Put the restaurant menu on WhatsApp
The cheapest upgrade a restaurant can make is a QR code that opens a WhatsApp chat with the menu already waiting. On the table, on the takeaway counter, on the delivery flyer that goes out with every parcel, one scan and the customer is in a conversation with you, not squinting at a laminated card or downloading an app they'll delete.
In Growcord that chat can show a WhatsApp catalog, items with photos, prices and descriptions, or a simple bot menu for smaller kitchens. Either way you now have something no walk-in ever gave you: the customer's number, with their permission to hear from you again. A QR generator makes the table codes in seconds.
The bigger prize is direct orders. Look at your own aggregator rate card: whatever commission you pay applies to the regular who orders the same biryani every Friday exactly as it applies to a first-time customer who found you on the app.
Discovery is worth paying for; the eleventh order from the same household is not. A customer who orders that eleventh biryani in your WhatsApp thread pays you the same money and you keep the margin.
Table booking on WhatsApp instead of a missed phone call
Peak-hour phone bookings are a coin toss: the line is busy, the manager mishears the name, or nobody wrote it down. A booking flow on WhatsApp asks date, time, party size and seating preference, confirms instantly, and, the part that actually protects revenue, sends a reminder two hours before with Confirm and Cancel buttons. A cancelled table two hours out is a table you can give away; a silent no-show at 8:30 pm is not.
What restaurants run on Growcord
QR code to chat
Table tents, counter standees and delivery flyers open a WhatsApp chat with the menu, and quietly build your customer list.
Menu and direct orders
A catalog or bot menu takes the order in chat, sends it to the kitchen, and skips the aggregator commission on repeat customers.
Table bookings with reminders
Date, time and party size collected by a flow; confirmation immediately and a confirm/cancel reminder two hours before.
Food order updates
Order received, being prepared, out for delivery, status messages that stop the where-is-my-food calls to the counter.
Weekly specials to regulars
Thursday's special or the weekend buffet, broadcast to opted-in regulars, segmented by veg/non-veg or delivery area.
Feedback and reviews
A post-meal message asking how it was, routing happy guests to your Google review link and unhappy ones to the manager first.
Food order updates that stop the counter calls
Every delivery order generates the same three questions: did you get my order, when will it arrive, where is it now. Utility templates answer all three automatically, confirmation with the item list and amount, a preparing update, and an out-for-delivery message with the rider's number.
The counter phone goes quiet, and the customer's experience feels like a big-brand app while the order stays fully yours. The mechanics are the same as order notifications for any store.
Three templates a restaurant can adapt
Booking reminder: "Hi Sameer, your table for 4 at Zaika, Andheri West is confirmed for tonight, 8:30 pm. Reply 1 to confirm, 2 to cancel. Running late? Just tell us here, we hold tables for 15 minutes."
Order update: "Order #218 confirmed, Sameer! 1x Butter Chicken, 2x Garlic Naan, 1x Jeera Rice, ₹640, payment received. Your food will be out for delivery in about 25 minutes. We'll message when the rider leaves."
Weekly special: "It's Thursday, Sameer, which means Nalli Nihari is back at Zaika. Tonight only, dine-in and delivery. Reply ORDER to get it delivered, or BOOK for a table. Reply STOP to opt out of these updates."
Booking and order messages are utility templates; the Thursday special is a marketing template and goes only to customers who opted in, the QR scan plus a clear "get our weekly specials?" prompt is the honest way to build that list, covered in the opt-in guide. Always include the opt-out line; a customer who mutes you politely is far better than one who taps Block.
Works alongside Swiggy and Zomato, not against them
Nothing here requires leaving the aggregators. The playbook most restaurants settle on: aggregators for discovery and first orders, WhatsApp for the relationship, the menu QR in every parcel, direct-order convenience for regulars, and a specials broadcast that no aggregator listing can send. Over months, the mix shifts toward the channel where you keep both the margin and the customer's number.
Getting a restaurant live in a weekend
Connect a business number
Put a number on the API through Growcord's guided Meta setup, keep the manager's personal WhatsApp out of it from day one.
Load the menu
Build the catalog or bot menu with photos and prices, and set auto-replies for timings, location and parking questions.
