Instagram DM Templates for Restaurants
Restaurant DMs cluster around five questions: menu, hours, reservations, dietary needs, and "do you cater?" Every hour those sit unanswered is a table booked somewhere else. These templates answer each one instantly — use them manually, or set them as auto-replies so the answer arrives while the craving is still live.
13 templates · tap any template to copy it · replace the [brackets] with your details
Menu & price inquiry
Fires when someone asks about the menu, prices, or a specific dish.
Reservations & booking
Fires on "table", "book", "reservation" keywords or booking questions.
Hours & location FAQ
Fires on "open", "hours", "where", "location", "parking" questions.
After-hours reply
Fires outside business hours so no inquiry sits cold overnight.
Lead capture (events & catering)
Fires on "catering", "private", "event" keywords — captures details before handoff.
Follow-up & review ask
Sent 1–2 days after a visit or a resolved conversation.
The 24-hour messaging window (know this before automating)
Instagram lets businesses reply within 24 hours of a person's last message or interaction — after that window closes, you can't re-open the conversation with promotional messages. That's why the follow-up templates above are designed to fire while the window is open, and why instant replies matter: an inquiry answered in seconds starts a conversation; one answered tomorrow may be unreachable. Official-API tools respect the window automatically.
Or send these automatically
Every template on this page can run as an automation: someone comments or DMs a keyword, and the right reply goes out in seconds — while you run your restaurants business. Describe it in one sentence and SociaHive builds the flow for you.
Build this automation freeFree plan included — no credit card required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can restaurants auto-reply to Instagram DMs?
Yes — with an Instagram Business account and an official-API tool, you can auto-reply to DMs and comments by keyword (MENU, TABLE, HOURS). The reply lands in seconds, which matters because dining decisions are made in the moment.
What should a restaurant auto-reply say?
Answer the question AND advance the booking: menu link plus "want me to hold you a table?", hours plus the address. Every template above pairs the answer with the next step — that's what turns a question into a cover.
How do restaurants handle DMs after closing?
An after-hours auto-reply acknowledges the message, links the menu and booking page (which work 24/7), and promises a human reply in the morning. The inquiry that would have gone cold becomes tomorrow's reservation.