Choosing a table reservation system is never a spur of the moment decision. You will need to compare solutions to uncover the best for your restaurant and business.
Still, with so many reservation and table management systems on the market, how do you choose which suits your needs?
In this article, we’ll help you determine your evaluation criteria and uncover the best table reservation systems out there so you can decide confidently.
What Is Table Reservation Software?
Table reservation software, also called a restaurant reservation system, is a digital platform that helps restaurants manage bookings, guests, and seating efficiently.
It allows guests to make online reservations through your website, social media, or third-party platforms, while giving your staff real-time visibility into availability, floor plans, and guest details.
Modern reservation systems go beyond simple bookings. They integrate with your POS, CRM, and payment systems.
Must-Have Features in a Restaurant Table Reservation System
Here are the top features to look for when evaluating restaurant reservation systems.
1. Reservation and seating management
At the heart of any table reservation software is its ability to manage bookings and seat guests efficiently.
It should be intuitive for both your team and your guests, minimizing double bookings and maximizing table turnover.
Modern reservation systems come with a reservation widget so guests can make online bookings directly from your website, social media, and other platforms.
Real-time availability updates ensure every table is accounted for, while automated confirmations and reminders reduce cancellations and no-shows.
2. Waitlist features
A built-in waitlist feature helps dining concepts manage walk-ins during peak times and reduce the risk of overbooking. It also complements reservation management during special events or peak periods.
For example, if your Thursday night is fully booked but a guest cancels, you can move another guest or group from your waitlist and secure them a table.
When evaluating table reservation software, make sure they have a virtual waitlist option. You should also have the ability to notify guests through SMS when their table is ready.
3. Restaurant CRM
A restaurant customer relationship management (CRM) system is essential to building lasting guest relationships and driving repeat business. It’s where you collect guest information for personalized dining experiences and marketing campaigns, guest segmentation, and more.
If you manage multiple restaurant locations or F&B brands, the restaurant CRM acts as a centralized hub for all information including:
Guest name
Preferences
Allergens and dietary restrictions
Visit history
Staff notes
Guest notes (from your reservation system)
4. Event planning options
This feature is essential for managing large parties, private dining, and special events. It simplifies group bookings, allows for custom seating charts, and helps you collect reservation deposits or full pre-payments.
5. Booking and other integrations
The best table reservation systems seamlessly integrate with your restaurant’s technology stack, including point-of-sale (POS) systems, booking channels, and social media platforms.
POS integration, in particular, unlocks valuable insights by linking guest spend, visit history, and order details, giving you a complete view of performance and guest behavior.
6. Review management
This proactive feature helps you manage your restaurant’s online reputation and ensure consistent, high-level service at all times, across all your venues.
Modern table reservation apps, like Servme, offer automated guest surveys, that can be shared shortly after payment, allowing you to collect real-time feedback and act quickly to improve the guest experience.
Further reading: 9 Features You Need in a Restaurant Management System
Compared: Best Table Reservation Systems for F&B
1. Servme: The Guest Experience Platform for MENA Hospitality
Servme is a powerful, all-in-one restaurant management system, serving customers across the globe from Dubai to New York to India to the UK.
It enables hospitality operators to own their guest data and drive repeat business without paying per-cover fees. The platform integrates with dozens of POS systems, phone integrations, and global and local booking platforms.
Who’s it for? Single and multi-venue restaurants, restaurant groups, bars, other types of entertainment and dining concepts like ticketed beach clubs, poolside concepts, and hotel restaurants.
Key features
Device Accessibility: Servme is available on Web, Android, and iOS, including iPad and iPhone. Servme recently released a new iPad app, offering features for your restaurant staff, including real-time spend tracking and advanced shift performance reports.
Restaurant CRM: Servme's CRM builds a comprehensive 360-degree view of every guest, automatically enriching profiles with preferences, visit history, dietary restrictions, and spending patterns. It features an auto-tagging feature to segment guests instantly (e.g., "VIP," "Top Spender"), fueling personalized service and marketing.
Floor planning & table management: Servme offers easy-to-use, drag-and-drop restaurant floor planning software. It allows staff to visualize the entire venue in real-time, toggle between list, grid, and floor plan views, and manage seating arrangements efficiently.