Print the QR codes
Generate the click-to-chat QR, put it on tables, the counter, and every delivery parcel. Each scan adds a contact.
Switch on bookings, updates and the weekly broadcast
Turn on the booking flow and order-status templates, then schedule the first specials broadcast to opted-in regulars.
What it costs a restaurant
Basic at ₹299/month, ₹99/month billed yearly, includes 200 conversations, which covers bookings and order updates for a small outlet. Add a weekly specials broadcast to 300 regulars and you are past 1,200 conversations a month, so Startup at ₹799/month (₹399 yearly, 1,000 included) plus extra conversations at ₹399 per 1,000 is the realistic shape. A multi-outlet brand adds numbers at ₹299/month each.
Meta's fees are separate and you pay its published rate exactly, Growcord adds no markup and earns on the subscription. Order and booking messages are utility conversations, the cheap category; the Thursday specials broadcast is marketing at roughly ₹0.78–0.88 per customer in India, so 300 regulars costs about ₹250, shown on screen before you send.
Every plan is on the pricing page; the free tier (50 conversations a month) covers a weekend of the QR-and-menu flow, and paid plans have a 7-day unconditional money-back guarantee.
Put a QR on every table this weekend
Free tier includes 50 conversations a month, enough to test the menu chat and booking flow on real customers.
Start free, no card neededWhy Growcord
What you get here that you don't get elsewhere
Frequently asked questions
Can customers order food directly on WhatsApp?
Yes. A catalog or bot menu shows items with photos and prices, the customer picks in chat, and the order lands with your kitchen along with a payment link if you take payment upfront. For regulars this is faster than any app, and there's no aggregator commission on the order.
How does the QR code table menu work?
You generate a click-to-chat QR that opens WhatsApp with your restaurant's chat and a pre-filled greeting. The bot replies instantly with the menu. It works on any phone with WhatsApp, nothing to install, and each scan gives you a contact you can invite to the specials list.
Can I take table bookings automatically on WhatsApp?
Yes. A no-code flow asks date, time and party size, confirms the booking instantly, and sends a reminder two hours before with confirm and cancel buttons. Cancellations reach you while the table can still be resold, which is the practical difference from silent no-shows.
Will sending weekly offers get my number banned?
Not if you send to people who opted in. Offers go out as Meta-approved marketing templates to customers who agreed to receive them, with an opt-out line in every message. What gets restaurants in trouble is blasting scraped or purchased numbers, blocks pile up and Meta throttles the account.
Does WhatsApp ordering work alongside Swiggy and Zomato?
Yes, and running both is the point. Aggregators are how a new customer finds you; WhatsApp is how the third order happens. The mechanism is a QR in every delivery parcel that opens a chat with your kitchen, so the next order starts in your thread instead of the app. Nothing about it breaks your listings, and the commission you avoid applies only to the orders that move.
What does it cost per month for one outlet?
From ₹299/month, or ₹99/month billed yearly, on Basic with 200 conversations included, enough for bookings and order updates at a small outlet. An outlet that also broadcasts weekly specials to a few hundred regulars belongs on Startup at ₹799/month (₹399 yearly, 1,000 conversations). Meta's fees are separate: roughly ₹0.78–0.88 per marketing conversation, considerably less for booking and order messages.
Why businesses pick Growcord
Official WhatsApp Business API
Built on Meta's Cloud API, the sanctioned channel, not a modded app. No number-ban roulette.
Indian pricing, GST invoice
Plans from ₹99/month billed yearly. Paid in ₹ via Razorpay, with a proper GST invoice every time.
Free tier, no card needed
1 number and 50 conversations a month to prove it on real customers before paying anything.
Support from New Delhi, in IST
A real team on email and WhatsApp, Monday to Saturday 10:00–19:00 IST, not a ticket void.
Talk to us
Get set up on WhatsApp this week
Tell us what you sell and how many customers you message. We'll reply on WhatsApp with the plan that fits and, if you want it, walk you through the Meta approval step.
- No sales call unless you ask for one
- Answers from the team that builds it, in IST hours
- Free tier available. You can start before you decide
Documentation and official resources
Keep reading
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Last updated: 2026-08-07