7 Best CRMs for Restaurants: Boost Your Business

7 Best CRMs for Restaurant for Sales and Guest Experience

In the restaurant business, people are attracted by good food, but they come back because of the good relationships.

Whether it is about juggling reservations and dealing with staff or loyalty program and catering lead, the world of restaurants is a high-pressured one today.

If you’re still tracking guests with spreadsheets or sticky notes, you’re not just behind; you’re leaving money on the table.

That’s why more and more restaurants are turning to the best CRMs for restaurants not just to stay organized, but to drive growth, increase repeat visits, and turn one-time diners into lifelong fans.

You may be a small coffee shop or a luxury chain, but now restaurant client management software in the cloud is considered a smart move.

What are the best tools that are changing the landscape of how restaurants connect, convert and thrive? Let us find out.

What Is a Restaurant CRM?

CRM is an abbreviation of Customer Relationship Management, which, however, to restaurants is more than just the management of contacts.

A restaurant CRM is a solution that assists you in monitoring the activity of the guests, customizing the dining experience, handling reservations, enhancing marketing activities, and enhancing customer loyalty through a single dashboard.

Imagine it is an online maitre d who remembers the names and preferences of all of their customers, the history of their orders and their feedback.

No matter whether you have a small hometown restaurant or a chain with multiple branches, a CRM will provide you with the means to reach out to your guests besides the plate.

Other CRMs even provide sales pipeline software to restaurants, and they are extremely helpful to companies that provide event catering, VIP dining, or restaurant consulting services

Why Do Restaurants Need a CRM?

The answer to the question of why restaurants need a CRM is evidenced by the fact that a CRM is currently used by 22 percent of restaurant owners.

Managing a restaurant nowadays is not about food but about the experience. And as the competition is increasing year by year, personalization has become not a luxury, but a necessity.

That is why CRM is critical to restaurants:

• Smart service = customer data

Monitor dining history, tastes, favorite dishes and visit frequency to surprise and delight.

• Efficient communication

Post-dining follow-ups, reservation confirmations, and automated messages are possible to boost satisfaction and minimize no-shows.

• Easy marketing

Divide the guests into behavioral segments, conduct loyalty campaigns, and spread the word about new items on the menu or an event.

• Increase referral and retention

Apply knowledge to operate a referral management program or to reach out to people who have already lost touch.

• Grow and make a profit

The analytics of CRM will enable you to identify which campaigns are effective, which guests spend more and how to serve them better. Modern Restaurant Management reports that restaurants with CRM software experience up to a 65 percent increase in repeat visits.

Advantages of CRM Restaurant Software

And that is why you still doubt whether CRM is worth the trouble. So what does it mean?

1. Automation Saving on Time

Quit following up on reservations on paper or copying emails of guests into mailing lists. CRMs do confirmations, reminders, and promotions automatically and additionally save your team time to focus on what counts: the guest experience.

2. Individualized Guest Experience

Using detailed profiles, you will not forget about birthdays, anniversaries, allergies, favorite wine or anything that makes a guest feel special.

Statistics indicate that customized meals lead to increased average checks by 20 percent.

3. Centralised Communication

Reviews, emails, texts and feedback all on a single dashboard. Make your messages consistent and professional and always respond to complaints.

4. Business Development of Restaurants

Follow up on catering, exclusive bookings or events. Some CRMs even enable you to assign leads, follow up on proposals and track conversion rates.

5. Better Marketing ROI

Segment to those who prefer brunch and those who prefer dinner, send personalized offers and track both clicks and reservations in real time.

6. Referral and Loyalty Management

With CRMs, it is convenient to implement loyalty programs or monitor the success of referrals. Provide discounts or incentives using statistics instead of assumptions.

Which Features to Look at in Restaurant CRM?

Not every CRM is the same. These are the essentials in selecting client management software used in restaurants:

• Guest Profiles: Name, preferences, order history, feedback
• Reservation Management: Internet reservation, waitlist, reminder
• Marketing Automation: Segmentation, SMS/email campaigns
• Reviews and Reviews Integration: Gather and answer reviews
• Analytics & Reports: Monitor visits, spending, satisfaction and campaigns
• Sales & Catering Pipeline: Sales and catering pipelines tracking large group bookings and follow-ups
• Loyalty Tool: Points, rewards and referral tracking
• Mobile Access: Mobile Access to check guest information and respond

7 Best CRMs for Restaurants

These are the best ones that fit your needs in the restaurant, whether you have a fine-dining establishment, a food truck, or a catering business.

1. Pipedrive – Top CRM overall Restaurant with sales and loyalty in mind

What makes Pipedrive different:

Pipedrive is not just yet another restaurant POS supplement. It is a solid CRM that excels at lead nurturing, customer retention, and sales pipeline automation and is particularly suitable to restaurants with a catering, special events, or subscription dining program.