No-show prevention: The platform allows operators to significantly reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations by setting customizable payment rules. You can require deposits or pre-authorizations for specific shifts, special events, or large party sizes directly within the booking flow.
Marketing features: Using the CRM, dining concepts can manage entire personalized marketing campaigns directly from their dashboard. These include email, SMS, and WhatsApp Business for restaurants. Each platform has a library of templates available for use, or you can create your own. The system also supports automated triggers to re-engage lapsed guests or prompt them for celebrations.
Data and reporting: Servme provides robust analytics and reporting, allowing operators to track performance across venues. Key reports include: Top Spenders, new vs. returning guests, tracking source of bookings, and guest ratings and feedback reports.
Integrations: Servme offers a wide range of integrations for your every need. These include POS, phone, and a Property Management System (PMS) integration for hotels (like Oracle Opera). Booking integrations include global options like Tripadvisor, Zomato, Reserve with Google, and Facebook and Instagram, along with local options like The Chefz and webook in Saudi Arabia, and AfternoonTea in the UK and Ireland.
Dedicated Support: One of the top perks of using Servme is getting dedicated support, including your own account manager. The customer success team is available online, via phone, and email, offering free setup, onboarding, and data migration.
Pricing: With no setup fees, Servme’s starter plan amounts to $129 per month. Servme also doesn’t charge any commissions or cover fees. Learn more about Servme’s pricing here.
Sevenrooms
SevenRooms helps F&B concepts maximize revenue and deliver highly personalized service across various hospitality venues. It focuses on helping operators own and leverage their guest data to drive loyalty and repeat business.
Who’s it for? Restaurants and groups, hotel concepts, bars, nightclubs.
Key Features:
Integrated CRM: Builds comprehensive guest profiles with visit history, preferences, and spend. This allows staff to enable deep personalization and targeted marketing.
Direct bookings: Offers a multilingual reservation widget that integrates easily with your website and social media. The platform doesn’t charge per-cover fees for reservations made directly through its widget.
Marketing automation: Provides powerful two-way SMS and email tools for targeted, data-driven campaigns, re-engagement, and special promotions.
Reservation management: Efficiently handles reservations, waitlists, table management, and cancellations across different types of dining options and events.
Pricing: No pricing mentioned on the website. But online reports and reviews suggest Sevenrooms pricing reportedly begins at $250 per month with a $500 setup fee.
Further reading: 14 Reasons to Use Restaurant Seating Software
OpenTable
OpenTable is a long-established, dual-facing restaurant platform that provides both reservation management tools for businesses and a large booking network for diners.
It allows restaurants to manage tables and seating, while leveraging the platform's vast customer exposure.
Key features:
Diners’ Rewards Program: OpenTable offers a loyalty program that rewards diners with points, though redemption options are primarily focused on the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Ireland, and Germany.
Central CRM: Enables dining concepts to collect and manage detailed guest information in a single database.
Email features: Provides email software to help restaurants engage guests and drive retention (available in Core and Pro tiers).
POS integrations: Supports integrations with various restaurant POS systems (Core and Pro tiers only).
Pricing: OpenTable offers three subscription tiers: Basic ($149/month), Core ($299/month), and Pro ($499/month). All plans, except for direct website bookings, include mandatory per-cover charges. The Basic tier lacks critical features like POS integration and waitlist management.
Further reading: Compared: Sevenrooms vs OpenTable vs Servme
Resy
Resy is a comprehensive, dual-facing platform reservation management system (Resy OS) for restaurants and a diner network. Resy leverages its partnership with American Express to attract high-value guests.
Who’s it for? Restaurants of all sizes.
Key features
Reservation and table management: Resy offers robust tools for waitlists, customizable floor plans, and real-time status updates.
Guest profiling and marketing: Detailed guest profiles, advanced analytics, and integrated communications (SMS/email).
AMEX Partnership: Resy offer exclusive access benefits (Global Dining Access, priority notifications) for eligible Card Members, driving committed, high-spending clientele.
