  24. #39The add-on paragraph
  25. #40Quote-to-invoice handoff

Guest Communication Prompts 41–65

  1. #41The guest message kit

    “Write my 10 standard guest messages in my voice: reservation confirmation, large-party confirmation with deposit + final-count deadline, day-before reminder with parking note, fully-committed waitlist reply, event-inquiry first reply (asking date + headcount), event follow-up after 4 quiet days, holiday hours announcement, left-item note, post-complaint check-in, first-time large-party thank-you. Under 60 words each, [BRACKETS] for variables.”

  2. #42The reservation-change reply
  3. #43The no-show follow-up
  4. #44The quoted-wait recovery
  5. #45The large-party ladder
  6. #46The pre-event logistics text
  7. #47The post-event thank-you
  8. #48The next-day recovery note
  9. #49The mistaken-identity reply
  10. #50The genuine mistake
  11. #51The after-hours reply
  12. #52Wake the quiet event inquiry
  13. #53The we-miss-you note

    “Write a short note to regulars we haven’t seen in a while [LIST CONTEXT — reservation platform flags 6+ months]: no guilt, one thing that’s new since they’ve been in [TRUE ITEM], and a welcome back. Under 60 words. It should read like hospitality, not automation.”

  14. #54The gift card reply
  15. #55The left-item note
  16. #56The service-charge explainer
  17. #57The buyout reply
  18. #58The planner coordination email
  19. #59The accessibility answer
  20. #60The neighbor letter
  21. #61The holiday hours pack
  22. #62The regulars thank-you
  23. #63Difficult-guest de-escalation
  24. #64The policy reply
  25. #65The goodbye letter

Money & Vendors Prompts 66–85

  1. #66The vendor paper trail

    “Write a short email to [VENDOR] confirming today’s call about [ISSUE — shorted cases on invoice #——, wrong sub, refused delivery]. State what was agreed: [CREDIT / REDELIVERY / PRICE HONORED THROUGH DATE]. Factual, professional, zero heat — I need this rep tomorrow. Subject line included. Under 100 words.”

  2. #67The price-jump query
  3. #68The credit request
  4. #69The refused-delivery record
  5. #70The catering money ladder
  6. #71The corporate-terms reply
  7. #72The unpaid-balance ladder
  8. #73Quote vs. final explainer
  9. #74The re-bid request
  10. #75The new-vendor cover note
  11. #76The substitution ask

    “[ITEM] is out at my distributor for [N] weeks. Write the email asking for in-stock equivalents that match: [SPECS THAT MATTER — pack size, grade, origin if it’s on my menu as a claim]. Flag that anything replacing a named menu claim (see my menu language) has to actually match the claim or I need to know.”

  12. #77The equipment warranty claim
  13. #78The recipe-costing sheet
  14. #79The re-pricing pass
  15. #80The accountant question list
  16. #81The invoice audit
  17. #82The shoebox sorter
  18. #83The inflated-invoice refusal
  19. #84The donation-request reply
  20. #85End-of-week money sweep

Reviews & Reputation Prompts 86–105

  1. #86The weekly review batch

    “This week’s Google and Yelp reviews: [PASTE, names removed]. Reply to each: 1–3 sentences, my voice, thank them, echo one specific thing they mentioned (a dish, a server moment, the patio), vary wording so they don’t read templated, no ‘valued guest.’ Under 4 stars: draft but mark HOLD FOR MY REVIEW.”

  2. #87The 5-star with a detail
  3. #88The 4-star with a niggle
  4. #89The 3-star mystery
  5. #90The factually-wrong review
  6. #91The never-dined-here review
  7. #92The one-star reply
  8. #93The review-bomb triage
  9. #94The review ask card
  10. #95The catering review ask
  11. #96The health-scare reply
  12. #97Testimonial to website copy
  13. #98The press reply
  14. #99The milestone post
  15. #100The closed-loop reply
  16. #101The photo permission ask
  17. #102The formal complaint response
  18. #103The reputation audit
  19. #104Competitor review mining
  20. #105The local-forum answer

Back of House Prompts 106–120

  1. #106The batch scaler

    “Scale this recipe from [CURRENT YIELD] to [TARGET YIELD]: [PASTE RECIPE]. Original and scaled amounts side by side, sensible kitchen units (quarts and pounds, not 47 tablespoons), and flag every ingredient that does NOT scale straight-line — salt, spices, chiles, leavening, gelatin — with ‘start at X, adjust by taste’ instead of a hard number. Note equipment reality at the new volume ([KETTLE/MIXER] capacity).”

  2. #107The prep list from the book
  3. #108The spec-sheet distiller
  4. #109The equipment rubber duck
  5. #110The SOP from a ramble
  6. #111Opening and closing checklists
  7. #112The line-check sheet
  8. #113The par-level worksheet
  9. #114The pre-shift note
  10. #115The shift note
  11. #116The handoff brief
  12. #117The why-we-do-it trainer
  13. #118The new-hire first week
  14. #119End-of-night brain dump
  15. #120The schedule first draft

Marketing & Growth Prompts 121–145

  1. #121Profile overhaul

    “Write my Google Business Profile: description under 750 characters naming cuisine, neighborhood, and 2–3 true signatures naturally; answers to the 10 questions diners always ask (reservations, parking, kids, dogs on the patio, gluten-free options — per my Chapter 10 rules, describing process without guaranteeing safety — happy hour, private events, delivery, vegan options, Friday waits) — 2–3 sentences each, my voice, unknown facts as [BLANK]; and a monthly update checklist (menu link, photos, holiday hours).”

  2. #122The photo shot list
  3. #123The website home page
  4. #124The story page
  5. #125A month of posts, in my voice
  6. #126The FAQ goldmine
  7. #127The 12-month calendar
  8. #128The new-dish launch
  9. #129The catering pitch letter
  10. #130The planner-and-concierge letter
  11. #131The slow-night campaign
  12. #132The monthly regulars email
  13. #133The event announcement

    “Write the announcement for [EVENT — trivia night, live jazz Sunday, guest-chef collab]: what, when, cost [$____ / free], how to reserve, and why it’ll actually be good [TRUE SPECIFICS]. Versions: Instagram, GBP, email paragraph, and the table card. No exclamation-point pileup.”

  14. #134The ticketed-dinner sales copy
  15. #135The delivery-app listing
  16. #136Local ads starter
  17. #137The recruiting post
  18. #138The culinary-program letter
  19. #139The sponsorship post
  20. #140The soft-opening / anniversary press note
  21. #141Review-to-ad pipeline
  22. #142The “we do that too” campaign
  23. #143Competitor-gap positioning
  24. #144The gift card push
  25. #145Marketing month in 60 minutes

Admin & Momentum Prompts 146–150

  1. #146The Monday brief

    “Organize my week from this mess: [PASTE — events booked, deliveries, staff out, promises made, deadlines]. Output: schedule conflicts, the 3 revenue-critical items, calls owed today, and what I’m forgetting based on what I told you last week [IF IN THIS CHAT].”

  2. #147The weekly numbers look
  3. #148The meeting-with-myself
  4. #149The delegation test
  5. #150The edition-one graduation