Pipedrive Most suitable:

Restaurants that view booking, VIP events or catering as a sales process.

Pipedrive Key Features:

• Reservation and leads visual pipeline
• Adjustable follow-up chains
• Call tracking, Email tracking
• Client profile primary notes and tags
• Connection with POS and feedback applications

Pipedrive Pros:

• Super intelligent dashboard
• Very good on big reservations and replies
• Cost-effective back slitting prices

Pipedrive Cons:

• No complete POS system
• Few in-built restaurant-specific tools

Use Pipedrive and automate the process of interactions with guests, upsell events, and other things like a pro in managing loyalty.

Sign Up Today to Start a Free Trial →

2. SevenRooms: The Best to Personalize the Guest Experience

How SevenRooms is exceptional:

The platform is tailored to hospitality specifically and helps restaurants to create profiles of their guests as well as automate personalized experiences.

SevenRooms is right when:

Used in fine dining and fine restaurants.

SevenRooms Key Features:

• Waitlist and Reservation management
• Note-keeping and visit monitoring of the guests
• Feedback requests/review response
• Special occasion campaigns

SevenRooms Pros:

• Powerful guest understanding
• Incorporated marketing features
• Integrated reservations

SevenRooms Cons:

• Too expensive to small restaurants
• Learning curve

3. Upserve CRM (by Lightspeed) – Best All-in-One POS + CRM System

Why Upserve CRM stands out:

If you’re already using Lightspeed, Upserve integrates seamlessly to track customer data and drive loyalty.

Upserve CRM Best for:

Ideal for small to mid-size restaurants seeking CRM + POS combination.

Upserve CRM Key Features:

• Keeping track of purchase history
• Loyalty program constructer
• Programs pegged on diner behavior
• Informed evaluations of server performance

Upserve CRM Pros:

• POS + CRM all together
• Strong analytics
• Perfect in expanding teams

Upserve CRM Cons:

• Works only with Lthe ightspeed ecosystem
• Poorly used automation of marketing efforts

4. Toast CRM – Best for Quick Service Restaurants (QSR)

What makes Toast CRM unique:

Toast CRM tools were designed to be fast and simple. They enable a fast-casual restaurant to maintain an edge.

Toast CRM Ideal use in:

Cafes, QSRs, food trucks.

Toast CRM Key Features:

• Guest insights / online ordering
• Reward system on loyalty
• Some sort of SMS/email campaigns
• Distribution of feedback

Toast CRM Pros:

• QSR-friendly tools
• Cheap and user-friendly
• Tracking of orders was involved

Toast CRM Cons:

• Does not have complicated automation
• Certain aspects are to be upgraded

5. Fishbowl: Best in Restaurant marketing automation

Why Fishbowl is different:

Fishbowl integrates CRM with email and SMS marketing for high performance.

Fishbowl Most useful in:

Restaurants that are interested in expanding the customer base.

Fishbowl Key Features:

• Behavioral segmentation
• Marketing through email/SMS
• Promotion time arrangement
• Monitoring of ROI

Fishbowl Pros:

• Powerful campaigns
• Results were easy to measure
• Loyalty-driven features

Fishbowl Cons:

• Nor a POS or reservation server
• Requires integration

6. OpenTable CRM-The most fit in Restaurants that use reservations

Why OpenTable CRM is special:

In case you already utilize OpenTable, their CRM tools allow you to manage the data about your guests effectively.

OpenTable CRM Most suitable:

Restaurants that operate on the OpenTable basis.

OpenTable CRM Key Features:

• History of diners and preferences
• Collection review
• Tagging and notes of guests
• Looking at reservations Reservations insights

OpenTable CRM Pros:

• Accessible to the OpenTable customers
• Simple management of guests
• They are good when it comes to special offers

OpenTable CRM Cons:

• Limited flexibility
• Subscription to OpenTable required

7. Resy OS CRM

What makes Resy OS special:

Resy uses innovative technologies in reservation together with strong diner data.

Resy OS Supports:

Trendy restaurants that have loyal customers.

Resy OS Key Features:

• Waitlist management
• VIP tagging of guests
• Schedule of events
• The monitoring of seats in real-time

Resy OS Pros:

• Sleek interface
• It works well as high-end branding
• User-friendly loyalty features

Resy OS Cons:

• Less configurable
• New venues may be expensive on price

Comparison Table for Best CRMs for Restaurants

Why Choose Pipedrive as the Best CRM for Restaurants?

The reality is that the majority of the restaurant CRMs were designed with operations rather than growth in mind.

They are good at making reservations or even arranging work schedules, but when it is time to really develop relationships with guests, induce repeat business, or expand your catering and events business, they fail.

That is what Pipedrive distinguishes itself with.

Unlike the more conventional CRMs, Pipedrive is built around action-oriented owners, managers and marketing leaders of restaurants who are serious about converting their customer base to a profitable long-term revenue generator.