Revenue management: Tools for ticketed events, prepaid reservations, and customizable cancellation policies to reduce no-shows.
Pricing Resy does not offer a free trial but does not charge a per-cover fee for direct bookings. It offers three monthly tiers: Platform ($249/mo) for essentials, Platform 360 ($399/mo) for full features and guest insights, and Full Stack ($899/mo) which includes POS integration and custom reporting, often used by multi-location enterprises.
Further reading: Who Are the Top Resy Competitors in 2025?
Tock
Like Resy, Tock is owned by American Express, making it a leading table reservation system. It focuses on guest experience management and selling unique dining experiences to boost revenue.
Who’s it for? High-end restaurants, wineries, and enterprise groups
Key features
No-show elimination suite: Uses prepaid reservations and deposits to curb cancellations.
Prepaid Offerings & Experiences: Advanced tools for selling unique, ticketed offerings (like tasting menus), and prepaid reservations.
Guest CRM: Offers a system to build detailed guest profiles and enhance personalized service.
Flexible service: Tock supports takeout and Multi-Experience Tables to optimize seating.
Pricing: Tock’s pricing is tiered, starting at $79/month for the Base plan and going up to $769/month for the Premium Unlimited plan.
The platform's fee structure involves a prepayment commission: Base and Essential plans charge 3% on prepayments, Premium charges 2%, and only Premium Unlimited eliminates these fees entirely.
POS integration and phone support are restricted to the higher-tier Premium plans.
Further reading: What’s the Best Reservation System for Restaurants?
ResDiary
ResDiary is an important contender on this list of best table reservation systems. It helps hospitality operators run a smooth service across various F&B concepts through customer profiling and reservation management.
Who’s it for? Restaurants looking for a reservation system and diners searching for dining concepts.
Key features
Reservation widget: Customizable booking widgets for collecting online reservations, event inquiries, and building the guest database.
Dish Cult Network: ResDiary’s exclusive, diner-facing booking platform used to attract customers and simplify the booking process.
Special event management: Offers tools to manage large-party and special event bookings, including accurate expected spend forecasting.
Pricing: It starts at $89/month (for up to 150 covers) and goes up to $189/month for higher-tier plans. While ResDiary doesn’t charge commission fees, customers note that integration fees (for POS, PMS, etc.) can be high, and some reviewers have found the software complex and customer support lacking.
Further reading: How to Create a Restaurant No-Show Policy [Templates included]
Eat App
Eat App is another cloud-based table and seating management software focused on boosting restaurant efficiency and revenue through CRM tools.
Key features:
Reservation and table management: Provides seamless management of online and offline bookings and real-time seating arrangements.
Guest profiling: Lets you build detailed customer profiles with preferences and visit history for personalized service.
Commission-free bookings: Offers reservations without cover fees from your website, Google, and social media.
Guest experience tools: Includes no-show reduction features (via pre-payments) and automated post-dine guest surveys.
Pricing: Eat App offers a Free plan (up to 30 covers), followed by three paid tiers: Starter ($49/month), Essential ($129/month), and Pro ($229/month).
A major caveat is the high separate fees for critical integrations like POS/PMS (e.g., around $89/month for POS) and optional add-ons. Users also report limited floor plan customization.
Further reading: 11 Reasons Why You Need a Restaurant Reservation Management System
Wrapping It Up
Choosing the right table reservation software is an important decision for enhancing your guest experience and boosting restaurant sales and revenue.
While all the systems compared offer core features, Servme stands out as the definitive guest experience management platform.
Unlike competitors like OpenTable, which mandate per-cover fees, and Tock, which imposes prepayment commissions, Servme ensures commission-free bookings from a wide range of channels.
Servme also helps operators own their guest data, drive repeat business with personalized marketing campaigns, and offers straightforward pricing with no setup fees.
Furthermore, its dedicated support and account management ensure you get a free, smooth onboarding and data migration.
If your goal is to maximize revenue, eliminate no-shows, collect deposits, and build deep, direct relationships with your guests, Servme is your go-to reservation and table management system.
Ready to elevate your guest experience and take control of your data?
Learn more about Servme's features and pricing today.
Mohammed Rafy
Operations