It is not just software, it is your service-smart sidekick in the background that allows you to turn service into strategy.

That is how Pipedrive can make restaurants flourish:

Track Catering, Private Event and VIP Booking Leads

Whether you’re fielding birthday party inquiries, holiday bookings, or corporate event requests, Pipedrive gives you a clear, visual pipeline to track every opportunity from inquiry to confirmation. No more missed follow-ups or lost emails, just an efficient system that allows the closing of deals more quickly.

Restaurants using structured CRM pipelines report up to 35% higher conversion rates for event and group bookings (Hospitality Technology, 2024).

Auto-Feedback Loops and Upsell Sequences

Each guest contact is an opportunity to have them back. When you use Pipedrive, you can automate post-dining emails and prompt the invitation to leave a review or make an offer of a discount on the next visit with no effort.

Wish to cross-sell wine and holiday menus? You just create a drip campaign and leave it running.

Creating Custom Stages in Guest Pipelines

Pipedrive does not put you in a one-size-fits-all situation. You may develop custom stages in:

• Event Planning
• Enrollment Loyalty
• Catering Negotiation
• Reservation Follow-ups
• Corporate Account Outreach

It is such versatility that makes it ideal both in independent restaurants, multi-site restaurants, and upscale restaurants. 

Make Every Connection a Long-Term Investment

You have a gold list of guests. You will not miss out on great dinners with Pipedrive. Track preferences, tag VIPs, set reminders on seasonal invites or know who the top spenders are to receive exclusive offers.

Pipedrive will enable you to establish long-term relationships, not a one-time visit.

Real Restaurants, Real Results

Suppose that your restaurant organizes exclusive wine dinners. When using Pipedrive, you can:

• Past attendees’ segmentation
• Send invitations to early birds
• Monitor RSVPs with a sales pipeline
• Provide a follow-up loyalty offer
• Set reminders of subsequent events

None of this, without touching a spreadsheet.

It is a relationship-based CRM, and it is built in a hospitality rhythm.

Built on Teams, Built on Scale

Have more than one staff or location to manage? Pipedrive makes everybody in line with:

• Tools of team assignments
• Delegation of tasks
• Role based access rights
• Mobile application access to get updates on the go

It does not matter whether it is your event manager in one of the branches or a floor supervisor in another; everyone knows what is going on and nothing falls in the cracks.

Safe, Scalable, and Simple

Pipedrive is a cloud-based, GDPR-compliant, and highly user-friendly tool even to the non-tech teams. It has connectivity with email, calendar, marketing, and even payment gateways. You may get operational within a few hours.

It Begins With Better Relationships

The finest restaurants are not those that serve excellent food but are those that are remembered by how the people are treated. It is not a coincidence that emotional connection. It occurs purposely and with the right instruments behind the scenes.

Pipedrive makes it possible to create those connections on a scale, consistently, carefully and with a touch of automation.

Are you willing to make your restaurant a relationship powerhouse?

Try Pipedrive’s 45-day trial right now with free of charge!

Discover how it feels like to work smarter and not harder and expand your restaurant, one loyal customer at a time.

Choose the Right CRM and Elevate Guest Experience

The modern restaurant’s success has little to do with the food and is more about the relationships, the knowledge of the customers and being in the right place at the right time with the right message.

The best CRM for restaurants helps you do just that on autopilot.

Whether it is personal experiences, more bookings,  or smarter marketing to your repeat customers, the investment in a CRM solution such as Pipedrive will provide you the clarity, organization, and strength to grow your restaurant with confidence.

Don’t simply serve food. Serve loyalty. Serve relationships. Serve growth.

Sign up for Pipedrive to maintain a great relationship with your valued customers!

FAQs about Best CRMs for Restaurants

Q1: Will Pipedrive assist with restaurant booking of events and catering inquiries?

Yes! The pipeline of Pipedrive is the ideal pipeline to manage the catering request, event booking, and the private dining inquiry till the confirmation of the same.

Q2: Does Pipedrive work with reservation or POS systems?

It is not a POS or reservation tool itself; however, Pipedrive can be used with tools such as Zapier, so you can integrate it with systems such as OpenTable, Lightspeed, or Toast and create seamless workflows.

Q3: What makes Pipedrive distinctive compared to the traditional restaurant CRMs?

Unlike the majority of restaurant-specific CRMs, which only track reservations, Pipedrive concentrates on the development, automation, and sales, which are ideal in the situation where restaurants want to scale catering, loyalty, or VIP services.

Q4: Is the staff learning and usage easy?

Absolutely. The visual dashboards and clean interface of Pipedrive allow non-technical teams to onboard without difficulties.

Q5: What is the level of security of guest data in Pipedrive?

Pipedrive is GDPR-compliant and has very stringent data protection measures so that your guest data stays safe and secure.